Giving Compass' Take:

• Prison Policy Institute lists various criminal justice-related areas where states and local governments could enact reforms in the next year.

• With the First Step Act recently passed by Congress with bipartisan support, might there be more momentum for more progress soon to address mass incarceration? In what ways can philanthropists provide support?

• Here's how social enterprise can solve workforce development and criminal justice challenges.

The 2019 legislative session is almost upon us, and we’ve compiled — as we do every year — a list of under-discussed but winnable criminal justice reforms. While federal prison reform continues to receive more than its fair share of attention, state legislatures and governors remain empowered to determine the future of mass incarceration.

Our list of reforms ripe for legislative victory are:

  • Ending prison gerrymandering
  • Lowering the cost of calls home from prison or jail
  • Protecting in-person family visits from the video calling industry
  • Stopping automatic driver’s license suspensions for drug offenses unrelated to driving
  • Repealing or reforming ineffective and harmful sentencing enhancement zones

Read the full article about a list of criminal justice reforms to watch in 2019 by Aleks Kajstura at Prison Policy Initiative.