The Criminal Justice Investment Initiative: Synthesizing a Decade of Innovation
Since 2015, the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII) has used strategic investments to successfully support, develop, expand, and/or evaluate over 50 innovative community programs serving more than 34,000 people across New York City. Reflecting on the past decade of work, these briefs synthesize what we learned about the key drivers of implementation and impact, and provide a blueprint for practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and funders to shape the future of public safety partnerships.
In the first brief, we focus on how service providers broke down organizational siloes and cut across systemic barriers to enhance coordination and improve the delivery of key education, physical and mental health, and other services.
Jump to the brief.In the second brief, we describe how providers supported healing among youth and young adults; survivors of crime; criminal legal system-involved individuals; and other groups who have been exposed to violence or otherwise experienced trauma.
Jump to the brief.The third brief discusses how providers designed tailored strategies to reach individuals and communities who have been systematically excluded from public services, and face a heightened risk of being victims and/or interacting with the criminal legal system.
Jump to the brief.The final brief explores how providers created services to support individuals reintegrating into the community following detention or incarceration, connecting them with opportunities and reducing the likelihood of further contact with the criminal legal system.
Jump to the brief.
Strengthening Cross-System Collaboration for Greater Impact
New York City benefits from a rich landscape of service providers with deep knowledge of their communities. Yet, organizational siloes mean people may nonetheless struggle to fully benefit from all that’s available.
Strong organizational coordination and referrals across systems and agencies can better bridge these gaps and support individuals’ interconnected needs. Moreover, this cross-systems coordination can help break down service siloes and build the collective capacity of the service landscape itself. This can have a positive impact on communities by better meeting residents’ needs—and addressing disparities in resource access that undermine community wellbeing.
This brief uses case studies from several programs to identify key ways organizations can ensure that strong, community-based, cross-system partnerships are successful in supporting participants and growing organizational capacity. Key themes from implementation and evaluation of these programs include:
Coordination requires dedicated resources.
Shared values are the foundation of collaboration.
Trust is the lubricant for transcending service siloes.
Programs must understand participants’ needs, goals, challenges, and opportunities as interrelated.
Addressing Trauma to Promote Healing and Mental Well-Being
The impact of trauma on individual and community well-being is a pervasive public health issue. It affects people of all ages, races, ethnicities, genders, and socio-economic levels, and is also closely intertwined with the criminal legal system. Recognizing the need to address it, trauma-informed practices in social services has been a growing focus in recent years for public officials, nonprofit leaders, funders, advocates, and others looking to stem the many negative effects trauma can have.
Incorporating a trauma-informed lens was a key strategy across CJII investments to holistically support groups disproportionately impacted by trauma and/or involved in the criminal legal system. By supporting people and communities who disproportionately experience significant life stressors, they can be better equipped to process their trauma, which can lead to less criminal legal system contact, improved health and wellbeing, and safer communities overall.
This brief draws from several programs to identify key lessons learned in serving individuals, families, and communities disproportionately affected by trauma. Some key themes learned from implementation and the evaluations of these programs include:
• Involvement in the criminal legal system is inherently traumatic.
• Trauma-responsive programming must be flexible, inclusive, and collaborative.
• Having staff whose experiences and identities reflect those of participants helps foster trusting relationships conducive to healing.
• Addressing trauma requires long-term commitment.
Understanding, Reaching & Engaging Excluded Populations
Public sectors such as education, housing, transportation, healthcare, and local government have long histories of benefiting more dominant social groups while leaving out others, despite their stated purpose to serve all. Certain individuals or groups are “socially excluded,” or denied opportunities to meaningfully participate in society, whether through intentional or unintentional actions and policies.
By intentionally reaching out to populations who have traditionally had lower access to services—such as immigrants, people with disabilities, people identifying as LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC—programs can enhance access to resources and break down barriers to services, increasing their ability to participate in society.
This brief draws from several programs to identify key lessons learned in serving individuals, families, and communities disproportionately disadvantaged in their access to services. Some key themes learned from implementation and the evaluation of several programs include:
• Barriers and needs vary across specific populations.
• Individuals within excluded communities also have different strengths and needs that should be accommodated by providers.
• Flexibility in programming encourages participants to go at their own pace.
• Providing training to systems, agencies, and personnel that work with these populations is vital.
Meeting Needs and Creating Opportunities for Individuals Involved in the Criminal Legal System
The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, with nearly 2 million people incarcerated nationwide. Yet, rather than deterring crime, incarceration often increases the risk of additional criminal legal system involvement. The removal of individuals from their communities erodes their relationships, career trajectories, and community ties.
Reentry from incarceration is a critical yet fraught period; without the appropriate support, many struggle to draw on the necessary resources, programs, and opportunities to resume their lives. There is a critical need for more effective diversion and rehabilitative approaches that address the gamut of needs someone may face during reentry.
This brief draws from several programs to identify key lessons learned in serving individuals, families, and communities affected by the criminal legal system. Some key themes learned from implementation and the evaluation of these programs include:
Informed Program and Staff Approaches are Key to Trust and Healing.
Training for staff on trauma and its effects enhances staff practices and participant experiences.
Reaching individuals most impacted by the criminal legal system requires focus and intentionality.
Flexibility in programming allows for various pathways for participant engagement.
Criminal Behavior is a Large, Complex Social Phenomenon that Requires Addressing Material Needs including:
Employment and financial support
Education
Health and mental health
ABOUT THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE INVESTMENT INITIATIVE
Under former Manhattan District Attorney Cy R. Vance, Jr., the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office created the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII) in order to use $250 million seized in international financial crime prosecutions to invest in transformative projects that will improve public safety, prevent crime, and promote a fair and efficient justice system. CJII is a first-of-its-kind effort to support innovative community projects that fill critical gaps and needs in New York City’s criminal legal system infrastructure.
CJII focuses on three investment areas—crime prevention, diversion and reentry, and supports for survivors of crime. The CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance manages and provides technical assistance to CJII contractors, and conducts oversight and performance measurement throughout the lifetime of the initiative.