Sam Hotchkiss, co-founder and CEO of Reconnect.

Reconnect, a Portland-area company, has raised $3.7 million to fund its continued development of software and hardware designed to improve outcomes for individuals in the justice system.

The company, formerly known as Call2Test and based in Cumberland, has developed several data-driven products over the last several years, including app-based tools to automate drug court check-ins and to allow people on parole to check in by taking a selfie. This year, the company also released lightweight and discreet ankle monitors to replace the bulky, stigma-inducing ones that are still widely used in the justice system. It was also named a finalist in Fast Company magazine’s 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards.

Sam Hotchkiss co-founded the company with Ed Larson in 2009 with the mission to use technology to fight incarceration, recidivism, and addiction, which collectively cost the the United States more than $1 trillion annually. Besides some friends-and-family money, the pair bootstrapped the company for its first 11 years before raising this round of convertible notes. (While Reconnect is technically 11 years old, Hotchkiss hasn’t been working on it full-time for that entire period. He previously built a web development company called Parka, which built a popular security plug-in called BruteProtect for the WordPress platform. He sold that company to Automattic in 2014, an acquisition I covered when a reporter at the Portland Press Herald.)

Investors include San Francisco-based Yes VC, Philadelphia-based SustainVC, Knoxville-based 6ixth Event, Maine Venture Fund, and Maine-based Black Point Group, the family office of entrepreneur and investor David Shaw, founder of Idexx and co-founder of Vets First Choice (now Covetrus).

“At this pivotal moment in history when the BLM movement is highlighting inequities in the justice system, we are excited to support Reconnect and welcome them to our portfolio of companies empowering and serving marginalized communities,” Eric Chapman, managing principal of SustainVC, said in a statement. “Reconnect’s demonstrated deep understanding of the complexity of creating long-term impact in the prison space and strong recommendations from their customers made this a compelling investment for us.”

COVID-19 has accelerated adoption of Reconnect’s technology by jurisdictions as it enables probation and parole departments to operate remotely, according to the company’s news release. The company has added 100 new jurisdictions since the start of the pandemic and now counts customers in 35 states.

“There has never been a timelier moment for the criminal justice system to embrace true change,” Hotchkiss said. “The solutions created by Reconnect are proving to be part of that change. Our solutions are data-based and accountability-driven, something research has shown time and time again are significant factors for success in our field. We welcome our new partners and their contributions as we move forward.”

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