The Sentencing Project promotes effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice.

The Project's policy priorities envision the full inclusion in society of people with criminal records and an end to extreme punishments and their aim is to center the leadership, voices, vision, and experience of those directly affected by mass incarceration to make the rationale for systemic change vivid, credible and compelling.

One of the key issues the Project covers is collateral consequences including state's efforts to address or eliminate consequences in areas such as voting rights, children and families, and access to social welfare programs.