Supported by
Criminal Justice Support for New State Administrations
Improving Your Criminal Justice System: Support for Newly Elected State Administrations About the Project In 2019, 22 new governors took office amid tremendous momentum to improve state criminal justice systems across the country. Many of them outlined ambitious goals to facilitate successful reentry from prison and help reduce recidivism, reduce costs, and foster safe communities. Recognizing governors must tackle many competing priorities, The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA), and the National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) have partnered to help assess your state’s criminal justice systems and support your governor’s vision to achieve criminal justice reform. This support will enable governors and states to build on past achievements, identify best practices and innovative approaches to address ongoing challenges, and lead new endeavors with messages that will resonate at local, state, and national levels. Our support includes the following: • Customized resources to help you review your state’s criminal justice system: Available online at csgjusticecenter.org/cj-support-for-new-administrations (password: NewGovs2019), project partners developed a range of materials that facilitate important criminal justice discussions, direct governors’ staff to needed supports, and provide a snapshot of state’s data trends within a national context. Resources available on the website include: o 50-State Data Snapshot: Analyses to Inform Public Safety Strategies o Additional Criminal Justice Opportunities and Resources for Your Administration o A Governor’s Guide to Criminal Justice o Face to Face: Connecting Policymakers with People Involved with the Correctional System •
Opportunities to learn with your colleagues: o May 2019: In partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), NGA Center and NCJA hosted the 2019 annual Institute for State Criminal Justice and Public Safety Executives. Governors’ criminal justice policy advisors and state administering agency executives from all 50 states were invited to discuss key criminal justice and public safety issues, share successes and challenges, and highlight best practices. o August and September 2019: Project partners hosted two webinars on pressing concerns for newly elected administrations. Recordings of both webinars—“The Behavioral Health Framework: Understanding How People with Behavioral Health Needs Interact with the Criminal Justice System” and “Effective Interventions to Reduce Recidivism: What Does the Evidence Tell Us?”—are available at csgjusticecenter.org/cjsupport-for-new-administrations (password: NewGovs2019) o September 2019: In conjunction with the annual Forum on Criminal Justice, project partners are hosting the Leading State Corrections and Criminal Justice Reform summit. Eleven states have sent teams to this day-long event to generate criminal justice reform policy ideas and identify strategic goals for improvement that support the state administration’s public safety vision.
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Meeting with impacted people face to face: Eight states have the opportunity to participate in the Face to Face initiative, which challenges governors to connect with people who are closest to corrections systems, including formerly or currently incarcerated people and
their families, corrections officers, local law enforcement, victims of crime, and others who have firsthand experience with the criminal justice system.
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Expert state assessments: Through a competitive request for information process, four states—Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, and Wisconsin—were selected for intensive, on-site assessments customized to each governor’s criminal justice goals. Our criminal justice experts are analyzing state systems, policies, and data; supporting the development of reform strategies; and identifying ways to break down barriers to public safety.
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Contact us with your questions: Experts are available to answer your questions about criminal justice policies, practices, and data. Contact Lauren Dedon (ldedon@nga.org; 202-6245375) or Elise Simonsen (esimonsen@nga.org; 202-624-5380) with your research questions or requests for technical assistance.
About the Partners The CSG Justice Center The CSG Justice Center is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that combines the power of a membership association, representing state officials in all three branches of government, with policy and research expertise to develop strategies that increase public safety and strengthen communities. For more information about the CSG Justice Center, visit www.csgjusticecenter.org. National Governors Association Founded in 1908, NGA is the voice of the nation’s governors. The association’s members are the governors of the 55 states, territories, and commonwealths. Through NGA, governors share best practices, speak with an informed voice on national policy, and develop innovative solutions that improve citizens’ lives through state government and support the principles of federalism. NGA supports governors to identify priority issues and deal with matters of public policy and governance at the state, national, and global levels. NGA’s research arm, the Center for Best Practices, helps develop and implement innovative solutions to public policy challenges. NGA’s advocacy team ensures that states are a strong voice in Washington, DC. NGA also provides total consultative services, including management and technical assistance to both new and incumbent governors, their senior executive staff, and trusted advisors. Thanks to decades of broad expertise, NGA is able to work side by side with state leaders to identify challenges, help governors stay ahead of the curve, and offer solutions before challenges become problems. National Criminal Justice Association NCJA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, nonpartisan, member association dedicated to assisting criminal justice agencies in the development and implementation of effective criminal justice policy. NCJA members represent all facets of the criminal and juvenile justice community, including law enforcement, corrections, prosecution, defense, courts, victim and witness services, and academics, as well as elected officials. Association of State Correctional Administrators ASCA is the most exclusive correctional association in the world. ASCA members are the leaders of each U.S. state corrections agency, including Los Angeles County; Washington, DC; New York City; Philadelphia; the Federal Bureau of Prisons; Military Corrections; and any United States territory, possession, and/or commonwealth. ASCA’s members lead over 400,000 correctional professionals and approximately 8 million incarcerated people, probationers, and parolees. ASCA’s goal is to increase public safety by utilizing correctional best practices, accountability, and providing opportunities for people to change.
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