Criminal Justice Task Force Launches Resource App for Returning Citizens

01.18.24 – Northeastern Law’s Criminal Justice Task Force has jointly launched the Massachusetts Reentry Resource Directory, an online resource to help returning citizens, their families and other marginalized communities access services that may be crucial to successful reentry. This web-based app, available at MAreentryresources.org, lists 33 service categories, including child welfare, domestic violence, education, employment, homelessness prevention, mental health services and public housing assistance and includes information on more than 1,200 resources available for Massachusetts residents across the state.

Designed for individuals reentering the community post-incarceration, reentry service providers, probation officers, judges and advocates, the app is the result of several years of work completed by Suffolk University Law School’s Legal Innovation & Technology Lab, in partnership with Northeastern Law’s Criminal Justice Task Force Reentry Subgroup, led by Donna M. Cuipylo ’95, former supervising attorney for the Committee for Public Counsel Services; Dismas House of Worcester; and the Crime and Justice Institute (CJI), with generous financial support from the Gardiner Howland Shaw Foundation and additional assistance from Al Kaneb, a philanthropist interested in criminal justice issues, and the Chief Justice Ralph Gants Fund for Racial Equity and Access to Justice.

Together, these groups collaborated to collect and maintain data on currently available services across the state, which can be tracked based on proximity to the commonwealth’s 18 Community Justice Support Centers. These support centers provide assistance to clients, including formerly incarcerated individuals, helping them avoid further involvement with the justice system. Users can access this innovative, widely accessible, digital resource to search for programs and services in a particular geographic area using parameters such as location and service category. Once a service has been selected, users will be guided to Google Maps, where they can review and plan for any transportation needs.

Northeastern Law’s Criminal Justice Task Force and its partners hope that utilizing such technology will help alleviate the burden on justice-involved individuals, who must presently sift through outdated or misleading online resources to find relevant support. It will also revolutionize pre-trial and post-incarceration practices, said Professor Deborah Ramirez, director of the Criminal Justice Task Force and co-director for Northeastern Law’s Center for Law, Equity and Race (CLEAR).

“I want to thank the Gardiner Howland Shaw Foundation, Al Kaneb and the Chief Justice Ralph Gants Fund for Racial Equity and Access to Justice for their generous support and I want to applaud Attorney Cuipylo for her tireless efforts to launch this app,” said Ramirez. “I am grateful to the Criminal Justice Taskforce Reentry Subgroup and its co-chairs, Justice Sydney Hanlon [ret.] and Judge Rosalind Miller [ret.], who have done an extraordinary job of educating the community about the reentry resources available at the Community Justice Support Centers. Our hope is that this app will be used to provide marginalized communities with the resources they need to lead productive lives.”

Two-years in the making, Cuipylo credits development of this resources to the many volunteers and collaborators supporting this effort, including Kristen Dame of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, who brought the idea for the app to the attention of the Criminal Justice Task Force mapping subcommittee; Nicole Siino, who designed the app with the assistance of the Suffolk University Legal Innovation & Technology Lab, under the direction of David Colarusso; and the American Bar Association.

Northeastern Law’s Criminal Justice Task Force Reentry Subgroup is comprised of more than 50 representatives from a variety of backgrounds, including formerly incarcerated individuals. Their work focuses on four major areas: securing resources for the Community Justice Support Centers (formerly the Office of Community Corrections); educating judges and attorneys about the availability of reentry resources; helping to coordinate various groups to create a statewide “Coming Home Directory” that catalogues a variety of services; and creating, in cooperation with the support centers and the Suffolk County House of Correction, training for returning individuals to prepare them for higher-level employment.

Disturbingly, the United States incarcerates significantly more people per hundred thousand than any other NATO country and, while Massachusetts has the lowest per capita incarceration rate in the nation (275 per 100,000), people are incarcerated at higher rates in the US than in either the United Kingdom or Canada. Perhaps even more troubling is the fact that, according to the US Department of Justice, 68% of those who are released from incarceration are rearrested within three years. Many issues lead to incarceration and increase the risk of recidivism, including undiagnosed and untreated mental illness, including post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder, mood disorder and anti-social decision making. Those issues are often complicated by poverty, with its attendant issues of housing insecurity, lack of adequate educational and social supports for families in need, and other challenges.

“It’s our hope that this app will help those struggling with these issues find the help and support they need to avoid offending or reoffending, and reach their full potential as successful members of our society,” said Ramirez.

About Northeastern University School of Law

The nation’s leader in experiential legal education since 1968, Northeastern University School of Law offers the longest-running, most extensive experience-based legal education program in the country. Northeastern guarantees its students unparalleled practical legal work experiences through its signature Cooperative Legal Education Program. More than 1,100 employers worldwide in a wide range of legal, government, nonprofit and business organizations participate in the program. With a focus on social justice and innovation, Northeastern University School of Law blends theory and practice, providing students with a unique set of skills and experiences to successfully practice law.

For more information, contact d.feldman@northeastern.edu