Alabama Appleseed worked to pass SB154, which curtails poverty-based suspensions of driver's licenses in Alabama

The ACLU of Alabama hosted a Smart Justice organizing school for eight months of the year, during which participants focused on skill-building in legislative advocacy, organizing, and deepening their knowledge of the criminal legal system

Partnering on the implementation of the Early Release bill, HB2, which passed with bipartisan support in 2021, and went into effect Jan. 1, 2023. Since January 2023, over 400 people have been released from Alabama Department of Corrections back into the community

Held 2 days of empathy events in Arkansas, including at the capitol

Starting in 2024, folks who are returning from incarceration in Arkansas will have their fines and fees suspended for 120 days

Assisted members in garnering support for SB 495, which was signed by the newGovernor, and especially worked to include training and educating CO's on how to handle pregnant prisoners, allowing visitation with minor children, ensuring that if a woman gives birth to her newborn inside that she will be allowed up to 72 hours with her baby, and finally, setting up specialty courts for drug addiction and mental health

Held Day of Empathy events for over 1,000 people in 13 states AR, AZ, KY, MO, MS, PA, WI, OR, WA, GA, OH, NE and MI.

Secured $7 million for two Trauma Recovery Centers

Defeated HB 2167, which would have applied felony murder rule for deaths related to fentanyl

Arizona’s Day of Empathy, held in partnership with the Arouet Foundation, brought together directly impacted individuals, business leaders, service providers and legislatures to build momentum for justice reform

Passed HB 2055 which authorizes early termination from probation for peoplewho are working

Passed HB 2604, which gives survivors more time to make necessary accommodations for safety when their lives are in danger; gave $2 million in recurring funds and $10 million in one-time American Rescue Plan appropriations to the victim's compensation program

Worked with Gov. Hobbs to secure an executive order in January to create an independent oversight commission

Helped pass HB 2594, which establishes criteria for Trauma Recovery Centers in Arizona

Opposed bills that would increase penalties for Fentanyl, including SB 1027 which was vetoed by the governor. Dream.org's directly impacted staff members told their stories of recovery and why increasing drug penalties are punitive and people of Arizona need resources for substance use disorder and not jail cells

Passed SB 1290 to strengthen reentry support by providing much needed documentation to those who are being released passed unanimously out of committee in Arizona

22 directly impacted leaders from around the country completed the three month Empathy Network Advocacy Cohort training, where they learned legislative advocacy, digital advocacy, organizing, storytelling and many other important competencies to do effective reform work. Many of these leaders went on to lead 2023 state legislative campaigns in nine legislative states of AZ, AR, KY, MS, MO, WI, PA, WA, & OR

AB 1949 will expand employment protection via access to bereavement leave protections for survivors of crime

SB 1720 will reduce employment barriers for people with a conviction seeking community care licensure

AB 1924 will reduce barriers to employment for people onprobation

SB 731 will create a process to “sunset” old convictions and arrest records and affect more than 1 million Californians

With survivor advocates, pushed through AB2169, which ensures that survivors of intimate partner violence and human trafficking have an effective mechanism to erase from their records arrests or convictions they suffered that were caused by their abuse

Supported AB 256, a bill which prohibits the state from seeking or imposing a sentence, based upon race, ethnicity or national origin

Co-sponsored AB 2195, which created an alternative charge to drug offenses, allowing immigrants and US citizens to avoid many damaging consequences a drug conviction presents

SB 1017 strengthens eviction protections by ensuring victims cannot be evicted due to experiencing a crime

Advocated for the CA budget; Gov. Newsom’s 2022-23 budget contained over $500M in Shared Safety investments - a new record in the state; includes includes deeper investments in mental health, expanded resources for survivors and an increase in Prop. 47 savings

In coalition with local partners, defeated nearly a dozen bills that would have repealed critical aspects of Prop. 47 and undone nearly a decade of progress in the state

CSI partners passed SB 22-099, the Colorado Clean Slate Act in 2022. In 2023, partners are working on implementation of the law

CSI partners passed SB 22-099, the Colorado Clean Slate Act in 2022. In 2023, partners are working on implementation of the law

Worked alongside local partners to pass SB 23 - 39 which will create rules and guidelines for keeping parents as connected as possible with their children during their incarceration, including eliminating the parent's incarceration and related conditions as a basis for terminating the parent-child relationship

Worked alongside local partners to pass HB 23 - 1133 to eliminate costs for phone calls for people in detention, and prohibiting facilities from incurring any revenue

Reduced barriers for occupational licensing for people with felony convictions

Passed HB 5248 allowing previously incarcerated people to get an occupational license

The National Council launched the FreeHer Campaign in 6 New England states which uses a distributed organizing, deep canvassing campaign model to educate and shift publicopinion about the need to end incarceration of women and girls and stop proposed new women’s prisons in Massachusetts and Vermont

Passed SB 376 which expands automatic record sealing for arrests notresulting in convictions to local courts

Supported the successful push for SB 1478 which passed, and creates alternative sanctions to arrest and incarceration for prisoners in the State who commit technical or low level violations

Won $8.9 million across four violence prevention buckets with $1.6 million each for reentry, high-risk intervention, and victim services/survivor advocacy; won $2 million for small community- based violence prevention and victim services groups that cannot typically access government grants

Passed HB 233 which allows families of homicide victims to access basicinformation about their cases from law enforcement

HB195 broadened juvenile expungement of their arrest records for non-violent felonies and misdemeanors

Leading up to the 2022 midterm elections, Vera Action briefed more than 40 candidates, caucuses, committees, and elected officials on how candidates should talk about crime, safety, and justice

Produced six rounds of comprehensive, robust public opinion research and message testing to understand what matters about crime, safety, and justice to a wide variety of audiences and to develop affirmative messages about safety as well as inoculation messages to counter fearmongering and “tough on crime” attacks

Led the narrative campaign around a New Way Forward, a bill presenting an affirmative vision of steps that could be taken to disentangle the criminal and immigration systems and repair the harms of unjust immigration laws

Worked with the DOJ to overturn a Trump-era memo that would have sent thousands of people back to prison once the COVID-19 pandemic ended. Because of this decision, thousands of families are able to plan for a future together.

Launched the JustUs Coordinating Council: a national network of systems-impacted individuals across all 50 states, including D.C., that informs decision-making at the federal, state, and local policy levels

Pushed the US Sentencing Commission to change its guidelines, which have now been sent to Congress

Successfully removed provisions in SB 92 the Prosecutor Oversight Bill thatwould have removed discretion from all elected district attorneys while significantly loweringthe threshold for recall elections, jeopardizing the independence of investigations

Defeated legislation that threatened to remove prosecutors who exercise their discretion to decline to prosecute certain kinds of cases

Helped defeat a bill that would unnecessarily expand mandatory minimums for sex offenders, who already receive severe punishments

ACU supported HB 149, which expanded the eligibility for individuals to have their record sealed from public view

Blocked HB 67, a bill to increase penalties for fentanyl possession

In coalition with partners, stopped a bill that would increase the number of juvenile offenses being referred to an adult court

Passed SB 423 to increase government transparency and accountability through processes that streamline early termination for people on mandatory supervised release (MSR), incentivize education and work through expanding the earned credits systems for people on MSR, and reduce technical violations and increase quality of life for people on all forms of supervision in the state by expanding remote reporting. Impacts 300,000+ people over the next 5 years while saving the state millions.

In coalition with partners, Blocked HR 598, which called for the repeal of the SAFE T Act and bail reforms

In coalition with partners, stopped two bills that would have created new mandatory minimums (including the possibility of a life sentence)

Advocated for this upcoming fiscal year’s budget, which contains the largest appropriation in Illinois history (more than $500 million) for Shared Safety including victims service, public safety, and mental health in the 2022 state budget

Supported a coalition of advocates and TA providers to provide communications and narrative strategy guidance as the Pretrial Fairness Act inches towards implementation

Secured $38 million in authorized of state funds for Trauma Recovery Centersfor survivors and social service resource centers to address trauma and poverty

Worked alongside local partners to pass SB 3621 which eliminated Juvenile fines and fees

Worked alongside local partners to pass HB 1493 which eliminated Juvenile fines and fees

Helped pass HB310 to expand time served credits for pretrial home incarceration for those without GPS monitors

Advanced a 10 year, 4 county pilot program (SB90) diverting those with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder from pretrial services and jail to community supports

Defeated HB/SB 313, which would have restricted or eliminated charitable bail funds.

In Kentucky, Passed HB 353 to decriminalize fentanyl testing strips passed, signed by Governor

Continued the “Public Health is Public Safety'' campaign to bring business leaders, law enforcement, victims groups, faith leaders, healthcare professionals, and directly impacted Kentuckians together to talk about drug policy in the state, and how we make policy that better serves Kentuckians who are overcriminalized

Worked to defeat HB3, a harmful juvenile justice system bill

Defeated a Juvenile Justice Bill (SB 3) and successfully advocated for removal of some of the more punitive elements of the legislation

Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky established the Sycamore Fund as a model for region-wide grantmaking to support meaningful, realistic, and effective strategies for directly impacting systems related to mass incarceration

Worked in Floyd County in Eastern Kentucky to create a bail fund

Supported new position for those in recovery or incarceration with criminal justice prevention services, including expungement, fines and fees, consumer bankruptcy

Advocated for a bill which originally expanded educational opportunities for formerly incarcerated people by allowing them to access a KY Educational Excellence Scholarship. After the legislature made changes to the bill, KY Policy and the ACLU of KY opposed the bill and KY Chamber of Commerce worked to get the most harmful provisions, including a lifetime ban on state scholarships for formerly incarcerated people through need-based College Access Program and Work Ready Scholarship taken out of the legislation through direct lobbying. However, when the bill was passed with the provisions intact, KY Policy, ACLU of KY, and Dream.org successfully secured a governor's veto (SB 163).

Helped expand an expungement law for juveniles (HB 369) to all status of misdemeanors and felonies

Added a resource coordinator position to assist people returning from prison with necessary documentation so they can access government benefits

The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission made a series of grants to legal aid groups throughout Kentucky to expand Project Renew, a pilot program created through the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky’s partnership with Appalred and Mountain Comprehensive Care Center to provide civil legal services and resource access to people in jail and addiction recovery

Provided services approximately 1,000 incarcerated people in a rural county through resource coordination, legal services, and wraparound funds designed to facilitate re-entry after incarceration

Advanced medical cannabis legalization bill (SB47)

Spearheaded a campaign to create the Community Stakeholders for Change at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections, which led to 12,000 expungements of bench warrants 5 years and older for certain non-violent misdemeanors and Class D felonies without penalties. 400 cases were cleared of which 300 included restitution.

Successfully weakened a bill that increased criminal penalties for fentanyl; partners provided testimony, policy analysis and public education, direct lobbying of legislators and talking points

Historic improvements to accessibility were made to the Crime Victims Reparations Fund (CVR) during the 2022 Legislative Session. These reforms allowed for victims to access support without having to go through law enforcement, Louisiana became only 1 of 3 states to permit this. Louisiana Survivors for Reform and victim advocates worked with legislators to unanimously pass HB 648, signed into law

State Senator Royce Duplessis (D - District 5) worked with the Justice and Accountability Center to author and pass SB 111, also known as the “New Endings and Opportunities Act," which will impact 1.3 million Louisianians with records. The bill will provide system upgrades to streamline and automate the expungement process, enhance communication between various departments, and eliminate the filing costs associated with expungement applications.

Partnered with local organizers in the City of New Orleans to oppose plans for construction of a “Phase III” facility to house people with mental illness. The goals are to stop the construction of another jail, improve the conditions of the current jail, and dramatically reduce the number of people with behavioral health issues being brought to the City’s jail by creating a community-based continuum of care.

Louisiana Parole Project worked with State Representative Barbara Freiberg (R - District 70), to advance Act 276 (formerly HB 444) which expands eligibility beyond a high school equivalency diploma to include an adult literacy program, adult basic education program, or job skills training program for hearing eligibility. This is particularly important to persons who, when they entered prison decades ago, were denied access to many educational program due to their sentences. The revised law also creates a path for those with cognitive disabilities or other learning barriers to earn the opportunity for release. Prior to this change certain individuals who could not pass the high school equivalency test would be barred from parole eligibility despite having displayed rehabilitation in all other aspects of their life.

Launched a comprehensive datahub entitled, “Louisiana Locked Up: A Problem in Every Parish” to address and rectify the significant lack of transparency and accessibility of parish-level incarceration data, which is a core component for holding policymakers accountable for advancing systemic change

The National Council launched the FreeHer Campaign in 6 New England states which uses a distributed organizing, deep canvassing campaign model to educate and shift publicopinion about the need to end incarceration of women and girls and stop proposed new women’s prisons in Massachusetts and Vermont

Secured the passage of, and a veto override for, the governor’sveto of a bill that will allow all qualified residents to apply for a driver’s license,regardless of their immigration status

Secured the passage of, and a veto override for, legislation that removed thegovernor from the parole process (SB 202)

Worked in coalition to implement police accountability boards andfight off Fraternal Order of Police-backed amendments to weaken communityoversight in some jurisdictions

Worked in coalition to implement police accountability boards andfight off Fraternal Order of Police-backed amendments to weaken communityoversight in some jurisdictions

Supported LD 1862 which strengthens Maine's good samaritan law

The National Council launched the FreeHer Campaign in 6 New England states which uses a distributed organizing, deep canvassing campaign model to educate and shift publicopinion about the need to end incarceration of women and girls and stop proposed new women’s prisons in Massachusetts and Vermont

ASJ worked to pass HB 4674 & 4675 which expands the list of supports eligible to be covered by victims compensation, extends the time frame to file a victim compensation application and increases the amount of compensation available to survivors

Through litigation, settled a federal lawsuit to overhaul the city of Detroit's bail system and leveraged the Detroit litigation victory to add momentum for a common sense legislative bail reform package in Michigan

Partners on the Clean Slate implementation campaign have sealed more than 1.2 million records and completely cleared records for over 200,000 people; millions more records will be cleared before the end of 2023

Through budget advocacy ASJ, secured $4 million for four new Trauma Recovery Centers – one each in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, and Battle Creek

After 2+ years of working County Attorneys and lawmakers, For The People helped pass another Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing law. SF 2909 will enable prosecutors to safely bring people home from prison, and marks the 6th PIR law now in the US

With local coalitions, helped pass The Restore the Vote Act, which will automatically expand voting rights to over 46,000 Minnesotans who are either on probation or parole

CSI partners passed the Minnesota Clean Slate Act in 2023.

Senate File 2934 included language mandating the Minnesota Commissioner of Human Services to establish safe recovery sites and overdose prevention centers; included $14 million for start-up and capacity-building grants

SF 2909 expanded access to harm reduction services, including drug checking services; bill will decriminalize giving away and possessing all drug paraphernalia

Supported a bill which passed to eliminate the state’s crack-powder disparity, which was the largest disparity in the country

Missouri CSI partners helped pass a "stepping stone" bill that eliminates the fee for petition based expungement, expands the number of eligible records that can be cleared for people 16-25 who accumulate "course of conduct" records