Data Development
Working Group

Research

What sets the work of URO apart is our focus on data that centers the testimonies of people impacted by the criminal justice system.

When URO was first founded, scholarly research on successful reentry models that worked to lower or eliminate barriers was sparse.

More importantly, none of the research studies were specific to URO’s local impact zone: Tompkins County, NY.

URO’s priority was to assemble a Data Development Working Group of professors and graduate students from Cornell and Ithaca College. They were tasked with conducting a qualitative study to determine the most significant systemic barriers to successful reentry in Tompkins County.

Data Development Team

The Data Development Working Group oversees qualitative and quantitative research to assess barriers to reentry at a micro-level and determine what resources and services are working well for people in reentry while identifying significant gaps that need to be addressed.

The group was formed in 2017 as part of a collaborative qualitative research project to identify the most prominent systemic barriers to reentry in Tompkins County. The project engaged 54 formerly incarcerated people living in Tompkins County, service providers, and governmental actors.

The project was funded by an Engaged Cornell Grant and completed by a team of 3 faculty researchers and 60 undergraduate students from Cornell University and Ithaca College, in partnership with the nonprofit Opportunities, Alternatives, and Resources (OAR). This data, presented in three reports on Housing, Employment, and Health, guides the areas that URO prioritizes for systemic change, and lends significant credibility to the recommendations URO makes. URO’s continued research includes best practices for reimagining public safety and policing, assessing the effectiveness of the Sunflower Houses Program, measuring county-wide recidivism rates, racial disparities, and incarceration trends.