Building Strong Communities through Strategic Investments

Over the past several years, CUNY ISLG has worked with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (DANY) to spearhead one of the most significant criminal legal reform funding efforts in the country. The Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII) used almost $250M in strategic investments to successfully develop over 50 mental health, employment, educational, and otherwise supportive programs serving more than 34,000 people across New York City. Thanks to a robust evaluation process, CJII has also created a valuable body of knowledge for future program design, implementation, and evaluation.  

Since the very start of the CJII, four core goals have guided the direction of investments. Through partnerships in the community and targeted programs, CJII sought to: 

1. Enhance Effectiveness Across Systems 

2. Prevent Criminal Legal System Involvement 

3. Increase Access to Support for Victims of Crime and Violence 

4. Improve Diversion and Reentry 

Reflecting on the past almost decade of work, this model brief takes stock of these four CJII goals; discusses how DANY, CUNY ISLG, and other partners achieved them; and provides a blueprint for practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and funders.