Plan approved by North Carolina panel to meet prisoner reentry goals

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A new state panel has laid out specifics designed to bring numerous North Carolina state government agencies together to work on improving outcomes for prisoners when they are released, leading to reduced recidivism.

The Joint Reentry Council created by Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order in January approved last week a plan to meet more than two dozen objectives by using over 130 different strategies.

The order directed a “whole-of-government” approach, in which Cabinet departments and other state agencies collaborate toward meeting goals and take action.

More than 18,000 people are released annually from the dozens of North Carolina adult correctional facilities and face challenges brought by their criminal record to employment, education, health care and housing.

The council’s plan “lays out our roadmap to help transform the lives of people leaving prison and reentering society while making our communities safe,” Cooper said in a news release Tuesday.

Cooper’s order also aligned with the goals of Reentry 2030, a national effort being developed by the Council of State Governments and other groups to promote successful offender integration. The council said North Carolina was the third state to officially join Reentry 2030.

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