THE ORGANIZATION

The Center for Justice Innovation (formerly the Center for Court Innovation) is a non-profit organization that works with communities and justice systems to advance equity, increase safety, and help individuals and communities thrive. The Center's goal is to identify and resolve as early as possible the challenges that bring people into the criminal and civil legal systems. It does this in a number of ways—by developing and running programs that reduce the need for incarceration and enhance economic opportunity, conducting original research to identify what works, and sharing what we learn from our programming and research with those seeking to transform the justice system around the world.

The Center is an 800-employee, $100 million nonprofit that accomplishes its vision through three pillars of work: creating and scaling operating programs to test new ideas and solve problems, performing original research to determine what works (and what doesn’t), and providing expert assistance and policy guidance to justice reformers around the world.

Operating Programs

The Center’s operating programs, including the award-winning Red Hook Community Justice Center and Midtown Community Justice Center, test new ideas, solve difficult problems, and attempt to achieve systemic change within the justice system. Our projects include community-based violence prevention programs, alternatives to incarceration, reentry initiatives, and court-based initiatives that reduce the use of unnecessary incarceration and promote positive individual and family change. Through this programming, we have produced tangible results like safer streets, reduced incarceration, and improved neighborhood perceptions of justice.

Research

The Center's research teams are staffed with social scientists, data analysts, and lawyers who are academically-trained or have lived experience and who conduct research in the U.S. and globally on diverse criminal-legal system and justice issues. Their work includes evaluating programs and policies; conducting exploratory, community-based studies; and providing research translation and strategic planning for system actors. The Center has published studies on topics including court and jail reform, intimate partner violence, restorative justice, gun violence, reentry, sixth amendment rights, and progressive prosecution. The research teams strive to make their work meaningful and actionable to the communities they work with, policymakers, and practitioners.

Policy & Expert Assistance

The Center provides hands-on, planning and implementation assistance to a wide range of jurisdictions in areas of reform such as problem-solving courts (e.g., community courts, treatment courts, domestic violence courts), tribal justice, reducing incarceration and the use of fines/fees and reducing crime and violence. Our current expert assistance takes many forms, including help with analyzing data, strategic planning and consultation, policy guidance, and hosting site visits to its operating programs in the New York City area. 

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Center’s Technical Assistance department trains, advises and collaborates with practitioners and policymakers to strengthen practice and launch reforms nationally and internationally. The department’s work encompasses technical assistance for community safety, community courts, Native American/Alaska Native tribal courts, treatment courts, prosecutor-led diversion initiatives, procedural justice, pretrial supervision, and many more areas of justice system reform. The Center has worked with jurisdictions across the country to implement innovative community justice practices within their justice systems.

• Assist with providing national technical assistance on a broad range of community justice subjects, including but not limited to jail reduction, municipal court reform, community safety, racial and ethnic equity, and data-driven criminal justice system reform;
• Provide project management support and assist the Center’s Community Justice Team with planning events;
• Launch, and support existing and new projects and programs;
• Coordinate, prepare for, and assist with conducting meetings with project partners, government representatives, funders, as well as community leaders and members;
• Coordinate and attend visits to courthouses, communities, and other project partner offices to assist with the design and implementation of portfolio projects and plan site visits;
• Assist with developing TA work plans, training materials, and presentations;
• Write publications, including monographs, fact sheets, practitioner guides, tool kits, and other projects;
• Help develop multimedia resources such as videos, podcasts, webinars, and webcasts;
• Plan and coordinate round tables and national training events;
• Work closely with the Director of Community Justice to develop and secure funding for new projects, including through idea generative, proposal writing, and funder relations;
• Assist with reporting on the portfolio’s progress within the Center, to clients, and to funders;
• Coordinate and schedule meetings with internal team and external partners; 
• Provide general administrative support; and
• Additional relevant tasks, as needed.