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Governor John Carney announced on Monday that Delaware has been selected to participate in the National Criminal Justice Reform Project – an initiative led by the National Governors Association and the National Criminal Justice Association Center for Justice Planning.
The program assists states in implementing evidence-based criminal justice reforms.
Carney’s office, the Delaware Criminal Justice Council, and a newly-created Criminal Justice Reform Committee will lead Delaware’s work with the national project.
Reform efforts will focus on two specific areas:
- Improving the reentry process for offenders in Delaware’s correctional system, and reducing recidivism;
- And improving access to mental health and substance abuse treatment for offenders in Delaware’s criminal justice system.
“We all have a stake in making sure that, once offenders serve out their sentences in Delaware’s correctional system, they are able to successfully reenter their communities and positively contribute,” said Carney. “This work will not only help offenders successfully transition back into society, but will improve public safety, more effectively coordinate treatment services, and reduce costs for Delaware taxpayers.”
Earlier this month, Delaware and Vermont joined Illinois, Arizona and Oregon as states participating in the National Criminal Justice Reform Project. The project assists participating states in using data to plan and implement evidence-based criminal justice reforms.
Delaware continues to experience high rates of incarceration and recidivism, which come at a high cost for Delaware taxpayers. The average cost of incarcerating one prisoner each year is $35,000 – or 20 times the cost of probation.
Additionally, 24 percent of Delaware’s offender population was receiving some form of mental health treatment in 2015, and 80 percent of the offender population experienced issues with substance abuse.
The Delaware Criminal Justice Reform Committee will begin meeting next month. The committee will use technical assistance from the National Criminal Justice Reform Project to improve collaboration between various state agencies working on reentry issues and community groups, and to improve data collection. Its members also will focus on strengthening and streamlining strategic planning processes around criminal justice reform.
