Already stressed state budgets are shouldering an extra burden to cover expensive emergency room (ER) treatment for toothaches and other avoidable dental ailments, according to a  report by the Pew Center on the States.

As part of the Public Safety Performance Project's work with states to improve public safety and control corrections costs, we collaborated with two of the nation's leading polling firms to explore public opinion on sentencing and corrections issues across the country.

Adam Gelb discussed the expansion of Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation and Enforcement (HOPE) program and, more broadly, how new evidence about what works to break the cycle of crime and imprisonment is helping states cut corrections costs and enhance public safety.

This 2011 report looked at how these tools can help officials to better identify offenders at a high risk of reoffending, while also pinpointing the types of supervision and services that are most likely to prevent future criminal behavior and slow the revolving door of America’s prisons.

This May 2011 issue brief  explored how Arizona’s innovative reforms have been able to show early signs of reducing the rate of prison growth while also making communities safer by decreasing crime by probationers.

More than four in ten offenders nationwide return to state prison within three years of their release despite a massive increase in state spending on prisons, according to this 2011 report.

This 2010 brief by the Pew Center on the States explored why Kentucky's prison population expanded and detailed the steps state leaders were taking to contain correction costs while protecting public safety.