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A major shift took place after state legislators passed landmark criminal justice reform measures in 2018, and reentry was the largest area of investment. Along with funding housing and residential services, reforms included delaying probation and parole fees, reducing wait times to seal criminal records, and increasing rehabilitative programming and post-release supervision. But the state’s annual investment in reentry services peaked in fiscal year 2023 at $32.8 million, according to MassINC, and has been shrinking since, with $26.6 million designated for reentry in the governor’s 2026 budget proposal — even as the number of people being released from jails and prisons rose slightly. These funds are “super volatile, said Ben Forman, director of the MassINC Policy Center. “When things get tight, these are the people that are normally overlooked,” he said. In late January, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security held a reentry simulation at the State House — following two similar exercises in Worcester in October — to familiarize legislators with the challenges of returning from prison. Participants were assigned the identity of a fictitious recently incarcerated person and given duties to carry out at stations around the room such as securing an ID, visiting a probation officer, or getting a urinalysis, all while using public transportation in a limited amount of time.