North Dakota to launch program to keep inmates from coming back Friday, November 22, 2019
G.F. Herald
As the state prison system fights a surge of inmates — and the pressures of the opioid and addiction crisis — North Dakota corrections leaders say they plan to launch a new program at the state penitentiary next year teaching young adults the skills they need to stay out of prison.
The program continues state officials’ pivot to a more progressive criminal justice system, which has come after decades of rising inmate numbers. State leaders have stripped down criminal penalties for first-time, nonviolent offenses and invested in behavioral health programs, all in a bid to make the system less needlessly punitive, they argue, and ultimately more effective.
That’s also true of conditions within prisons themselves, where corrections leaders tout the opportunities prisoners have to build independence, job skills and social abilities before they’re released.
Read more at: https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/crime-and-courts/4782357-North-Dakota-to-launch-program-to-keep-inmates-from-coming-back