Last week, Right On Crime, together with a coalition of Louisiana partners, hosted a series of events designed to give members of the Louisiana House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee a deeper, clearer understanding of reentry in Louisiana—and, just as importantly, where our state can do better.

Alongside Pelican Institute, LABI, Smart on Crime, The Parole Project, and SSG Partners, we focused on one core message throughout the week: Louisiana is significantly underutilizing one of its most effective reentry tools—reentry courts—and expanding them is both realistic and achievable.

Seeing the System Up Close: Angola State Penitentiary

The series began with a tour of Angola State Penitentiary, where lawmakers saw firsthand the education, workforce training, and reentry preparation efforts taking place inside the facility. The visit sparked important conversations about how much preparation happens before release—and how critical it is that those efforts connect seamlessly to support in the community.

The takeaway was clear: reentry success depends not just on programming inside prison walls, but on what happens after release.

Reentry Courts in Practice: Learning from the Bench

That evening, legislators and partners gathered for a dinner discussion with Judge Crifasi, who shared his experience operating a reentry court in the 19th Judicial District.

Judge Crifasi walked through how reentry courts combine accountability, judicial oversight, treatment, and employment support to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes. His remarks put a human face on the policy discussion. Judge Crifasi demonstrated that, with real buy in from system stakeholders, reentry courts work.

The Gap—and the Opportunity

Throughout the week, Right On Crime emphasized a critical data point drawn from Pelican Institute research: only 19 percent of Louisiana judicial districts currently have access to a reentry court. That figure stands in stark contrast to many neighboring states, where reentry courts are far more widely available and routinely used as a public safety and workforce tool.

In other words, Louisiana is not lacking proof that reentry courts work—we are lacking access.

Just as important, we made clear that expansion is not a hypothetical goal. During the House ACJ hearing, two key points were reinforced:

  • The Louisiana Supreme Court has indicated that funding is available to support reentry court expansion.
  • The Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPSC) has stated that it has additional programming capacity to support more reentry court participants.

Taken together, these facts matter. They mean that expanding reentry courts is not only smart policy, it is doable policy.

Moving From Awareness to Action

The final House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee hearing tied the week together, allowing legislators to hear directly from DPSC staff and other stakeholders about release numbers, workforce impacts, transitional gaps, and reentry outcomes.

After seeing programs on the ground, hearing from the bench, and reviewing the data, one conclusion stood out: Louisiana has an immediate opportunity to expand reentry courts in a way that improves public safety, strengthens the workforce, and uses existing resources more effectively.

Right On Crime is grateful for the engagement of lawmakers and partners throughout this series. These conversations are an important step, but they are only the beginning. With leadership, coordination, and a willingness to scale what already works, Louisiana can bring reentry courts to more districts and deliver better outcomes for communities across the state. We look forward to continuing this work and helping turn this opportunity into lasting reform.