Wyo. Committee Approves Recidivism Measures

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A committee tasked with examining recidivism in the state approved several recommendations at its quarterly meeting to increase the rate of successful re-entry into society of offenders after incarceration.

The Transition from Prison to Communities Steering Committee considered five recommendations from two of the five work groups that meet monthly to discuss issues and opportunities to improve re-entry programs and resources for offenders.
 
The recommendations include enhancing the employability skills of offenders through increased vocational training and continued education; developing and streamlining processes to ensure special offender populations receive the program support required for re-entry, such as substance abuse treatment; increasing coordination to ensure sex offenders receive community treatment that meets nationally recognized standards; improving and streamlining the process for identifying offenders who suffer from traumatic brain injury and developmental disability; and finalizing the adoption of practices identified by the Urban Institute in its summary of accepted evidence-based practices.

“Wyoming has an excellent team that is focused on moving forward with examining each aspect of re-entry to determine what can be improved,” said Richard Stroker, an advisor to the Wyoming Department of Corrections and researcher with the Center for Effective Public Policy. “They are having a positive impact on the availability of assets that are used for re-entry.”

The committee is sponsored by the National Institute of Corrections, the Center for Effective Public Policy and the Urban Institute. The initiative in Wyoming is designed to enhance public safety, reduce re-offense and increase offender success through evidence-based best practices.

The committee and workgroups are composed of members of the Wyoming Parole Board, the Prison Division and the central services office of the Wyoming Department of Corrections.