Nebraska is laying out plans to improve re-entry of inmates into society and reduce recidivism under the national Reentry 2030 initiative.
Rob Jeffreys, director of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, described the state's strategic plan in a webinar on Monday.
Nebraska was the fourth of six states so far to join the program, which is sponsored by the Correctional Leaders Association, the Council of State Governments Justice Center, the U.S. Justice Department and the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Other states that have signed on are Washington, New York, Missouri, North Carolina and Alabama.
“(We will) look at (inmates’) end goal at the very beginning,” Jeffreys said. “Let’s not wait 30 days or 60 days and then try to come up with a plan. That’s been our breadth of how we’re trying to achieve this transformation change in Nebraska.”
The state will establish a statewide reentry council to lead a systematic approach to the problem. The correctional services department lists many details of its goal to "prioritize reentry from intake to release" in its strategic plan.
Jeffreys’ plan will stress five points: positive relationships, positive social engagement, meaningful work trajectories, healthy thinking patterns and effective coping strategies.
“The only way we can achieve change is by doing something differently,” Dawn-Renee Smith, deputy director of rehabilitative services in Nebraska, said. “We really focus on that with folks.”
The state has about 5,880 inmates in nine facilities, well over the design capacity of 4,079. About 28% of released inmates return to prison within three years because of a new crime or a parole violation.
Jeffreys was joined in discussing the program by Kasey Moyer, the executive director of the Mental Health Association of Nebraska, and Diane Good-Collins, the director of the Metropolitan Community College’s Re-Entry Program.
Webinar participants also discussed included TRANSFORM Nebraska, which integrates various rehabilitation efforts to meet needs of inmates and should help reduce recidivism.