Center for Justice and Human Dignity

Wow! After a whirlwind few days, CJHD is so grateful to all speakers and attendees of the #RewritingtheSentenceII Summit on Alternatives to Incarceration. We are so inspired by the diverse blend of around 500 attendees - including judges, probation chiefs, prosecutors, community practitioners, and especially members of the formerly incarcerated community - who provided a crucial perspective on the future of alternatives to incarceration. Thank you Arnold Ventures for your principal support in making this event such a successful, critical exchange. We are so proud of our registrants and their visionary commitment to reducing mass incarceration. #RTSII #TraumaInformed #ATI

Please join us for a conversation with Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Director Rob Jeffreys and Dr. Lisa Clements PhD. The primary topic will be community partnerships to improve reentry outcomes. The link to register is below and in the comments. Director Rob Jeffreys has been in the Correctional field for 28+ years in Ohio, Illinois, and Nebraska and wants to share some of the insights he has gained along the way. We will also discuss: -Reducing recidivism -Addressing racial disparity -Reentry 2030 -Reducing the use of restrictive housing -TRANSFORM Nebraska -Strategic planning for Department Directors Register here: www.cjhd.org/webinar cc: Kevin Kempf, Stevyn Fogg, CLA Leaders, Correctional Leaders Association, Rachel C., Center for Justice and Human Dignity

Please join us today. If you registered but did not receive a link to join, please check your spam folder. www.cjhd.org/webinar

Thank you for sharing, Kevin Kempf, and for partnering with us on the webinar series! Register at: www.cjhd.org/weibinar

The Center for Justice and Human Dignity, Correctional Leaders Association, and Clements Initiative is excited to be hosting a second Innovation in Corrections webinar featuring Director Ryan Thornell, Ph.D. from the Arizona Department of Corrections and Commissioner Liberty from the State of Maine Department of Corrections. Dr. Thornell will be in conversation with Dr. Lisa Clements PhD and Commissioner Liberty about the progress and future of the Arizona DOC. Please consider registering and sharing: www.cjhd.org/webinar cc: Stevyn Fogg, Rachel C., Kevin Kempf, Rachel V.

For my birthday this year, I am doing a fundraiser for the Center for Justice and Human Dignity. Our mission is safely expanding alternatives to incarceration while improving conditions for people serving time and correctional staff. We also work to improve reentry policies, practices, and outcomes. One of our current projects includes working to establish family councils at youth facilities so family members and youth can voice their recommendations and concerns in an organized and accountable way. Another project focuses on exposing currently and formerly incarcerated people and correctional staff to the outdoors through outings that break down us vs. them dynamics, build communications skills, and create prosocial community bonds. Would you consider making a donation? Thank you! www.cjhd.org/donate

Last Friday we held a screening of “Since I Been Down” at Green Hill youth prison. Film synopsis: “Former president and current member of an over 40-year Washington State prisoner-initiated program, the Black Prisoners’ Caucus. At 34, Kimonti founded TEACH (Taking Education and Creating History), a remarkably innovative prisoner education program. Kimonti and a group of his peers maneuver through a non-negotiable pathway to joining gangs as early as 11-years-old in Tacoma, Washington. This is a community profoundly impacted by the city's disinvestment in housing, education, and employment as well as our policies in the 1990's. The film, told by the people who have lived these conditions, unravels intimate stories from interviews brought to life through archival footage, cinema verité discussions, masquerade, and dance , unravelling why children commit violent crime and how these children – now adults – are breaking free from their fate by creating a model of justice that is transforming their lives, our humanity and a quality of life for all our children.” It was an incredibly powerful experience with Gilda Sheppard, ángela Araque García, and Kimonti Carter. Thank you to Green Hill staff, WA Department of Children, Youth, and Families, and the youth for welcoming us.

Commissioner Liberty joined the Innovation in Corrections Webinar to discuss the Maine Model of Corrections with Center for Justice and Human Dignity and the #ClementsFoundation. The full recording is available at:

A few weeks ago, CJHD held an eye opening and encouraging conversation with Maine Department of Corrections Comissioner, Randall Liberty, about his work to change the culture and conditions of confinement throughout the state of Maine. This session marks the first in a series of live webinar conversations that the Center for Justice and Human Dignity will be hosting, in partnership with the Clements Initiative and Correctional Leaders Association, to speak with innovative correctional leaders and share the work they are are doing to move the needle for change in the United States.

Please join us on August 29 for our upcoming Innovation in Corrections webinar. We will sit down with Dr. Ryan Thornell, the Executive Director of Arizona’s Department Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry, to learn how he and his team reimagine corrections. Registration: https://cjhd.org/webinar/