Policy And Advocacy

The 2023 legislative session saw a huge win for Nebraskans impacted by the criminal justice system. Our policy & advocacy team worked to influence change and educate senators about the benefits of passing LB50 – The Nebraska Justice Reinvestment Initiative. The main focus of this law was to reduce recidivism.[1][3]

A few key areas included incentivizing participation in reentry programs and treatment through earlier parole opportunities, creating a streamlined parole review process, providing additional support and interventions for people on community supervision, and improving statewide behavioral health supports. It also included the creation of the Nebraska Sentencing Reform Task Force to create ongoing opportunities to assess sentencing reform needs in the state. Although the passing of this law was about three years in the making, it showed how systemic change can take time, but we must stay the course.

The Justice Study continued with enrollments throughout the year. As individuals were enrolled, they took a needs assessment as part of our case management process. The top five self‑identified needs included low/no income, food insecurity, unfit housing, no employment, and none or lacking adequate transportation.[2]

Our staff on the Justice Study interacted with people at one of the lowest moments in their lives, and they worked hard to provide over 1,500 case management services this year. While assisting people in some of their most significant times of need, our team was honored to ensure folks could keep their jobs or find new ones through job reentry programs, connect to mental health and substance use services, and work with their public defenders or attorneys to address their legal questions.

Whether we’re on the frontlines working with folks throughout pretrial to find stability or working with elected officials to educate them on how policies impact people in real life, creating change through policy advocacy is about breaking generational incarceration cycles. When we look at the long‑term impacts of what policies and practices have done to cause mass incarceration, we know it’s going to take a change in those policies and practices to undo the harm that continues to plague so many families.