Four people granted judicial release in Franklin County just became the first graduates of a specialized court docket built to keep them from cycling back into the justice system. The program, known as RENEW, pairs former inmates with job help, housing support and mental health services while a judge tracks their progress every step of the way.
Franklin County Common Pleas Court operates RENEW as a program supporting convicted felons reentering society after prison time, according to NBC4 WCMH-TV. The four graduates were celebrated Thursday in Columbus, marking the first class to complete the docket since the station first reported on RENEW back in April 2025. The name stands for Rebuilding Empowering Navigating Embracing Wellness, chosen because leaders felt it conveyed a fresh and restorative purpose.
A Program Built From the Ground Up
The idea for RENEW came from Stephanie Hanna, a staff attorney for Judge Jeffrey Brown at Franklin County Common Pleas Court, who developed the concept alongside Judge Sheryl Munson. Hanna has said the name reflects the program's fresh, restorative energy. Before RENEW existed, Franklin County was the largest county in Ohio without a reentry program, per the station's reporting.
A separate report from ABC6 On Your Side describes RENEW as a specialized docket aimed at helping people granted judicial release successfully reenter the community while reducing repeat offenses. The docket is designed to serve moderate- to high-risk individuals who have been diagnosed with a substance-use disorder, a mental-health disorder, or both. Eligible participants undergo comprehensive assessments, receive individualized service referrals based on their needs, and take part in regular meetings with reentry staff, according to that outlet.
How the Four Phases Work
RENEW connects participants to jobs and other services, and holds meetings every two weeks to check in on probation status, job searches and housing searches. Staff also connect participants with mental health services and keep up with their drug tests, the station's report notes. The program moves people through four phases, and as they successfully progress, participants gain more freedom.
Briana Morris was the second person to join RENEW, entering the program on judicial release. She has described RENEW as more than a program — like a family — and said it gave her help, resources and time. The docket has full-time employees dedicated to the work and can serve up to 40 participants at once.
Next Steps: Recruiting Inside Prisons
RENEW leaders now plan to go into prisons to let potential participants know the program exists before they are even released. The docket is a specialized program through Franklin County and is still pursuing full certification from the Ohio Supreme Court, rather than having already secured it. Ohio Supreme Court guidance on reentry dockets broadly states that such programs focus on treatment and practices meant to help formerly incarcerated citizens live a life restored.
Franklin County is not alone in building out this kind of court-supervised support. Hamilton County established its own judicial-release effort, known as the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Reentry Docket, aimed at helping people transition from prison back into the community while reducing recidivism and strengthening public safety. That program is designed for low-level, nonviolent offenders who voluntarily ask for help, and moves participants through three phases with check-ins that shift from biweekly to monthly and eventually to every 45 days.
Other Ohio courts have reported similar early milestones. A specialized docket in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court called SCORE celebrated the graduation of four participants back in February, according to Court News Ohio. Locally, Franklin County's own reentry assistance board is charged with increasing the success rates of residents transitioning from correctional and rehabilitative institutions back into the community, according to Franklin County government. For RENEW's first four graduates, that mission is no longer theoretical — it's the family Morris says she found on the other side of judicial release.
