I also designed a series of flyers to be shared with legislators and attendees of future Commission meetings.

︎︎︎ See the exerpts from our presentation here, and click here to view our resource guide. For example, BIPOC women, women engaging in sex work, or women facing housing insecurity may all require targeted programming in a successful diversion program. We share special considerations for diversionary program creation, outlining specific needs that must be considered when working with justice-involved women. Our report discusses how women experience the criminal justice system uniquely from men, which contributes to unequal outcomes after release.

Our findings will continue to inform the Commission’s upcoming policy and advocacy work in the realm of women’s decarceration. Our team compiled a report of our research findings and activities, as well as a resource guide for women’s diversion programs in the US and abroad. Many of the diversion programs we reviewed report drastically reduced re-arrest rates when compared to the national average (35% rate of re-arrest within one year for recently released women). This extremely high turn-over rate, in addition to the fact that most women were charged with non-violent or drug offenses, makes it incredibly difficult for residents to access the care or services they need (health services, vocational training, or substance abuse treatment).ĭiversion programs are uniquely suited to address the unmet needs of justice-involved women by providing a range of health services, basic needs support, and other programming to all participants.

In 2021, most of the women at Gloria McDonald served sentences of less than 6 months (80%), with almost half of sentenced to less than a month (49%). Diversion programs present an opportunity to more effectively address unmet needs and reduce recividism as a result. High turnover rates within Gloria McDonald make programming and services inaccessible to most of its residents.

Ridoc prison ethics