What a few dollars can do
 For a tiny fraction of the
$2 billion Corrections budget, CAPPS can advocate for:
Investment in community-based treatment for mental
illness and substance abuse.
Reassessment
of sentencing guidelines to ensure proportionate,
cost-effective punishment.
Provision of adequate treatment, education and other
rehabilitative programs to prisoners.
Adoption
of a presumption that people will be paroled after
serving their minimum sentences unless they pose a
verifiable current risk to public safety or have
significant prison misconduct.
Reinstatement of sentencing credits that meet national
norms so prisoners with good institutional records can
earn modest amounts.
Expansion of prisoner re-entry programs to allow people
to return to the community when they are nearing their
first parole eligibility dates.
Making the parole process fairer; ensure that parole
conditions are reasonable and necessary; limit prison
returns for technical parole violations to people who
pose an actual danger to the public.
We pay an average of more than $34,000 for each of the
44,000 men and women we imprison. If CAPPS had the
equivalent of $10 per prisoner, it could:
Work effectively with legislators and
other policy makers.
Develop coalitions with other key
stakeholders
Mount a broad-based public education
campaign
Develop well-researched proposals for
reducing corrections spending
Maintain an engaging website, publish our newsletter, draft position papers
Respond promptly to the media, legislators, community members and prisoners
Build and mobilize a membership base that will influence
policymakers
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