Providing Second Chances
America is a nation founded on the idea of second chances, yet we close doors that lead to a better life for a whole segment of the population. People with criminal convictions are stigmatized in the labor market and barred from specific jobs, unable to vote, and shut out of public housing.
But policies once rationalized as just desserts and good for public safety increasingly are viewed as counter-productive. Key arenas for creating second chances are in higher education and housing. What we’ve found: The payoff of bringing college back into prison, and using it as a sturdy bridge to support reentry. And that many people caught up in the justice system and then barred from public housing can live there safely with their families without compromising the safety of other residents—and that welcoming them is the smart thing to do.
Issues
Spotlights
Featured
Investing in Futures
Economic and Fiscal Benefits of Postsecondary Education in Prison
Efforts to build robust postsecondary education programs in prison have accelerated in recent years, with support from a broad range of groups from correctional officers to college administrators. This report, which is the result of a collaborative effort with the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality, describes how lifting the current ban on...
Opening Doors to Public Housing
Expanding Access for People with Conviction Histories
Vera, which is guiding implementation of the largest public housing reentry pilot program in the country, is launching a national project to assist public housing authorities, community supervision agencies, and reentry service providers to work together to promote family reunification and successful reentry outcomes for formerly incarcerated peopl...
Project
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Margaret diZerega
College in Prison
Postsecondary education opportunities for incarcerated people
People involved in the criminal justice system have, on average, much lower education levels than the general population. Research suggests that education is key to improving many long-term outcomes for incarcerated people, their families, and their communities—including reducing recidivism and increasing employability and earnings after release. T...
Project
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Margaret diZerega
Related Work
Voters in Battleground States Favor Restoring Pell Grants for People in Prison
These battleground state voters seem to understand that reinstating Pell eligibility for the greatest number of people in prison is a sound investment in our future. Plenty of other influential voices agree. Bipartisan momentum to get rid of the Pell ban for people in prison has been growing steadily: Since early 2019, the Association of State Co...
Blog Post
Margaret diZerega
Growing Momentum to Expand Access to Quality Postsecondary Education for People in Prison
Postsecondary education in prison cuts costs, which provides opportunities to reinvest in communities. “Safer communities” is another way of saying less crime and less taxpayer dollars spent on prisons. According to the findings of Vera’s 2015 “Price of Prisons” report, states spend upward of $45 billion a year incarcerating people, but continue to...
Blog Post
Fred Patrick
Unlocking Potential
Pathways from Prison to Postsecondary Education
College in prison communicates a simple, transformative idea: people leaving prison have futures we should value and great potential we should encourage and tap. The Vera Institute of Justice launched Unlocking Potential: Pathways from Prison to Postsecondary Education in 2012. Supported by five national foundations, the demonstration project gave ...
Embracing Human Dignity
Gala 2019 event video
Vera Institute of Justice's 13th Annual Gala event video, featuring Restoring Promise, SAFE Network, and College in Prison initiatives.
(Returning) Home for the Holidays
As public attention grows to the difficulties people with criminal justice involvement face in securing housing, opportunities for reform emerge. We recently convened PHA representatives and local law enforcement partners from around the country in New Orleans to discuss how to move this work forward. And, Colorado’s Department of Local Affairs (DO...
Blog Post
Byron Kline
Embracing Human Dignity
Annual Report 2018
Embracing Human Dignity
Annual Report 2018
The Vera Institute of Justice is working to radically transform incarceration in America by replacing punishing practices with an approach that prioritizes compassion, true accountability, healing, restoration, opportunity, and hope. Learn more about our commitment to human dignity in our annual report 2018.
Reimagining Prison
Reimagining Prison Webumentary
Providence Housing Authority Addresses Reentry
Following this reversal, the Providence Housing Authority began to actively review its role in reentry reform and how the agency could proactively address this issue with the support of the PHA Administration, its Board of Commissioners, PHA residents, local elected officials, and community partners. For example, we were one of 14 housing authoriti...
Blog Post
Marcela Betancur
Finding housing is hard—but for people leaving prison and jail, it’s almost impossible
We need to open doors for people reentering society, not shut them.
In recent years, however, there has been growing momentum to ease restrictions around housing for formerly incarcerated individuals. In 2017, Vera launched the Opening Doors to Public Housing initiative to expand access to housing for people with conviction histories. Now, with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistan...
Blog Post
Jack Duran
Opening Doors
Safely Increasing Access to Public Housing for People with Conviction Histories
For more than 600,000 people leaving prison and the nearly 11 million cycling through jails annually, research shows that safe, affordable housing is essential for them to succeed after they are released. While all public housing authorities (PHAs) must, by law, place lifetime exclusions on people who are lifetime-registered sex offenders or who ha...