More than three years ago, CoreCivic President and CEO Damon Hininger made a bold announcement on behalf of our company — that CoreCivic would take steps unprecedented in the public or private sectors to strengthen our reentry programming, delivering on our mission to reduce recidivism and better the public good.

Every CoreCivic employee, including correctional officers, chaplains, teachers, principals, treatment managers and counselors, would be at the center that mission, he said. It was an important milestone in the history of CoreCivic, and the response — from employees who have come to view reentry as our company’s purpose to government partners who have shown great enthusiasm for our innovative programming — has been deeply encouraging.

With the recent release of our Reentry Report, CoreCivic is proud to share that our company has met and even exceeded many of the goals that Damon set in his 2014 speech. We also have work to do in some areas, which is part of our process to constantly improve.

The report, which is an industry first, publicly details CoreCivic’s performance in five program areas:

• Educational Services, measured by the number of high school equivalency and industry-recognized certificates earned by inmates;
• Treatment and Behavioral Programs, measured by program completion rates;
• Chaplaincy and Religious Services, measured by program enrollments and completion rates;
• Reentry Services, measured by the development of new pro-social programs; and
• Victim Impact Programs, measured by enrollments and the expansion of the program to new facilities.

Areas where CoreCivic has met and exceeded expectations are examined in the report, as are places where our programs need improvement. It also includes insightful interviews with program heads on lessons learned and moving stories from staff about their life-changing, day-to-day work with inmates and residents.

In cases where CoreCivic surpassed original goals, our dedicated staff decided to go further and set even more ambitious targets. Where the company didn’t meet its program goals, staff members are adjusting their objectives, examining what needs to be improved, and working closely with government partners, community groups, outside reentry experts and others to develop best practices and best thinking to close the gap.

“At CoreCivic, we understand that success will come not by assuming we know more than others what works,” Hininger said. “Rather, success will come when we couple the knowledge we’ve gained over 35 years in corrections with a community of ideas from our partners in government, business and nonprofit sectors. Success will come through our willingness to listen seriously to the needs and concerns of inmates, their families and the communities to which they will return. We continue to welcome all ideas and voices to this effort.”

We invite you to read the report. We will continue our work on this important issue, and will share another progress update this summer.