The Governor’s Recommended Budget for the next biennium was released in early December. Due to the recession, the state projects a $1.2 billion shortfall in revenue.  The budget includes cuts in many areas like community-mental health care and services to survivors of crime and violence.

The Legal Action Center and National H.I.R.E. Network released a report outlining steps the federal government should take to improve the success of people reentering communities from prison. Called “National Blueprint for Reentry,” the report pinpoints the lack of access to higher education and to living wage jobs as the two most important barriers that must be removed in order for people to be more successful after prison.