Partnering with States on Prison Reform

Prisons in America house more than 1.3 million people, employ more than 200,000 corrections officers in state-run institutions, and consume a significant share of state budgets. Yet despite their scale and impact, they are among the least transparent and most understudied public institutions in our country.

Urban’s Prison Research and Innovation Initiative (PRII) helped bridge this knowledge gap by partnering with corrections systems in five states over five years, building evidence and spurring innovation to make prisons more humane, safe, and rehabilitative. These results relied on the voices and perspectives of incarcerated people, correctional staff, and community members.

Through this initiative, we launched and fueled efforts to improve the conditions and experiences of incarcerated people and corrections officials.

• Site partners in Iowa and Missouri remodeled prison visitation spaces to be more child-friendly and promote family interaction for people who are incarcerated.
• Four states created “normalized” housing units that approximate life on the outside more than a stereotypical prison or jail. These units have been shown to decrease recidivism and promote mental health.
• Our research on staff well-being motivated the Vermont Department of Corrections Commissioner to create a special statewide task force on correctional officer mental health.
• In Delaware, we helped the state’s Department of Correction revitalize its wellness programming and revise its grievance process, an important communications mechanism for incarcerated people to request services and provide feedback to leadership.

We are continuing to share this knowledge and innovation with others, building on what we’ve learned and expanding research-driven reforms.