The Bail Project and Vera Institute Approaches to Justice Reform
The following paper analyzes the Bail Project and Vera Institute and their approaches’ effectiveness and sustainability. The Bail Project is a non-profit institution that reduces the number of people in pretrial detention in the United States of America (Smiley, 2019). The project offers legal defense and post-bail support and aims to end pretrial detention for individuals less capable of affording cash bail. Morgan (2019) suggests that a project is a practical approach since it funds people incapable of paying bail and allows them to be released while they await court hearings. Moreover, the plan provides ancillary services like legal defense, effectively reducing the number of people in pretrial detention. The project is a sustainable approach since it is a nationwide effective financial model that helps millions. It is a scalable method since it has a partnership model that can be adopted in different regions. The bail project offers an effective and practical solution for pretrial detention for many individuals.
The Vera Institute of Justice is an independent research and policy organization that develops and implements initiatives that drive changes in the criminal justice system. It collaborates with government agencies and local and international organizations to foster meaningful outcomes, such as reducing disparities and increasing fairness in the justice system (Jeffers, 2019). It is a practical approach to achieving significant reforms since it is collaborative and evidence-based. Its approach is grounded in research and data to determine areas that require reform while collaborating with governmental agencies (Wool et al., 2019).
Its system is sustainable since it can generate its funding stream and secure resources and partnerships. The institute’s approach is scalable since its initiatives can be adopted in different locations. The evidence-based practice contributes to its scalability since the reforms addressed are data-based. Therefore, the bail project and Vera Institute have important initiatives that are scalable, effective, and work to reduce societal disparities.
References
Jeffers, J. L. (2019). Justice is not blind: Disproportionate incarceration rate of people of color. Social Work in Public Health, 34(1), 113-121. Web.
Morgan, C. (2019). Bail fail: The issues of money bail for the indigent. Available at SSRN 3457895. Web.
Smiley, C. (2019). Money for freedom: Cash bail, incarceration, and reentry. In K. M. Middlemass & C. Smiley (eds.), Prisoner reentry in the 21st century (pp. 345–356). Routledge.
Wool, J., Shih, A., & Chang, M. (2019). Paid in Full: A Plan to End Money Injustice in New Orleans. Vera Institute of Justice.