Reentry Dashboard: Publications and Tools
The Reentry Dashboard
The Reentry Dashboard will convey to policymakers the extent to which a comprehensive statewide reentry plan has been implemented and the intermediate outcomes (i.e., outcomes short of recidivism) it is yielding. It will be one-page in length and provide statistics that reflect the answers to 20-30 indicator questions. In addition, the dashboard will indicate which troubleshooting modules to consult when an indicator suggests that the state’s reentry plan’s implementation is lagging or if the plan is yielding disappointing results.
Coming soon
The Troubleshooting Guide
The Troubleshooting Guide is for state officials who, when reviewing the dashboard’s indicators, determine that the statewide reentry plan is underperforming in a particular regard and want to know why. The guide will comprise 10 modules, each between 10 and 20 pages in length: 1) management, coordination and funding; 2) release and supervision; 3) victims and survivors; 4) job training and employment; 5) literacy and education; 6) behavioral health care; 7) physical health care; 8) housing; 9) children and families; and 10) identification and income support. Each troubleshooting module is framed around a policy goal, such as "each person secures an affordable, safe and stable place to live upon release from prison."
Each module provides approximately 4 to 8 policy statements. For each policy statement, the module asks three types of questions. Policy questions are yes / no questions that ask whether a specific administrative or statutory policy or agency practice is in place. Collaboration questions are also yes / no questions that determine whether particular stakeholders, such as representative of two or more agencies, are working together. Data questions ask about the number or percentage of particular populations that help determine to what extent the implementation of the policy statement is being achieved.
A scenario involving substance abuse issues is provided here to illustrate how the Troubleshooting Guide would work. The Reentry Dashboard will have as many as three indicators that are health-related. One indicator may indicate the percentage of people identified in prison as having a substance abuse problem actively engaged in community-based drug treatment one month since their release. A state official disappointed with the results that this particular indicator displays on the dashboard would be referred to the Mental Illness and Substance Abuse Module of the Troubleshooting Guide and referred to questions such as these: Of individuals released last year, how many needed substance abuse treatment during incarceration? Of the individuals that needed treatment for substance abuse what percentage received treatment while incarcerated? What percentage completed treatment? Of individuals that participated in some form of substance abuse treatment, what type (e.g., therapeutic community, group counseling, peer support)? Does the state contract with community-based organizations to provide substance abuse treatment in prisons?
Coming soon
The Users Manual
The purpose of the Users Manual is to facilitate the application of the generic dashboard to particular states. It will address installation and data-collection challenges associated with the Reentry Dashboard, as well as to define key terms and phrases used throughout the Reentry Dashboard. Installing the reentry dashboard in any state will require some fine-tuning of both the dashboard and of the state’s corrections data system. Certain aspects of state corrections systems are likely to vary from state to state, such as sentencing structure and program curriculum. In addition, the reentry dashboard may ask for data regarding in-prison assessments on a quarterly basis, the User’s Manual will explain how to adjust for a state that only collects such information on a bi-annual basis.
Coming soon