Nevada receives $1 million for prison recidivism reduction

Nevada’s Department of Corrections has been awarded $999,276 in federal grants for the second phase of the Adult Recidivism Reduction program.

Phase one was awarded in 2016 and the money used to develop a framework for evidence-based programs for the development of community partnerships for offenders re-entering the community.

Director James Dzurenda said the money is designed to “provide a statewide culture change in corrections, going from being punitive to being collaborative and rehabilitative.”

He said the goal is reducing recidivism and decreasing victimization of people in the community.

This grant will continue the efforts begun in 2016, supporting evidence-based programs and practices in the prisons.

“Since Nevada has implemented these initiatives, NDOC has seen a reduction in recidivism two years in a row with more than 200 former inmates not re-offending,” Dzurenda said.

He said the governor’s re-entry task force has goals including reduction of recidivism rates by 50 percent over a five-year period.