The NGA Prisoner Reentry Policy Academy Round 2 works with five states in an effort to help Governors and other state policymakers develop and implement statewide prisoner reentry strategies that reduce recidivism rates by improving access to key services and supports. The five state participating in the academy are: Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Washington. Support for Round 2 comes from the JEHT Foundation.

(The seven states that participated in NGA Prisoner Reentry Policy Academy Round 1 were Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia. Support for Round 1 comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (OASPE), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Office of Minority Health (OMH), and the JEHT Foundation.)

Through the academy, states assembled interdisciplinary reentry policy teams comprised of representatives from the Governor's office and key state agencies, such as corrections, public safety, health and human services, welfare, workforce, and housing. These teams are responsible for assessing the reentry process within their state, identifying major service gaps and other barriers, and examining relevant state data on prisoner reentry trends. State teams have had the opportunity to participate in at least one in-state policy workshop, two policy academy meetings that brought together all seven states, and a "learning lab" on working with families, youth, and children.

In designing the academy, one of NGA's objectives was to help states take advantage of and build on other large-scale reentry initiatives. To that end, NGA works closely with other organizations currently engaged in reentry initiatives, including Urban Institute, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Corrections, U.S. Deaprtment of Labor Center for Faith-based and Community Initiatives, National GAINS Center, Council of State Governments, and Family Justice, and Women's Prison Association.

Related Documents and Links

• What is a Policy Academy?
• Backgrounder: Reentry Policy Academy Round 2
• Early Lessons from the NGA Prisoner Reentry Policy Academy Round 1
• National and Federal Initiatives on Prisoner Reentry
• Prisoner Reentry Around the States
• Agenda for Policy Academy Meeting (Atlanta, Georgia November 13-14, 2003): Challenges and Opportunities
• Agenda for Policy Academy Meeting (Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 6-7, 2004): What's Changed? What's Next?