Problem-solving justice seeks to go beyond processing cases to solve the problems that bring people to court.
Problem-solving courts, such as drug and mental health courts, make use of innovative strategies to address the underlying conditions that bring people into contact with the legal system. Through judicial monitoring, partnership with community-based services, increased communication with stakeholders, and treatment where appropriate, these courts change the way our system manages criminal cases and responds to individuals, families, and communities.
Embedded in centralized courthouses, programs like our Bronx Community Solutions, Brooklyn Justice Initiatives, and Newark Community Solutions each handle thousands of cases in a typical year, offering social services and community-based alternatives to jail and fines. Through our work implementing these ambitious projects, we offer a range of customized training and technical assistance plans and publications for jurisdictions interested in applying problem-solving justice principles in centralized courthouses.
Initiatives
Bronx Community Solutions
Bronx Community Solutions provides community-based alternatives to jail, restores community relationships, and helps participants avoid further criminal justice involvement.
Brooklyn Justice Initiatives
Brooklyn Justice Initiatives seeks to improve how the centralized criminal court in Brooklyn responds to misdemeanor and felony cases.
Newark Community Solutions
Newark Community Solutions applies a problem-solving approach to low-level cases in Newark, New Jersey’s municipal courthouse.
Statewide Strategic Planning for Problem-Solving Courts
We provide thoughtful planning and coordination for problem-solving courts to ensure best practices and the best possible outcomes.
As the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations and institutions to shift to operating remotely, disparities driven by the digital divide became a shared problem across major cross-sector systems important to a community’s well-being. The Health, Housing, and Justice Alliance sought to eliminate inequities of fully virtual legal, healthcare, and social services through the creation of pop-up navigation centers and court hubs throughout Newark, New Jersey.
Kristina Singleton works on diverting people from court into supportive or educational programming. Among the programs she works with at the Midtown Community Court are Project Reset, which offers those charged with a low-level crime the chance to avoid court and a criminal record by completing community-based programming, and a recently launched youth gun-diversion program for young people who have been arrested on gun possession charges.
Chidinma Ume is a connector of both people and resources as she consults with communities nationally to implement justice reforms. Based in our West Coast office, Chidinma serves as deputy director of policy, a role that allows her to provide jurisdictions advice, support, and training in the areas of jail reduction, criminal justice debt reform, and to work with government and community leaders on evidence-informed practices. Hear from Chidinma how she approaches the work of transforming justice in an effort to co-create a fairer, more human-centered system for all.
For over 20 years, the Brooklyn Mental Health Court has been working to keep people with severe mental illnesses out of jail and in treatment. Hear from Judge Matthew J. D'Emic, who has presided over the court since its inception, on the importance of this work.
After presiding over the Red Hook Community Justice Center for 22 years, Judge Alex Calabrese celebrated his retirement from the courtroom on October 14. Judge Calabrese has been a "warm and upbeat presence in the courtroom" throughout his tenure, touching the lives of many Red Hook residents and serving as a model for justice reformers around the country. In celebration of Judge Calabrese's pioneering work with the Red Hook Community Justice Center, Mayor Eric Adams declared October 26, 2022 "The Honorable Judge Calabrese Day."
Violence interruption is a community-based strategy to reduce gun violence and improve public safety in neighborhoods. Our anti-violence program Save Our Streets is profiled and named as a highly successful example of curbing gun violence in the South Bronx, reducing gun victimization by 63 percent in its initial years of implementation.