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| National Reentry Resource Center | |
|---|---|
| Name | National Reentry Resource Center |
| Formation | 2009 |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Region served | United States |
| Parent organization | Council of State Governments Justice Center |
National Reentry Resource Center The National Reentry Resource Center is a U.S.-based nonprofit initiative that supports state, local, and tribal efforts to improve outcomes for people returning from incarceration. It provides technical assistance, data tools, training, and convening services to stakeholders including corrections agencies, courts, social service providers, and philanthropy. The Center operates at the intersection of criminal justice reform, public health, workforce development, and housing policy.
The Center was created to centralize expertise and practical resources for reentry work, drawing on connections with national bodies and state leaders such as the Council of State Governments, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Labor, National Governors Association, and American Bar Association. It serves practitioners in jurisdictions that include state departments like the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, while engaging with advocacy organizations such as the Sentencing Project, Vera Institute of Justice, and The Bail Project. The Center’s activities intersect with federal laws and programs administered by entities like the Social Security Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Launched in 2009 as part of a broader movement to reduce recidivism and support evidence-based interventions, the Center built on reform efforts associated with high-profile initiatives such as the Second Chance Act and commissions chaired by figures like John J. Laub and Pew Charitable Trusts-supported research. Early collaborators included the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, philanthropic partners including the MacArthur Foundation and Ford Foundation, and academic centers such as the Urban Institute and RAND Corporation. The Center expanded through partnerships with state corrections leaders, municipal mayors, and county sheriffs, contributing to reentry strategies seen in jurisdictions influenced by leaders like New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and California Governor Jerry Brown.
The Center’s mission emphasizes reducing barriers to successful community reintegration by advancing evidence-based practices linked to decreases in recidivism and improvements in employment, housing, and health outcomes. Program offerings include technical assistance to implement risk-needs-responsivity models informed by researchers from University of Cincinnati and George Mason University, training curricula used by correctional academies and community providers, and toolkits addressing benefits restoration coordinated with the Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs. The Center also curates data dashboards and evaluation frameworks compatible with standards from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and partners with workforce entities like America's Job Center networks.
Funding and partnerships span federal agencies, state governments, private philanthropy, and intermediary organizations. Major funders and partners have included the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Arnold Ventures. Implementation partners feature state corrections systems, county jails, community-based nonprofits such as Goodwill Industries International and The Fortune Society, and national intermediaries like the National Association of Counties and International Association of Chiefs of Police. Collaborative grant programs have linked the Center with initiatives by the National Institutes of Health on behavioral health and reentry.
Evaluations of the Center’s work have been undertaken by independent researchers from institutions like the Urban Institute, Vera Institute of Justice, and RAND Corporation, assessing outcomes including reductions in rearrest, improvements in employment placement, and uptake of best practices by corrections agencies. Jurisdictions that adopted Center-supported models often reported measurable changes tracked against benchmarks promoted by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National Criminal Justice Association. Impact narratives frequently cite partnerships that produced statewide reentry plans, data-sharing agreements between probation units and public health departments, and expanded access to benefits via collaboration with the Social Security Administration.
The Center produces practical policy-oriented resources, toolkits, and model language for statutes and administrative rules, aligning recommendations with federal frameworks such as the Second Chance Act provisions and guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice. It convenes policy exchanges that bring together legislators, governors' offices, attorneys general, and practitioners from organizations like the American Correctional Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Center’s materials address topics ranging from collateral consequences and record sealing to Medicaid enrollment and reentry housing models promoted by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development initiatives.
Critiques of the Center reflect broader debates in reentry policy, including concerns about the scalability of evidence-based interventions promoted by research entities like RAND Corporation and the Urban Institute, the adequacy of sustained funding from federal agencies, and questions about the balance between supervision-based and community-based approaches advocated by groups like the Sentencing Project and Innocence Project. Challenges include data sharing across agencies constrained by laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and state privacy statutes, workforce limitations in social service sectors, and political variability among governors and state legislatures that affects adoption of model practices.
Category:Criminal justice organizations in the United States