National Institute For Criminal Justice Reform

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM (NICJR) IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, CONSULTING, RESEARCH, AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELDS OF JUVENILE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE, YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION. NICJR PROVIDES CONSULTATION, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND TRAINING TO AN ARRAYOF ORGANIZATIONS; INCLUDING GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATIONS.

GVRS - IN FY23, NICJR SUPPORTED 15 JURISDICTIONS IN PLANNING, IMPLEMENTING, AND REFINING DATA-DRIVEN, EVIDENCE-BASED GVRS. EXAMPLES OF THIS WORK INCLUDED: INDIANAPOLIS: NICJR CONTINUED TO SUPPORT THE CITY'S IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS GVRS THROUGHOUT FY23. A TEAM OF FOUR TO FIVE NICJR TEAM MEMBERS VISITED INDIANAPOLIS FOR A FULL WEEK EVERY MONTH TO PROVIDE TRAINING, TA, ASSESSMENT, AND SUPPORT, INCLUDING TRAINING STREET OUTREACH WORKERS, INTENSIVE LIFE COACHES, AND VIOLENCE INTERRUPTERS HIRED BY THE CITY. THESE EFFORTS ARE PAYING OFF IN BIG WAYS. THE CITY EXPERIENCED A 16% REDUCTION IN MURDERS AND A 14% REDUCTION IN NONFATAL INJURY SHOOTINGS BY THE END OF CY22, WITH FURTHER INCREASES THROUGH THE END OF FY23. PORTLAND, OR: NICJR HAS PROVIDED COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT TO THE PORTLAND OFFICE OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION (OVP) IN DEVELOPING, IMPLEMENTING, AND REFINING A GVRS SINCE 2019. OUR FOUNDATIONAL WORK WITH PORTLAND INCLUDED ACTIVITIES SUCH AS DEVELOPING A GUN VIOLENCE PROBLEM ANALYSIS REPORT AND COST OF GUN VIOLENCE STUDY; ASSESSING THE OVP'S PROCESSES AND TOOLS FOR RISK ASSESSMENT AND COORDINATION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND OTHER PARTNERS; DEVELOPING PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, ALONG WITH TOOLS AND PROCESSES TO ASSESS PROGRESS; DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A LIFE COACHING PROGRAM POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL; AND ASSESSING FUNDING NEEDS. AFTER THE FIRST FEW YEARS OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, THE CITY WAS NOT ABLE TO FULLY IMPLEMENT THE GVRS AS PROPOSED BY NICJR DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND SIGNIFICANT STAFF TURNOVER. IN 2023, NICJR RE-ENGAGED WITH PORTLAND, AS THE CITY RE-COMMITTED TO THE GVRS STRATEGY. NICJR TEAM MEMBERS BEGAN WEEKLY VIRTUAL TA SESSIONS AND MONTHLY IN-PERSON SITE VISITS TO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF GVRS, WHICH IS SET TO BEGIN IN 2024.

OTHER PROGRAMS - OFFICES OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION, YPOC, TRAINING, SCHOOL-BASED SERVICES, THE GIVING INITATIVE.

JUSTICE REFORM - COMMUNITY-BASED ALTERNATIVES TO YOUTH INCARCERATION INITIATIVE (CBAYI): IN LATE 2022, NICJR WAS CHOSEN TO SERVE AS THE TA PROVIDER FOR THE OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION (OJJDP) COMMUNITY-BASED ALTERNATIVES TO YOUTH INCARCERATION (CBAYI) INITIATIVE. OJJDP ALSO INTENDED TO SELECT AND FUND SEVERAL SITES TO CLOSE AND CREATIVELY REPURPOSE YOUTH DETENTION FACILITIES WITH NICJR'S SUPPORT. HOWEVER, CONGRESS DECLINED TO FUND THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS THAT WOULD HAVE FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED SITES' PARTICIPATION. AS A RESULT, IN THE FINAL MONTHS OF FY23, NICJR FOCUSED ON PLANNING FOR HOW TO CREATIVELY ADAPT TA. BY SHIFTING TO FOCUS MORE HEAVILY ON A VIRTUAL COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE AND LESS ON INDIVIDUAL TA, NICJR DEVELOPED A PLAN TO MAKE PARTICIPATION MORE FEASIBLE FOR SITES. NEIGHBORHOOD OPPORTUNITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD (NOAB): IN FY23, NICJR CONTINUED TO GROW AND REFINE THE OAKLAND NOAB, WITH THE PROGRAM RECEIVING 25 REFERRALS RESULTING IN 21 PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS AND 14 PROGRAM COMPLETIONS. NOTABLY, AT THE END OF FY23, OVER 90% OF YOUTH REFERRED TO THE NOAB HAD PARTICIPATED IN NOAB HEARINGS AND ADHERED TO THEIR SERVICE PLANS, AND MORE THAN 65% OF NOAB PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE REFERRED MORE THAN A YEAR AGO EITHER COMPLETED OR WERE STILL ENROLLED IN A YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. IN LATE 2022, NICJR BEGAN PARTNERING WITH THE AMERICAN INSTITUTES OF RESEARCH, WHO IS CONDUCTING A RIGOROUS, MIXED-METHODS, FOUR-YEAR EVALUATION OF NOAB'S PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOMES AND A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF PROGRAM IMPACTS. NICJR WILL UTILIZE THESE FINDINGS TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN THE NOAB MODEL AND INFORM THE BROADER FIELD OF JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM. ADVOCACY: NICJR IS FUNDED BY THE CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT TO CARRY OUT ADVOCACY WORK FOCUSED ON JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM IN CALIFORNIA. WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THIS GRANT, IN FY23, NICJR CONTINUED TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN SEVERAL ADVOCACY COALITIONS THAT BRING TOGETHER GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS, ADVOCATES, AND IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS TO WORK TOWARD JUSTICE REFORM. NICJR SUPPORTED MULTIPLE PIECES OF LEGISLATION DURING FY23, LATER LEADING TO TWO MAJOR WINS IN THE PASSAGE OF: 1) ASSEMBLY BILL (AB) 28, WHICH ESTABLISHES A PERMANENT FUNDING SOURCE FOR CALVIP, ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR ONGOING REAUTHORIZATIONS OF THE GRANT AND BUFFERING IT FROM FUTURE POLITICAL BATTLES AND BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS, AND 2) AB 762, WHICH REMOVED THE REPEAL DATE OF THE CALVIP PROGRAM (THUS EXTENDING THE PROGRAM INDEFINITELY) AND ELIMINATED THE CALVIP GRANT MATCH REQUIREMENT, WHICH HAD BEEN A SIGNIFICANT BARRIER TO SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS PURSUING CALVIP FUNDING.

CAPS - DURING FISCAL YEAR 2023 (FY23), NICJR AND THE OTHER CAPS PARTNERS ASSESSED THE NEEDS AND EXISTING VIOLENCE REDUCTION LANDSCAPE IN EACH COHORT 1 CITY AND BEGAN TO PROVIDE TRAINING AND TA. THIS INCLUDED NICJR COMPLETING A LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS AND GUN VIOLENCE PROBLEM ANALYSIS FOR INDIANAPOLIS AND BALTIMORE AND A COST OF GUN VIOLENCE REPORT FOR INDIANAPOLIS. NICJR ALSO BEGAN WORK ON SIMILAR REPORTS FOR NEWARK AND BATON ROUGE. ADDITIONALLY, NICJR PROVIDED INTENSIVE LIFE COACH TRAINING FOR VIOLENCE INTERVENTION WORKERS IN BOTH INDIANAPOLIS AND BALTIMORE, SUPPORT TO THE BALTIMORE MAYOR AND THE DIRECTOR OF BALTIMORE'S OFFICE OF NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY AND ENGAGEMENT, AND TA TO THREE LARGE-SCALE CVI ORGANIZATIONS IN BALTIMORE. FURTHER, THROUGH NICJR'S SUPPORT, THE CITY OF INDIANAPOLIS WAS ABLE TO HIRE 50 ADDITIONAL OUTREACH WORKERS TO ENHANCE AND INCREASE LOCAL CVI WORK.