Stories of, and Opportunities for,
Corrections Innovations
The videos and news stories below offer a glimpse into how other states are working to develop their correctional systems into one that authentically foster the rehabilitative and reentry success of incarcerated people. These stories are powerful and doable examples of ways we can humanize individuals, foster positive DOC employee-inmate relationships, help to strengthen family ties while an individual is serving his/her sentence, build opportunities for community integration, and meaningfully support individuals to take accountability for his/her post-release success. The stories you will find below are not hypothetical, they are not driven by radical ideologies, and they do not create unrealistic resource demands that do not already exist within our own correctional system. Rather, these stories reflect a bold commitment by the leadership teams in those state DOC systems to exercise innovation and forward-thinking solutions that will and do serve the public safety interest. By no stretch of the imagination does that mean those efforts have created perfect correctional systems in those states. Rather, what these stories demonstrate is these systems are willing to step outside of traditional and conventional models because they recognize corrections can be far more positively impactful for those in its care, for the family members of those who are incarcerated, and ultimately, for the communities that these men and women will be returning to.
Make no mistake. The Wisconsin DOC has all of the resources it needs to demonstrate similar innovation in its programs, services, and opportunities. But the problem is this. The DOC in Wisconsin remains committed to trying to build innovation within the same old system that has failed our state for decades. True innovation will come when the department commits to authentic outcomes, and organizes itself around achieving them. We would urge the DOC to look at the innovation all around them, and learn from these and so many more examples.
Normalizing interpersonal interactions between staff and prisoners.
Michigan establishes residential-based Vocational Villages to promote prisoner success and employability.
Faith-based residential programs in Florida have positive effect.
California statute mandates Inmate Advisory Councils
Colorado Citizen Advocate Meetings
Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act
Prisoner to Professor. A Maine prisoner is using his incarceration to make a difference
Massachusetts providing free phone calls to facilitate improved communication between prisoners and their loved ones
New Hampshire prison system partnering with NAMI to prioritize mental health training for all staff