By Jodie M. Dewey , Patrick Hibbard , Dennis P. Watson , Juleigh Nowinski Konchak and Keiki Hinami 

Roughly 24–36% of people who are incarcerated in the U.S. are formally diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD). Once released, individuals involved with the criminal legal system (CLS) face increased risks of return to use and fatality and are 129 times more likely to die from an overdose within the first two weeks of release compared to those without CLS involvement. People who are CLS-involved and who are seeking a recovery living environment can access temporary stable housing through recovery homes. However, entering a recovery home can be difficult due to fragmentation among recovery housing organizations and their non-uniform application and screening procedures. A navigation pilot program was implemented to provide clients with recovery home placement advice, pre-screening, and referrals in Cook County, IL. Existing research on recovery homes has rarely examined the importance of recovery housing navigation for enhancing service engagement among CLS-involved individuals receiving medications for OUD. Methods.   Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 22 clients and three recovery housing navigators as part of a program evaluation of the navigation program pilot. Qualitative software was used to organize and qualitatively analyze transcripts through several rounds of coding producing emergent themes, which were then triangulated, and expanded using navigator data. Results.  Clients seeking recovery home services reported multiple prior challenges securing safe and supportive recovery living environments. Despite low initial expectations, clients described their interactions with housing navigators in favorable terms and felt navigators worked with them effectively to identify and meet their housing and substance use needs in a timely manner. Clients also commented on their partnerships with the navigator throughout the process. Interactions with navigators also calmed fears of rejection many clients had previously experienced and still harbored about the process, which bolstered client-navigator relationships and client motivation to engage with additional services. 

Health Justice 2024 Sep 14;12(1):37

By  Aayushma Bastola, Research & Data Fellow; Morgan Grizzle,, et al.

While in 2023 many other urban jurisdictions around the country began to see drops in homicides and other serious violent crime that had spiked postpandemic, the District of Columbia saw rates of violent crimes, like homicide and carjackings, continue to climb.1 That summer, D.C. lawmakers passed emergency legislation with provisions related to law enforcement and the prosecution and sentencing of crimes. In March 2024 the District passed permanent legislation, the Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2024 (“SECURE DC”), which included changes to D.C. law that had been part of prior expired emergency legislation as well as several new provisions.2 Given the importance of the public’s community safety concerns and the significance of SECURE DC policy changes, this year’s D.C. Criminal Legal System Overview is different from prior editions. This report highlights several aspects of SECURE DC and provides data analyses that can be used as a baseline with which to benchmark changes in crime and incarceration that may be related to the law’s provisions. This Overview also offers data to provide an overview of the District’s criminal legal landscape and to identify who is most impacted by D.C.’s legal systems. For example, this report highlights the growing costs of incarceration and policing in D.C. — reaching over $1 billion for the first time — and the disproportionate number of Black people who are justice-involved, including as victims of crime, in the District. Finally, this report will show that there have been some encouraging changes in terms of public safety from preliminary data for the first half of 2024, including both before and after the passage of SECURE DC. This is the fourth report in which the Council for Court Excellence (CCE) has offered a snapshot of the District’s criminal legal systems. As with past reports, CCE hopes readers find this information useful as we all work to create a safer, healthier, thriving D.C.  

Washington, DC: Council for Court Excellence , 2024. 40,p.

By  Aravind Boddupalli, Susan Nembhard, Michael Karpman, and Sarah Morriss

Fines and fees can impose heavy burdens on those who come into contact with the criminal legal system. Using nationally representative data from the Urban Institute’s 2023 Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, we examined the prevalence of fines and fees among nonelderly adults’ households, including the types of violations resulting in fines and fees, the populations impacted, and the consequences of these costs. About one in six adults incurred fines and fees in 2023, largely from traffic or parking tickets. Court or incarceration-related fines and fees disproportionately affected people of color and those with low incomes. Compared with adults who only incurred costs from traffic or parking tickets, those with court or incarceration-related fines and fees faced higher amounts charged, greater financial strain to make payments, and a higher likelihood of adverse consequences for being unable to pay, such as driver’s license suspensions, additional fees, or time in jail. They also faced higher rates of food insecurity and other material hardships. Our findings contribute to the growing evidence base on the impacts of fines and fees on family well-being.\

Washington, DC: Tax Policy Center, 2024. 23p.