Building Better Lives

The Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Package, passed by the Louisiana Legislature, works to reduce prison populations in the state and invest in programs and policies proven to reduce recidivism. By supporting people in prison and people under community supervision through these incentives, we are able to decrease recidivism and prevent crime, leading to safer prisons and communities.

Reinvesting in Louisiana Justice

The Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Task Force, a bipartisan group comprised of law enforcement, court practitioners, community members, and legislators, found that Louisiana’s corrections system was producing low public safety returns at high costs. We’re working to change that.

  • 10%

    decrease in the number of people in prison is the overall goal over the next decade, saving $262 million.

  • 70%

    of savings (an estimated $184 million) will be reinvested into programs and policies proven to reduce recidivism and support victims of crime.

  • 12%

    reduction in the number of people under community supervision with more manageable caseload sizes for probation and parole officers.

Community Incentive Grant Program

As a part of the Justice Reinvestment Legislation of 2017, a portion of the savings attributable to criminal justice reform have been allocated the DPS&C to award incentive grants to organizations that can deliver programs and policies that will enhance, expand and/or increase coordination of reentry services with the goal of expanding prison alternatives and reducing prison admissions and/or recidivism.

As of 2021, the Department of Corrections has awarded 17 CIG grants to several community organizations who serve participants in the following parishes that account for a large portion of the state’s incarcerated population: Orleans, Jefferson, East Baton Rouge, Caddo, St. Tammany, Bossier, Calcasieu, Lafourche, Lafayette, Ouachita, Rapides and Terrebonne.

Emergency & Transitional Housing Program

The Emergency and Transitional Housing (ETH) Program provides short-term housing to formerly incarcerated persons (FIPs) who are at risk for homelessness and are currently under the supervision of Probation and Parole. The ultimate goal of the program is to improve FIPs’ chances of having a successful reentry experience through improved access to transitional and permanent housing opportunities.

In support of the goals of the Justice Reinvestment (JRI) Legislation of 2017, the portion of the savings allocated to DPS&C for reinvestment for priorities that support reducing prison admissions and recidivism shall fund this program.

Fall 2020 ETH Application for Housing Providers

The Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPS&C) is seeking housing providers to provide stable short-term housing and food access on a per diem basis to participants.

The Fall 2020 ETH Application for housing providers has closed. Stay tuned for the Spring 2021 ETH Application, which will be published here.

Note: The original Fall 2020 ETH Application was published on November 13th, 2020. An updated application that addressed Adobe PDF Form issues was published on November 18th, 2020. Technical language edits to the Program Guidelines were added on November 23rd, 2020. Application multi-line issues with Adobe PDF Form were addressed on December 9th, 2020 (see below).

The JRI Office hosted an ETH Applicant Info Session via Zoom on December 1, 2020 from 2:00pm to 3:00pm. Please see the PowerPoint slides from the session below.

Questions? Contact the JRI Office at jriprograms@la.gov.

ETH Public Resources

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Policy Documentation

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