概括
Biden-Harris政府应通过提供资源来帮助在该领域工作的初创公司，特别是那些在监禁期间及以后为个人创建解决方案的新兴创业公司，从而激励独特的监狱技术创新计划。该计划将在几个主要的政府机构，联邦和州监狱系统以及私营部门的合作伙伴关系中结构结构。对于参与的初创公司，该计划将促进技术创新，提供疾病的措施，连接可行的产品市场解决方案并建立无股权的资金机会。对于服刑和联邦判决的个人，该计划将在矫正系统中，创造潜在的就业机会并降低累犯率的同时改善康复工作。对于更广泛的社会利益，该计划将刺激经济增长，创造更强大的社区，并为更公平的成果做出贡献。
挑战和机会
美国有highest numberof incarcerated individuals worldwide: the U.S. prison population numbers nearly 1.9 million. Recidivism rates are equally astonishing. Of the over 600,000 individuals released from state and federal prisons each year, more than two-thirds are rearrested within three years of release.一半的重架随后被重新审议。
累犯的成本非常高。累犯费用纳税人每年至少至少有3.66亿美元，一次累犯事件估计将施加多达15万美元的纳税人负担。累犯也有massive social costs。Continuous reincarceration harms communities, breaks families, and contributes to generational systemic poverty. To break this cycle, we as a nation need to rethink how we approach incarceration and assign more importance to reintegration efforts.
累犯周期的主要贡献者是惩罚措施优先于美国监狱系统中的康复措施。这种惩罚性措施可以将囚犯与朋友，家人甚至儿童隔离了数年或几十年。此外，监狱经常将被监禁的人分解为低级卑鄙的任务，而不是提供有意义的工作，而不是提供可以为有意义的工作设置有意义的工作的教育工具的访问权，而不是提供有意义的工作。被监禁的人通常缺乏在外部生活所需的技能。他们没有财务手段或可靠的工作前景。他们被断裂的人际关系和缺乏应对机制所困扰。再加上被标记为前罪犯的污名，他们经常被迫陷入无效的行为和熟悉但社会上不可接受的行动。而且不可避免地，许多人属于相同的模式并重新犯下。
It is also worth considering the economic benefits our nation is failing to capture from formerly incarcerated individuals.根据美国商会的说法，由于以前被监禁的求职者排除在劳动力之外，估计每年的GDP估计为78-8.87亿美元。在监狱中的工作机会。
我们可以做得更好。研究表明，当被监禁的人获得访问工具，使他们能够与可以帮助他们的人和资源联系起来，这些人就可以更好地重新进入社会。这样的工具包括定期的视频和语音通话以及与朋友和亲人的文本以及电子邮件。它们包括参加身体，精神和精神计划以及社区主导的活动的能力，包括计划和活动offered through digital services。重要的是，它们包括通过硬件管理的在线教育计划和学习平台的访问，旨在使学习更轻松，更健壮，并与现代的数字化高技能方法保持一致。
Indeed, there is a growing market for hardware, software, and other digital innovations designed to work within U.S. carceral systems. Startups focused on the prison-tech space have the knowledge and will to replace archaic, ineffective approaches to rehabilitation with more meaningful products and services. Unfortunately, prison-tech startups also face challenges not encountered by startups in other tech subsectors.
首先，许多监狱技术初创公司正在创建针对较小市场的产品和解决方案。对于这些玩家而言，寻找客户意味着与州和联邦监狱系统保持一致，这是一家新兴技术公司不熟悉的。
Second, prison-tech startups, like all startups, often struggle to find funding. But while other startups can woo private funders with promises of equity, board seats, and concrete financial returns, success for these startups often includes bettering lives and fostering meaningful experiences, measures that cannot be quantified through revenue alone. Many investment firms have little interest in funding such “tech for social good” enterprises.
Third, prison-tech startups invest substantial time and money into including equality, accessibility and safety in their offerings. As such, access to this type of beneficial technology should not be limited to only carceral institutions with larger budgets to purchase them. At the same time, too many existing goods and services purport to serve incarcerated individuals equally and justly but are actually designed to maximize revenue generation. For example, systems like TRULINCS and JPay are pay-per-use services (for communication, money transfer, and other purposes) provided at extraordinarily high costs to incarcerated individuals and their networks on the outside — often at costs so high that the critical opportunities for connection they provide are根本无法承受for those who need them most. Prison-tech products and services must be designed and used in ways that do not exploit, harm, or otherwise jeopardize the health and safety of incarcerated individuals and their families nor unduly burden individuals and their families with exorbitant costs per use.
Plan of Action
The Biden-Harris Administration should launch a cross-agency initiative to support prison-tech startups. The initiative would offer federal grants to fund private companies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) providing beneficial prison-tech goods and services: e.g., carceral learning platforms and tools that can prepare incarcerated individuals to reenter society. The initiative should also provide incentives for prison-tech startups to hire formerly incarcerated individuals. Such incentives will create self-sustaining ecosystems that provide meaningful, long-term employment to former inmates, drive bottom-line success for prison-tech startups, and better communities in which startups are based.
相关机构
包括在倡议设计，管理和管理中包括的关键机构包括以下内容：
- Given its close ties to the current administration and track record of policy and initiative management, theWhite House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)将适合管理倡议。OSTP helps lead science and technology (S&T) efforts as they relate to budget alignment and policy implementation across the federal government. OSTP also works with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure that S&T efforts are being actively measured and evaluated. Finally, OSTP has experience working with state and local governments as well as with the private sector. For this initiative, OSTP would be specifically tasked with:
- 合作伙伴机构之间的协调。
- 收集和报告数据评估计划的有效性。
- 外展活动，包括举办业务圆桌会议和其他活动，以鼓励私营部门和州参与。
- Crafting guidance for participating states and startups, including participation requirements, sample frameworks, and best practices.
- General program management, oversight, and monitoring.
- 赠款机构，例如National Science Foundation (NSF)和教育部（ED）。Both NSF and ED have previously provided seed funding forseveralcarceral倡议。直到2020年，NSF支持了一项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）赠款，旨在为被监禁的人提供数字学习。NSF还具有支持特定领域中的技术开发，经验S＆T与社会科学和福利问题的耦合以及大型研发（R＆D）预算，可以为该倡议借鉴的大型研发（R＆D）预算所需的技术背景和专业知识。金博宝正规网址埃德（EdPromoting Reentry Success Through Continuity of Educational Opportunities (PRSCEO)学习。从该职位等研究中的经验和见解，可以作为NSF的高级合作伙伴，既建议和共同创建学习材料，尤其是帮助被监禁的人赚取GEDS并获得需求的技能的材料释放就业机会。
- TheSmall Business Administration (SBA)通过审查机构进度并协助赠款和招标公告来帮助NSF和ED实施SBIR计划。可以通过SBIR发布该倡议的赠款征求。此外，SBA的7（J）管理和技术援助计划可帮助小型企业赢得本地，州和联邦合同。7（j）计划指导小型企业通过政府取消指南的复杂性。可以利用该计划来支持新业务，以赢得联邦对其监狱技术产品和服务的支持。
- TheDepartment of Labor (DOL)通过其税收抵免(WOTC)一个工作机会nd Federal Bonding Program, can provide later-stage financial incentives for prison-tech startups. The 2014Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)还可以很好地支持以前被监禁的求职者，通过帮助恢复写作，面试技巧，工作安置和持续的技能开发后发行后。
- TheDepartment of Justice (DOJ)should be involved in setting guidelines relating to how prison-tech services handle inmate privacy, accessibility, and other issues related to civil rights. DOJ’s Civil Rights Team (CRT), in particular, can ensure that products and services funded through this initiative do not exploit vulnerable prison populations. DOJ is also well suited to provide input on current trends and needs within the American prison ecosystem. DOJ should closely advise OSTP on initiative management and should assist in shaping calls for grant proposals.
Program structure
As explained above, the proposed initiative comprises two pillars. The first pillar focuses on federal grant funding to help prison-tech startups launch. The second pillar focuses on later-stage financial incentives and market support that help prison-tech startups scale and achieve long-term financial sustainability, and that encourage prison-tech startups to provide good jobs to previously incarcerated individuals.
支柱1：联邦赠款
提供联邦赠款资金（即非股权资金），将鼓励创新的创业公司探索所需的监狱技术解决方案，同时最大程度地减少与在此类特定市场领域进行投资相关的风险。资助该计划的赠款部分的最佳选择是使用多种现有联邦资金工具的合并方法。
主要工具是Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)program. Under SBIR, companies are generally awarded up to $150,000 for a Phase I (P1) grant that runs for up to six months. Companies who successfully complete P1 and show favorable outcomes and market opportunities can become eligible for Phase II (P2) funding, which has a cap of $1 million for a two-year period of performance. This staggered approach requires companies to measure and demonstrate positive outcomes in order to be eligible for follow-on investments. We propose creating a specific prison-tech topic code for SBIR, which would allow NSF and ED to use this program to allocate prison-tech startup grants. Though SBIR funding generally does not go beyond P2, the federal government could consider adding Phase III (P3) funding opportunities for particularly promising prison-tech startups. In P3, companies would be eligible for awards of $5–10 million to scale up products and services to meet the needs of prisons nationwide. A summary of proposed SBIR award numbers and funding levels for this initiative is proposed below.
奖励号
| 阶段 | Period of Performance | Max. awards disbursed per cycle |
| 1 | 6 months — 1 year | 10 |
| 2 | 2年 | 5 |
| 3 | 美东时间。3年 | 2 |
估计资金水平（头五年）
| Year | Funding per phase | 总资金 |
| 1 | P1: $1,500,000 | $ 1,500,000 |
| 2 | P1: $1,500,000 P2：$ 2,500,000 |
$ 4,000,000 |
| 3 | P1: $1,500,000 P2：$ 2,500,000 |
$ 4,000,000 |
| 4 | P1: $1,500,000 P2：$ 2,500,000 P3: $5,000,000 |
$9,000,000 |
| 5 | P1: $1,500,000 P2：$ 2,500,000 P3: $5,000,000 |
$9,000,000 |
另外，数字公平法— part of the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill—includes a total of $2.75 billion over five years to provide digital training and skill-development opportunities to low-income and disadvantaged populations, which includes those formerly incarcerated. Through this act (and specifically through its “Spurring Targeted Action through Competitive Grants”ARM）国家电信和信息管理局（NTIA）将制定一年一度的$ 1.25亿美元竞争赠款计划，以支持各个团体，联盟和/或感兴趣社区进行的数字包含项目。拜登·哈里斯（Biden-Harris）政府应探讨将NTIA赠款包括在监狱技术初创企业倡议中的选择。
支柱2：后期财务激励和市场支持
该支柱的目的是在业务启动和长期财政可持续性之间的关键时期内支持监狱技术初创公司 - 该时期当许多初创公司失败时。Providing funding, markets and overall business support during this crucial time period ensures continuity of offering for the institution as well as ensuring small business thrives.
SBA和DOL应该合作，为监狱技术初创公司，尤其是雇用以前被监禁个人的初创公司提供持续的财务激励措施，例如，扩展税收抵免和债券计划。作为该支柱的一部分，DOL的WOTC应为每年至少赚取至少65,000美元的员工每年每年每年$ 19,600。1DOL’s Federal Bonding program should also be extended to cover the first 12 months or more of employment. Finally, the Biden-Harris administration should explore opportunities for retention bonuses or additional tax credits that encourage prison-tech startups to retain formerly incarcerated individuals beyond the first 12 months of employment.
SBA和DOL还应帮助制作一项企业到监狱的产品匹配服务。这项服务将（1）允许监狱技术初创公司专注于建立正确的解决方案而不必担心客户的收购，并且（2）向监狱管理公司信心，他们对他们购买的监狱技术和服务都是可信和测试的。作为这项服务的一部分，SBA和DOL应该协助企业了解机构需求，并了解如何浏览联邦和州的合同流程。SBA和DOL还可以尝试帮助监狱技术初创公司在诸如城市和县监狱，少年确定设施以及国家资助的医疗保健设施和医院等机构中确定补充客户群超越监狱系统。这样可以确保对业务的持续财政支持，并通过大型客户群扩大产品支持，这是所有初创企业都需要的。
如果第118国会决定重新授权ESRA，阿里敦促帮助委员会通过优先考虑以下政策来加强我们的教育体系。
大部分演出工人是有色人种，他们暂时和不受监管的工作的性质可能会使他们容易受到经济不稳定和工作场所虐待的影响。为了增加对公平工作的保护，劳动部应建立申诉专员的公平工作办公室。
Maternal mortality is a crisis in the United States. The Biden-Harris Administration should establish an AI Center of Excellence to bring together data sources and then analyze, diagnose, and address maternal health disparities, all while demonstrating trustworthy and responsible AI principles.
To address problems of algorithmic harm, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) should invest in the development of comprehensive AI auditing tools, and federal agencies with the charge of protecting civil rights and liberties should collaborate with NIST to develop these tools and push for comprehensive system audits.