The Arc

By bringing everyone to the table, family courts can break cycles of trauma and meet families’ needs.

We host an international conference every two years dedicated to innovations in community justice. Our most recent event took place in Birmingham, Alabama in May 2018.

The Tow Foundation will receive the Philanthropic Innovator Award at our 25th Anniversary Benefit.

In September 2005, the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice funded ten demonstration projects under its new Community-Based Problem-Solving Criminal Justice Initiative. The following edited excerpt was taken from the Clackamas Countys’ winning proposal. The Clackamas County Oregon District Attorney’s office has developed a Community Court pilot in the Overland Park neighborhood, which has Clackamas County’s highest crime rates. The Community Court pilot, started in late January 2005, is based on a restorative justice approach and diverts misdemeanant defendants from the traditional criminal justice system. Cases eligible for community court are: Theft in the Second Degree; Theft in the Third Degree; Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree; Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree; Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree; Offensive Littering (non-environmental); Disorderly Conduct; Unlawfully Applying Graffiti; Unlawfully Possessing Graffiti Implement; Unlawful Entry Into Motor Vehicle (not related to identity theft). The proposed problem-solving initiative will support the Court’s efforts through social service case management and employment services. With a funded case management position, individuals will be connected to the community supports that will allow them to be successful, reduce recidivism and increase community quality of life. Defendants will be assessed and referred to social service, vocational and mental health resources, and supported through completing required activities and accessing services. Individuals who voluntarily take part in the community court program will complete mandatory community service and work with a Case Manager provided by either Clackamas County Social Services or Community Solutions.  Community oversight and feedback will be provided by the Overland Park Coalition Against Drug Crime, a local citizens organization.

Despite the devastating impacts of intimate partner violence on communities across the country, traditional responses to it often fall short of what survivors and the people most impacted really need. In working with survivors in New York City and nationwide, we've seen firsthand the importance of taking a multifaceted approach to ending domestic violence.

Community and government leaders of Newark, N.J., celebrated the official opening today of Newark Community Solutions, an innovative justice project that applies a problem-solving approach to non-violent cases in the Newark Municipal Court. 

An interactive exhibit called “Undesign the Redline” walks participants through the history of systemic racism that has shaped America’s housing landscape while inviting us to imagine our role in designing a better future.

Out of thousands of entries, our kids have won NPR’s student podcast competition.

With your support, the Center for Court Innovation has done incredible things in 2020. 

COVID-19’s toll has been immense—in human lives, in harm to communities, and in its impact on people’s livelihoods. 

Judge Jared R. Rice discusses the first two years of New Rochelle's Opportunity Youth Part, a program that addresses the needs of young people in the legal system by connecting them with the resources to divert or reduce their charges.