Recidivism is not unique to any state or region; in fact, two out of three people are rearrested within three years after being released from prison and 50 percent are reincarcerated. Some argue the issue isn’t related to funding and there are plenty of ways to cut back on the cost of recidivism. In Tennessee, for example, a recently passed bill aims to keep lower-level drug-related and mental-health-related offenders out of prison and place them in community-based rehabilitation programs instead, saving an estimated $9 million a year. Access to Medicaid and healthcare could reduce recidivism rates, along with more access to jobs. Fair chance hiring helps to lower barriers to employment while providing employers real-time criminal activity alerts.
