Excerpt from The Arizona Daily Star, published October 19, 2023

Written by Dave Abel and Teresa Hodge, Special to the Arizona Daily Star

The era of mass incarceration created consequences for communities across the country, including some which were unintended. If we have a goal to create safer communities, we must address recidivism and how to sustainably create better outcomes for the millions of Americans imprisoned over the past few decades as they reenter society and come home. Almost 13,000 people are released from Arizona prisons every year, while about 450,000 Arizonans live with a felony record and around 100,000 residents have spent time in a correctional facility.