Delaware Gov. John Carney signed an executive order Tuesday creating a new state commission aimed at reducing recidivism and helping inmates transition back into society.

The executive order, the 27th Carney has signed since taking office in 2017, established the Delaware Correctional Reentry Commission, which is tasked with developing re-entry reforms and making academic and vocational programs available to prisoners prior to their release.

In a press release, Carney's office said the commission would include members of the governor's cabinet, the attorney general, the chief judge of the Court of Common Pleas and the executive director of the Delaware Criminal Justice Council, which administers federal grant programs to enhance the state's criminal justice system.

Leaders said they hope the commission would better coordinate services and strengthen data sharing among state agencies to help former inmates rejoin their communities.

“It's our responsibility to look out for every Delawarean. We need to make sure offenders who serve out their sentences are able to reenter society ready to positively contribute to their communities, and have the support they need to succeed,” Carney said in a statement. “This executive order will improve our existing reentry procedures, and in turn, reduce recidivism. That will help strengthen communities across our state.”

In Delaware, about 23,000 adult offenders are released each year from the state Department of Corrections. Of those, 76 percent are arrested within three years, and 65 percent will end up back in prison, according to statistics provided by the governor's office. Delaware's percentage of probationers and its percentage of incarcerated adults are both above the national average, Carney said.

“Ninety-eight percent of the people who enter Delaware prisons will return to the community. They are our neighbors. We live, shop, and work in the same community,” said Adam Balick, who will chair the commission. “It is in all of our interests to give them the tools they need to succeed when they return to our community. We know the factors that lead to recidivism. Homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, among other things. We can lower recidivism rates in Delaware by helping these men and women reintegrate successfully.”

The new commission is the result of Delaware's involvement in the National Criminal Justice Reform Project, an initiative led by the National Governors Association and the National Criminal Justice Association Center for Justice Planning to assist states in implementing evidence-based criminal justice reforms. The state joined the project in March 2017.

Under the order, the DOC's Office of Research and Planning will be restructured into the Office of Planning, Research and Reentry, which will be charged with implementing the commission's proposals.

“The Delaware Criminal Justice Council is excited to work with Governor Carney and the newly established commission to build on the continuing work of improving reentry services to all justice involved individuals,” said Christian Kervick, executive director of the Delaware Criminal Justice Council.