The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC), under the leadership of Director Heidi Washington, has established itself as a national leader in data-driven decision making. Director Washington and Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration have demonstrated a deep commitment to enacting criminal justice reforms, with a particular focus on connecting formerly incarcerated folks to post-release employment through their pioneering Vocational Village program. Their work has begun to pay dividends, as evidenced by Michigan’s record-low, and continuing to decline, incarceration rate over the past several years.

MDOC’s partnership with Recidiviz builds upon previous reform efforts, including the 2013 justice reinvestment initiative and the historic 2021 reforms to the state’s jail system. Timely, actionable insights from the Recidiviz platform equip MDOC to safely and equitably reduce incarceration and improve post-release outcomes for justice-involved folks and their communities.