The article examines how research conducted by the Criminal Justice Policy Council, the state agency in charge of long-term planning in Texas, has contributed to the development of more effective correctional policies. Facts provided by this agency are not the only facts guiding correctional policy development in Texas, but the State leadership of both parties relies on the agency to define a factual and cohesive long-term overview for policymaking. Policy research is critical in producing facts to determine the fiscal impact of policies to be adopted, identify the effectiveness of major policies already adopted, and delineate a "big picture" framework for long-term policy development. Without credible facts to guide them, policy makers will be captives of their own rhetoric and that of their peers, and will have a hard time identifying fiction, tainted advocacy information, and ideological approaches that try to ignore the difficult tradeoffs required of policymaking under conditions of limited resources. References