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First Appearance | June 2023

June 30, 2023

Lawmakers visit Tulsa to Learn About Connections to Treatment

A group of state legislators and legislative staff from seven states visited Oklahoma to learn how Tulsa County and community-based organizations are connecting system-involved individuals to transportation, housing, mental health treatment and other resources at the pretrial phase of their cases. Learn more about what they heard and observed in this new article.

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Making Criminal Record Clearing Easier

Every state has a procedure that allows some people with criminal records to clear them by petitioning a judge or court. Many ‘clean slate’ programs automatically seal arrest and conviction records after people have completed their sentences and remained crime-free. Read more about a recent NCSL meeting in Miami where lawmakers gathered to discuss policy solutions and ways to simplify the record-clearing or sealing process.

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Exploring Funding Models to Support Successful Reentry

Reentry programs are essential for ensuring the successful rehabilitation and reintegration of individuals released from jails and prisons into their communities. Programming includes a range of services, including job training, housing assistance, health care and substance abuse treatment, among others. Funding for reentry programs has increased in the past few years. Learn more about innovative new funding models in NCSL’s new report.

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NCSL Summit: Criminal Justice 2023: What Happened, What’s Changed and What’s Ahead

From increased fentanyl overdoses to the raging car and catalytic converter theft crisis, lawmakers are rethinking criminal justice reform. Join us Aug. 14-16 at the NCSL Legislative Summit to explore what happened in 2023 sessions to expand public safety strategies, invest in new resources and use data to drive policy decisions, and hear about legislation introduced in Congress. Check out all of this year’s sessions covering criminal justice and law

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In the News

New Public Law Enforcement Data in New Jersey

A 2020 New Jersey law required public reporting of data on defendants and their cases including demographics, charge and outcome. Not all the required data is publicly available, but preliminary data is, with Attorney General Matt Platkin staying that the reporting will help lawmakers, “make informed decisions, craft policy, and build public trust.”

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Connections Between Dementia and Competency

Experts are concerned about the growing number of people with dementia and what happens as some of them are entangled in the criminal justice system. Systems meant to address mental illness and focus on restoration of competency are already under strain and can be ill-suited to address the needs of this population. 

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