Reducing Recidivism of High Risk Offenders through Improved Information Exchange

The Second Chance Act (Pub. L. 110-199) provides a comprehensive response to the increasing number of incarcerated adults and juveniles who are released from prison, jail, and juvenile residential facilities and returning to communities. The Second Chance Act Programs are designed to help communities develop and implement comprehensive and collaborative strategies that address the challenges posed by offender reentry and recidivism reduction.

Section 101 of the Second Chance Act authorizes federal awards to states that may be used for demonstration projects to promote the safe and successful reintegration into the community of individuals who have been incarcerated or detained and reduce overall recidivism rates. The goal of Section 101 of the Second Chance Act is to provide support to eligible applicants, in this case state correctional agencies (state departments of corrections or community corrections) or State Administering Agencies (SAAs), for the development and implementation of comprehensive and collaborative strategies that address the challenges posed by reentry to increase public safety and reduce recidivism. The goal of this program is to assist state teams in developing statewide recidivism reduction strategic plans. The objectives for the Second Chance Act Statewide Adult Recidivism Reduction Strategic Planning Program are to: (1) identify drivers of recidivism in the state; (2) identify a target population and recidivism reduction goals for the state; (3) review the alignment of existing corrections programs and practices with evidence-based practices; and (4) develop a strategic plan to meet statewide recidivism reduction goals using evidence-based practices.

The Colorado Division of Criminal Justice will utilize funds toward reducing recidivism of high risk offenders through improved information exchange. The goal of this project is to develop a statewide bi-directional justice-to-health information exchange system plan to improve the delivery of evidence-based services for approximately 5,000 individuals with serious mental illness who transition to the community annually from Colorado’s prisons and jails.

CA/NCF