Reports and Resources

Partnership for Safety and Justice Prisoner Support Directory

• Updated annually by PSJ, the Prisoner Support Directory contains national and northwest regional resources for incarcerated people. We also offer a Transitions Directory for folks in Oregon looking for support in their transition out of prison.

How to Advocate for an Inmate with Mental or Emotional Needs

• How to Advocate for an Inmate with Mental or Emotional Needs is a brochure with resources and information for family members of incarcerated people with mental illnesses. View a print version of the pamphlet.

Prison Activist Resource Center Prisoner Support Directory

• The Prison Activist Resource Center has a national Prisoner Support Directory of resources for incarcerated people.

Oregon CURE 

• Oregon CURE organizes support groups around Oregon for family members of incarcerated people. Several useful publications are available on their web site.

National Directory of Programs for Women with Criminal Justice Involvement

• The National Directory of Programs for Women with Criminal Justice Involvement lists programs and resources in all 50 states for women involved in any stage of the criminal justice system. Created by the Women's Prison Association and National Institute of Corrections.

Critical Resistance

• Critical Resistance is a national grassroots organization committed to ending society's use of prisons and policing as an answer to social problems. Their website also has resources and publications for prisoners, former prisoners, and their families.

FAMM  (Families Against Mandatory Minimums)

• FAMM is a national organization that works to reform state and federal mandatory minium sentencing laws. They produce a useful resource Frequently Asked Questions about How to Find and Work with a Lawyer

Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook

• Created by the National Lawyers Guild and Center for Constitutional Rights, the Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook is a free, comprehensive resource for filing federal civil rights complaints.

ACLU Know Your Rights Fact Sheets

• The American Civil Liberties Union has created several fact sheets for prisoners including Know Your Rights sheets on mail, the Prison Litigation Reform Act, healthcare, and more.

Prison Legal News (PLN) 

• PLN is the resource for prison-related journalism in the U.S.

Reports and Publications

One in Thirty-One: The Long Reach of American Corrections

• One in Thirty-One is a 2009 report from the Pew Center on the States detailing the expansion of America’s criminal justice system.

A Human Rights Approach to Prison Management

• Handbook for managing prisons within a human rights framework. Written by the International Center for Prison Studies in Great Britain.

Evidence-Based Public Policy Options to Reduce Future Prison Construction, Criminal Justice Costs, and Crime Rates

• From the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, this report reviews a wide range of programs across the country and concludes that Washington could save money and promote public safety by investing in a variety of programs rather than in prison construction.

Other Information

Oregon Department of Corrections

• The Oregon DOC web site contains statistics on Oregon's prison system, DOC rules and policies, contact information for superintendents and administrators, and other useful information.