U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Justice Programs 

Bureau of Justice Assistance 

FS 000316 • SEPTEMBER 2009 

Back on Track: A Problem-Solving 

Reentry Court 

By Jacquelyn L. Rivers, BJA, and Lenore Anderson, San Francisco 

District Attorney’s Office 

Program Overview 

In 2005, Kamala Harris, District Attorney for San Francisco, launched Back on Track 

(BOT), a reentry initiative aimed at reducing recidivism among low-level drug-trafficking 

defendants. Combining strict accountability with real opportunities for self improvement, 

BOT reports that less than 10 percent of its graduates reoffend—a success achieved, 

moreover, at a fraction of the cost of traditional prosecution and jail time. 

BOT participants are young adults, ages 18–30, who are facing charges for their 

first felony offense1 for a low-level drug sale. At charging, prosecuting attorneys refer 

potential participants to BOT.2 Candidates attend a program orientation and participate 

in an intensive community service program for a 6-week probationary period. Only 

defendants who complete 6 weeks of community service and decide to participate are 

eligible for enrollment. They plead guilty to charges and have their formal sentencing 

deferred and, after enrolling, start a rigorous, 12–18 month program with goals set 

by an individualized personal responsibility plan (PRP). The PRP mandates concrete 

achievements in employment, education, parenting, and child support and requires 

participants to perform up to 220 hours of community service. In addition, enrollees 

are closely supervised. They meet three times per week with a BOT case manager and 

appear in BOT reentry court three times per month, at which a superior court judge and 

prosecutor track their progress in meeting program requirements and completing the PRP. 

To graduate from the program, participants must find employment, enroll in school full 

time, and comply with all the terms of their PRPs. At graduation, the court dismisses the 

original case, leaving the graduate with a clean record.3 If an individual still enrolled in 

the program is charged with a new crime or fails to meet BOT requirements, he or she 

is removed from BOT, and a judge can immediately impose a jail or prison sentence. 

1In California, all drug sales cases are felonies rather than misdemeanors. 

2Eligibility requirements follow: first-time low-level offenders ages 18–30 with no history of guns or gangs, no sales or 

possession at or near a school, and no prior violent history who are charged with sale of or possession of less than 5 

grams of a controlled substance. 

3At graduation, the defendant’s case is dismissed and the record sealed. 

4 Criminal justice problem solving seeks to respond creatively and effectively to local crime and to the individual 

problems that often fuel crime. For an introductory fact sheet, see www.courtinnovation.org/_uploads/documents/ 

Problem_Solving_Justice_in_the_US[1].pdf. 

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) 

strongly supports the use of problemsolving and community courts and the 

implementation of such strategies through 

communitywide collaborations. Research 

has demonstrated that, if implemented 

properly, the problem-solving approach4 

can reduce crime, improve coordination 

among justice agencies, enhance services 

to victims, and increase public trust in 

the administration of justice—results that 

are distinctly in line with BJA’s mission to 

achieve safer communities. Bearing this 

in mind, BJA persists in its search to find 

and showcase evidence-based programs 

that effectively implement problem-solving 

practices. Funded through a BJA grant to 

Goodwill Industries of San Francisco and 

San Mateo and Marin Counties, Back on 

Track is one such program: a promising 

approach for prosecutors nationwide who 

want to redirect low-level, nonaddicted 

drug sellers away from incarceration and 

into productive, crime-free lives.

continued on p. 2 

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

KEY POINTS 

•	 Over	a	2-year	period,	Back	on	Track	

(BOT)	has	reduced	recidivism	among	

its graduates to less than 10 percent. In 

comparison, 53 percent of California’s 

drug offenders return to prison or jail 

within	2	years	of	release.*		

•	 100	percent	of	BOT	graduates	

complete	up	to	220	hours	of	

community service, working in such 

diverse settings as soup kitchens, 

shelters, senior facilities, and 

mortuaries.

1 • Fact Sheet 
Participant Benefits

BOT provides its participants with a full range of opportunities:

• While in the program, participants have access to: •	 Paving	the	way	for	systemic	change	in	

KEY POINTS (cont.) 

corrections	practice,	BOT	has:

o	 Challenged the assumption that 

incarcerating low-level offenders 

is the best way to achieve public 

safety. 

o	 Been adopted by the National 

District Attorneys Association as a 

model program. 

o	 Been replicated in Atlanta, is under 

replication in Dallas, and is being 

considered for replication in other 

communities. 

*California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 

Office of Research, Recidivism Data, 2004, 2005, 

2006. See www.cdcr.ca.gov/Reports_Research/ 

Offender_Information_Services_Branch/Offender_ 

Information_Reports.html. 

CONTACT US 

Bureau of Justice Assistance 

Office of Justice Programs 

810 Seventh Street NW. 

Washington, DC 20531 

Phone: 202–616–6500 

Toll-free: 1–866–859–2687 

E-mail: AskBJA@usdoj.gov 

Web site: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA 

o	 Job training and placement. 

o	 Union-based pre-apprenticeships. 

o	 Intensive case management. 

o	 Goodwill Industries’ paid Transitional Jobs Program. 

o Educational opportunities, including GED (general educational development) 

classes and assistance with applications and financial aid at San Francisco 

City College and other colleges. 

o	 Interactive monthly life skills workshops. 

o	 Parenting support. 

o Mental health services. 

o	 Other referral services as needed. 

• Upon successful completion of the program, graduates: 

o	 Have their case dismissed. 

o	 Can have their arrest record sealed. 

Partners 

BOT brings essential organizations together to link supervision and accountability 

with opportunity. Partners include: 

• San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. 

• San Francisco Superior Court. 

• Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties, and other 

key community-based services. 

• Other community agencies. 

• The business and labor communities. 

Cost Savings 

BOT costs approximately $5,000 per participant, compared with $10,000 to 

adjudicate a case and nearly $50,000 per year to house a low-level offender in 

prison or jail. 

2 • Fact Sheet