Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act
"[MRRA] smacks of common sense"
-St. Cloud Times
One size does not fit all for individuals under the Department of Corrections' care. We need to change the way we think about corrections care.
To get the best correctional outcomes – safer prisons for individuals and staff, safer communities for Minnesota families, and successfully preparing people who are incarcerated to return to their community – we must tailor our approach to each individual's specific needs and risk.
The Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act (MRRA) would shift our focus from how much time people spend in prison, to how people spend their time. A person’s path to rejoining his or her community should begin on the day they start serving their sentence. The MRRA creates incentives for people in the custody of the Department of Corrections to participate in and make progress toward individualized goals they are deeply involved in setting when they start their time in prison.
More Information
MRRA Fact Sheet
MRRA FAQ Sheet
Legislative House File 2349
Media Coverage
MinnPost 5.25.21
MinnPost 5.13.21
Alexandria Echo Press 4.26.21
Minnesota Lawyer 4.1.21
St. Cloud Times 3.26.21
Pioneer Press, Brainerd Dispatch, Grand Forks Herald 3.21.21
MPR 3.19.21
Rochester Post Bulletin 3.19.21
St. Cloud Times 3.19.21
Letters of Support
Stakeholders Share Support for MRRA
About the MRRA
The following whiteboard video provides an overview of the MRRA.MRRA Expert Testimony
Watch the three videos below to hear experts provide testimony on the MRRA legislation.The Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act
Four Main Components of the MRRA
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Individualized Rehabilitation Plan (IRP)
Each person will participate in a robust assessment that is used to set concrete, personalized rehabilitation goals. The incarcerated person will work with a multi-disciplinary support team to set individualized goals everyone agrees on. |
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Earned Release Individuals can earn a reduction of their sentence by participating in the rehabilitation prescribed by their Individualized Rehabilitation Plan (IRP) and achieving the mutually-agreed upon goals. Examples include:
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Earned Supervision Time Reduction Once released, people can again earn a shortened period of community supervision, known as Supervision Abatement, by meeting the goals of a personalized plan. Examples of these tailored goals include:
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Potential Impact on Sentences
The graph below illustrates how the MRRA differs from the current system for an individual sentenced to 100 months.
What This Means For The MN DOC
- It's good for the safety of Minnesota communities: The MRRA gives people incentives to make progress and change their lives while in prison.
- It's smart management: The MRRA incentivizes individuals with the goals of early release by laying out clear benchmarks for the work required toward growth and success. Without incentives, individuals have less direction and more opportunity for problems, which leads to less safe prisons.
As these incentivized rehabilitation and release opportunities are implemented, fewer individuals will be under DOC care, allowing corrections staff to focus their time on caring for fewer people while providing more direction and support. The result is a safer, more cost-effective corrections system.
Individuals who earn early release are able to participate in the state's economy and contribute to their family and community earlier and more constructively.
- It's proven effective: Across the country, 38 states have a fairness policy that allows for earned early release. They have proven that earned release policies improve correctional outcomes while also saving the state millions of dollars.
Missouri, with a similar policy, saw its prison population decline by 18% with no impact on recidivism rates.
Maryland is currently on track to save $80 million during its first decade after implementing a similar policy.
Comparing the States
The map below shows states with earned release policies in place.