Stated plainly
What we will not claim
You will hear a lot of overstatement in this category, so here is ours.
We do not claim this app reduces recidivism. No reentry app has published randomized evidence that it does. The one trial that directly tested whether reminders reduce probation violations found no significant effect.
Reminders are proven to change attendance, not reoffending. Those are different measures and we will not conflate them.
We will not present our own usage numbers as research. Everything on this page is peer-reviewed or from a federal statistical agency.
If your evaluation office wants to test whether this works, we will support a real study and publish the result either way.
How a jurisdiction offers it
Three ways in, depending on how involved you want to be
Just tell people about it
Free. We give you printable cards and a QR code for release packets, probation offices and reentry centers. Nothing to procure, nothing to sign, no data flows to us.
Sponsor your county's data
We build and maintain the county layer for your jurisdiction — your probation office, your courts, your general assistance office, your transit program — and everyone in your county gets full access at no charge to them.
Staff tools
A dashboard for case managers: shared checklists, document status and appointment confirmation — without turning the person's app into a monitoring tool. We will be explicit with users about anything you can see.
On surveillance
This is a tool for the person, not a monitoring product
There is no location tracking, no check-in verification and no silent reporting to an agency. If we build anything an officer can see, the person will be told exactly what that is before it is turned on. That is also what makes people actually use it — and a tool nobody opens does not help you either.
See it for yourself
A demo login — not access to anyone's account
You do not need access to the people you supervise, and we would not give it to you. What we can give you is a demo account loaded with sample data, so you can walk through exactly what someone in your jurisdiction sees before you decide anything.
Demo account
Request credentials from info@freeandforward.com
The demo includes the full checklist and calendar, the document vault, the resume and cover letter builder, the second-chance job board and the application tracker — populated with realistic sample data, not a real person's information.
Tell us your agency and we will send login details the same day. No sales call required, and nothing is installed on your systems.
What it looks like
The view from the person's phone
The same screens your demo login opens. No dashboard, no monitoring view — this is what someone in your jurisdiction actually uses.
The checklist, with due dates and reminders
Check-ins and appointments in one view
Documents stored on their own phone
Paying for it
Most jurisdictions fund this from money they already have
Second Chance Act
$111 million in the most recent cycle. Award ceiling $900,000. Reentry technology and case coordination are eligible uses.
Byrne JAG
Formula funding to state administering agencies plus direct local awards. Commonly used for supervision technology and reentry services.
DOL Reentry Employment Opportunities
$110 million for program year 2026, with up to $30 million to national and regional intermediaries.
WIOA
Justice-involved individuals are a priority population for local workforce development boards.
Medicaid 1115 reentry waivers
Nineteen states approved and more pending. Pre-release case management and care coordination are covered services.
State reentry appropriations
Many states carry a dedicated line. We will help your grants office write the technology component.
Talk to us
Tell us your jurisdiction, roughly how many people you supervise or release a year, and what you are trying to fix. We will tell you honestly whether we can help.
info@freeandforward.comSources
Council of State Governments Justice Center, Supervision Violations and Their Impact on Incarceration, 2024 (2021 data) · Bureau of Justice Statistics, Probation and Parole in the United States, 2024, NCJ 311290 · Fishbane, Ouss & Shah, “Behavioral nudges reduce failure to appear for court,” Science, 2020 · Science Advances, Santa Clara County court reminder trial, 2025 · Hastings et al., Arkansas Community Corrections appointment reminder trial, 2021 · Zottola et al., Criminology & Public Policy, 2022 · Reason Foundation, From Prison to Paperwork: A 50-State Survey of Policies on Reentry Identification Documents, February 2026 · Federal Register, Annual Determination of Average Cost of Incarceration Fee, FY2024.
Never forget the past. Learn from it. Move free and forward.
Contact
info@freeandforward.comFree and Forward LLC · 89 Moody Road, Enfield, CT 06082
Free and Forward is an informational and organizational tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operating on behalf of any court, department of corrections, probation or parole department, or law enforcement agency.