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Welcome

Welcome to the Recidiviz Resource API documentation. This service receives requests about individuals with particular needs and returns potential resources to meet those needs. It is intended to be used by applications, services, and AI agents operated or approved by Recidiviz.

  • The openapi documentation has technical specification and an interactive API explorer.
  • The Product Checklist walks through key decisions and assumptions before integrating this API with your application.
  • See Best Practices for recommended optimizations and considerations for your application.

Background and Terminology

A resource is a program, service, or good that meets one or more particular needs of an individual impacted by the justice system. This Resource API surfaces resource providers, organizations, businesses, or government agencies that we think provide appropriate resources. For example, a local food bank is a resource provider that may provide food assistance or hygiene products as resources to people that need them.

All resource data returned from the API will have the following:

  • A resource provider name
  • A physical location with a full address and Google Place ID (to support mapping)
  • At least one piece contact information (phone number, email, website, etc.)
  • The categorization of the resource (e.g. Basic Needs, Food assistance)

However, some endpoints may return digital resources, which are vetted online resources that do not have a physical location. This data will not have location information, but will always have a URL and small blurb describing how to use the resource.

Prerequisites and Limitations

In order for your application to use the Resource API, it must have first:

  • Identified the needs of the individual it is seeking resources for.
  • Mapped those needs to API's Resource Categorization.
  • Have a location (address, or City, State string) to search for resources near.
  • Provisioned access to an API key. Recidizens may access one at go/resource-api-key

The Resource API does not identify individual needs or map them to resource categories. It also does not retain any personal information about individuals for whom resources are being sought. It is the responsibility of the client application to maintain relationships to client data and their relevant resources.