Colorado Department of Corrections Wins 2026 Recidiviz Trailblazer Award for Earned-Time Reforms

Description: Colorado DOC won the 2026 Recidiviz Trailblazer Award after expanding Achievement Earned Time credit for digital coursework and sustained work participation... Read the Full Press Release...

Colorado DOC Wins 2026 Recidiviz Trailblazer Award for Improving Earned-Time Administration

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) has expanded Achievement Earned Time, giving incarcerated people more ways to earn credit for positive behavior. In recognition of its efforts to improve earned time administration, CDOC received the Trailblazer Award at Recidiviz’s Data-Driven Corrections Awards.

Beginning October 15, CDOC now recognizes completion of qualifying digital coursework and sustained positive participation in work assignments for Achievement Earned Time. It also applies credit retroactively for eligible activities dating back to January 2023, recognizing work individuals have already completed, without expectation of additional rewards.

Under CDOC’s updated Achievement Earned Time policy, more than 20,000 individuals, both incarcerated and under parole supervision in the community, have earned credit for participating in constructive activities that help individuals build skills and prepare for reentry, with an average of approximately 36 days of credit earned per individual. Digital learning is a key part of this effort. Since launching in the state in March 2025, incarcerated individuals have spent more than 1.3 million hours learning on Edovo, a digital learning platform, with individuals averaging 60 hours of voluntary coursework in areas spanning workforce readiness, academic growth, mental health, and life skills. The AET changes are awarding people for participation in these programs.

CDOC took a deliberate, collaborative approach to these changes, using data and input from staff across the department, including the Victim Services Unit, to inform implementation. This review helped identify opportunities to recognize positive behavior through qualifying activities while considering victim-related needs and public safety.

“Real rehabilitation occurs when an individual makes a conscious choice to better themselves, taking ownership of their path forward,” said Executive Director Andre Stancil. “CDOC Achievement Earned Time updates are designed to recognize those who hold themselves to a higher standard, show up every day, work hard, engage deeply in programming, and prove their dedication to self-improvement through consistent effort.”

CDOC Executive Director Andre Stancil and Interim Deputy Executive Director Eddie Coley accept the 2026 Recidiviz Trailblazer Award at the Recidiviz Partner Summit. Photo courtesy of Recidiviz.

To help incarcerated individuals discover credit-eligible programming, CDOC partnered with technology nonprofit Recidiviz to build a catalog in Recidiviz’s Opportunities app, showing which programs earn credit and how much. Since February 2026, more than  17,000 incarcerated individuals have logged in to explore information about available programming and credit towards their sentence date.

Corrections leaders selected Colorado for the Trailblazer Award from six nominated projects. The recognition comes as CDOC expands its partnership with Recidiviz, a technology nonprofit that works with corrections agencies in 19 states, to bring practical technology tools into correctional facilities and parole offices.

“The Trailblazer Award celebrates the agency that has driven innovation over the past year to improve outcomes for staff, incarcerated people, and the communities they return to. Colorado’s peers from across the country recognized CDOC for applying data and technology at scale to help people access programming and understand how to earn credits,” said Clementine Jacoby, CEO and Co-Founder of Recidiviz.

This work supports Executive Director Andre Stancil’s modernization priorities by using data and technology to strengthen earned-time administration, support staff, and help incarcerated individuals understand how qualifying activities can earn credit toward their sentences.

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