Uplifting the Directly Impacted in our Democracy - September State Updates

September 28, 2023

Legislative sessions may be out for the year, but at Dream.Org we know that fall is the perfect time to build our coalitions and strategy, and come into 2024 prepared to make monumental change. This October, we also have two major events.

First, we are elevating criminal justice system innovation at the national level with the final culmination of our Justice Innovation Prize at SOCAP23. Through this prize, we are making a $1M investment to uplift cutting edge solutions by directly impacted people to disrupt the prison industry. We’ve already provided each finalist with a $50,000 cash award for them to turn their vision into action. Learn more about each finalist and how their experiences with the criminal justice system motivated them to harness technology to change it. At the conclusion of the pitches, the Selection Committee will recommend up to three awardees to each receive a $250,000 Justice Innovation Prize. If you are in the Bay area, please join us in-person for this event!

Second, we are celebrating the graduation for our third annual Dream Justice cohort. This year we have trained 26 directly impacted advocates from 20 states on a rigorous advocacy curriculum that will help them be more effective changemakers in their communities. The graduation will take place in St. Louis on October 29th, and will include remarks from leading advocates and legislators, and a reception. Let us know if you would like to join.

Here’s a summary of our state activities, starting with a win in Wisconsin:

Wisconsin:

The team in Wisconsin is busy preparing for 2024, when we will focus on parole and probation reform. In collaboration with a local organization, FREE, Dream.Org is also working to introduce a bill that would extremely limit the shackling of pregnant women while they are incarcerated. But first, we had to play defense. Dream.Org staff member Brittany Lee recently testified against SB309. This bill would have required the Department of Corrections to recommend anyone on supervision for revocation if charged with a crime - which would have disastrous results and increased the number of people in Wisconsin prisons. The author of the bill withdrew their bill-stating it was the testimony of those directly impacted- as the reason for his decision.

Arizona:

The Arizona team is actively engaging stakeholders as they continue to prepare for the 2024 legislative session. Meetings with key agency directors concerning the Early Release bill have already taken place, and more are scheduled. The team is also solidifying support from local organizations for both the Early Release and Independent Oversight bills. Potential sponsors for each bill have been identified and are currently being approached for commitment. Based on positive feedback from lawmakers and stakeholders, we are optimistic that the 2024 legislative session will be our most successful yet!

Arkansas:

In August our staff member Ruby Welch represented Dream.Org in a panel at the International Community Justice Association where she spoke about dignity for incarcerated women. Ruby continues to provide classes to educate incarcerated individuals in the Pulaski County jail, increasing their likelihood of a successful re-entry upon release.

Kentucky:

Our Kentucky team continues to work on blocking the Drug Induced Homicide (DIH) bill as well as the strategy to move Clean Slate legislation forward. Our Campaign Coordinator, John Bowman, continues to implement the “Public Health is Public Safety'' coalition. The mission of the coalition is to advocate for compassionate, equitable, and evidence-based drug policies that prioritize public health and safety. This fall will be a busy season for building the coalition and planning for activities in 2024, as well as defending against new, harmful legislation being proposed.

Mississippi:

In Mississippi, Empathy Leader Cynetra Freeman continues to work on the proper implementation of SB 2082, which will reduce financial burdens on incarcerated Mississippians. For the next session, expungement will be the key issue. The team is currently focused on developing the strategy for that work. Cynetra and team are also preparing for their annual Rethinking Reentry Conference in October. Dream.Org’s Organizing Director, Sean Wilson, will be one of the speakers at the event.

Missouri:

In Missouri, our Empathy Leader ML Smith is hard at work preparing for the 2024 legislative session. She is currently planning events around the state to raise consciousness about criminal justice and that will take place at the end of 2023. These events will educate and galvanize individuals throughout Missouri to become more involved in criminal justice advocacy.

Oregon:

Dream.Org’s theory of change is to empower directly impacted, local Empathy Network Leaders. In Oregon, we were proud to partner with Nova Sweet and the Family Preservation Project this year to pass HB 2535, which provides Doulas to pregnant incarcerated women, and HB 4146 (2022), which provided funding to conduct an extensive Gender Informed Practices Assessment of Oregon's only women's prison; the extensive report that resulted is being used to improve conditions for women and girls in the Oregon correctional system. Given how effective Nova and her team have become, we reached out to share that we would be removing Oregon from our 2024 legislative priority list so that we can focus on other state leaders who need more support from our national team. We are so proud of the incredible work Nova has been doing, and will continue to root for their success. This is central to our theory of change: in the long run, we want all of our local leaders across the country to have built the advocacy capacity that Nova and the Family Preservation Project have developed in Oregon.

Pennsylvania:

In September, the Pennsylvania team continued to advocate for HB 900, the Pennsylvania Dignity bill. The bill passed unanimously in the House in the spring and conversations with Senate Judiciary Chairwoman Elisabeth Baker have given us hope that the bill will advance in the Senate. Throughout September we met with our partners and Senate Judiciary members in Pennsylvania in an effort to get this important legislation over the finish line. In the coming months we have a great opportunity to move PA Dignity out of committee, to a floor vote, and to Governor Josh Shapiro’s desk for his signature.

Washington:

During the legislative interim period, our Empathy Leaders continue to educate the community and legislators in the state of Washington. The work never stops and our leaders are building and strategizing for the 2024 session - focusing on making the recently passed HB 1324 retroactive, increasing the bill’s impact in minimizing the legacy of unfair juvenile sentencing.

The Dream.Org Justice team and our incredible Empathy Leaders continue to fight to positively transform the criminal justice system in our country. None of this work would be possible without your partnership. I look forward to sharing additional updates with you in November.