“RSVP is the first violence-prevention program of its kind in the nation incorporating victim impact, offender accountability and community involvement to reduce recidivism,” she said.

The program is designed not only to “empower” the survivors of violent crimes, but also to “pioneer efforts in the community by mobilizing public awareness initiatives,” she said.

She also noted that the program focuses on reshaping violent offenders’ attitudes.

“The program holds offenders accountable for violence by focusing on redefining and restructuring their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that fuel male role violence and on repairing the harm caused to the victims and to the community,” she said.

Schwartz attributed RSVP’s success to its employment of ex-offenders and victims, as well as its “comprehensive restoration program.”

“An RSVP participant who participates in RSVP for four months or more had their violent rearrest rate reduced by 80 percent,” Schwartz said.

Rounding out the batch of winners is the Performance-based Standards (PbS) for Juvenile Correction and Detention Facilities program, which “collects information from juvenile facilities, tracks injuries, suicidal behaviors, assaults, time in isolation, and youth academic performance and make needed improvements,” according to a press release by the Ash Institute.

Kim Godfrey, the deputy director of the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators—the national non-profit organization that was awarded a grant to develop and implement PbS—said the program enables accountability for juvenile corrections facilities.

“Before this program, [juvenile corrections facilities] didn’t have any data that showed what was going on,” she said. “[PbS] brings transparency to government and restores confidence.”

Over 120 facilities in 26 states and in Washington D.C. have voluntarily chosen to participate in the PbS program, Godfrey said.

—Staff writer Margaret W. Ho can be reached at mwho@fas.harvard.edu.