* Begin reentry preparation at entry.

Starting with comprehensive assessment when individuals enter the criminal justice facilities, time spent inside should include meaningful preparation for a productive and law abiding life outside of prison. Drug treatment, literacy, education and appropriate vocational training are not luxuries: they are smart investments in public safety.

* Manage the transition back home.

The period prior to and immediately following release is a period of crisis and of opportunity that ought to receive specific attention, coordination, and a concentration of resources. Basic discharge planning, including linkages to community-based organizations, assembling necessary identification documents, and making appointments for medical care should be the norm. Family members, whose support is key to reentry success, should be engaged in the preparation for release. Pre-release safety planning, that takes into account the concerns of crime victims and affected families where appropriate, should also be standard practice.

* Remove unnecessary barriers to reentry success.

While public safety dictates certain ongoing protections and prohibitions, too many of our laws do not give those who have finished their incarceration a fair opportunity to succeed and do not advance legitimate security interests. Public policy - state and local - affecting released prisoners should encourage and not prevent productive behavior like working, paying child support and taxes, pursuing education, reintegrating with family, and the key components of civic participation: voting and jury service. Laws that prohibit employment in certain fields, for example, and prohibit voting and jury service need to be reevaluated and changed.

* Support neighborhoods and families.

Given the concentration of returning adults and juveniles in certain communities, we can target our limited resources for post-release support, supervision and aftercare towards areas most affected by reentry, supporting neighborhood-based interventions and local policies that incorporate safe reintegration into community economic development strategies.

Underlying all of these recommendations is a commitment to public safety strategies driven by solid data and analysis. There exists now a wealth of proven and promising approaches that can and should be implemented here in New Jersey. Public policy - state and local laws, regulations and practices - should support the goals of the state's programs.