Brief Strengthening Jail and Prison Reentry through Community Engagement
Subtitle
Lessons Learned from Camden County, New Jersey
Janeen Buck Willison, Nkechi Erondu
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In 2018, change agents within the Camden County (NJ) Department of Corrections introduced a five-pronged community engagement strategy to reduce the use of jail and improve reentry outcomes for people released from incarceration. Central to this strategy are the County’s NuEntry Opportunity Specialists (NOS), previously incarcerated individuals who serve as credible messengers to people released from incarceration and who work to reduce the stigma of incarceration through community education and outreach. This case study, part of a series highlighting work supported by the Safety and Justice Challenge, describes Camden County’s community engagement strategy and examines its implementation and reported impact. Lessons and recommendations derived from implementation of the county’s community engagement strategy and its sustainability efforts are also discussed.

Research and Evidence Justice and Safety Technology and Data
Expertise Courts, Corrections, and Reentry Research Methods and Data Analysis
Tags Reentry Community supervision Community engagement
States New Jersey
Cities Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD