For reentering individuals, the financial burden of pursuing and completing higher education programs begun in prison can be substantial and prohibitive. When surveyed, CIP students (N=114) identified several financial challenges that they anticipated would interfere with returning to school in the community.

Like other institutions of higher education, College-in-Prison Reentry Initiative (CIP) education providers were faced with shifting from in-person to fully remote coursework with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Although grateful for the opportunity to continue classes, students and faculty alike described remote coursework as inferior to in-person instruction.

In East Harlem, the Center for Trauma Innovation is building a learning community so organizations can exchange innovative practices, learn from each other, and tap into each others’ resources to better serve their community with trauma-informed, evidence-based practices.

After conducting a multiyear evaluation of the College-in-Prison Reentry Initiative (CIP), we outline recommendations for educational providers, corrections, and other stakeholders to consider how best to prepare for and carry out their missions to provide high-quality postsecondary education to students who are incarcerated.

CIP invested $7.3 million in postsecondary education in NYS correctional settings, ultimately serving 931 students through seven higher education institutions in 17 prisons statewide.

Over the years, initiatives across NYC have worked to lower the number of youth aging out of foster care without permanent living arrangements, and to provide additional support to those who do. Through our partnership with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII) began funding two local programs to support foster youth transitioning to adulthood in 2018.

As part of its efforts to lower jail populations across America and address racial disparities in the criminal justice system, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge recently funded a project examining racial disparities within a county jail.

The findings highlight the spectrum of service needs indicated by NYC HJN clients and the role of community health workers in helping these individuals navigate the reentry process, address critical needs, and avoid future criminal legal system involvement.

Participation in CIP significantly reduced the risk of reconviction for a new offense following release by two thirds, or 66 percent. Specifically, students who participated in CIP had lower risk of reconviction following release at both six months and 12 months.

The RRC is a national initiative that aims to increase success on probation through the identification, piloting, and testing of promising strategies grounded in a robust analysis and understanding of why revocations occur.

The West Harlem Community Reentry and Restoration Project aimed to support community members who have recently returned, or are soon to return, from incarceration and strengthen the capacity for local community-based organizations to provide services and support violence prevention.

Though policymakers are responsible for establishing the policy frameworks, local agencies and practitioners — court officials, law enforcement, prosecutors, service providers and defense attorneys — are ultimately the ones who carry them out. Their buy-in during the legislative process can ensure policies in theory reach their intended goals in practice.