Community Justice Solutions

We cannot incarcerate our way to safety.

Public safety is built on vibrant, flourishing communities. The Center for Justice Innovation knows how to build new pathways to safety and justice. We work with communities—big and small, rural and urban—to design holistic, effective, and data-driven ways to respond to and prevent crime and violence.

Drawing on our three decades of field-leading research and on-the-ground implementation in all 50 states, we know the challenges and opportunities across the full spectrum of the justice system.

Our Approach

• Listen and Collaborate
• Co-Create New Ideas
• Turn Data into Action

Community Justice Solutions is led by experienced problem-solvers. We bring the right people together, bridging the gap between communities, courts, governments, and local leaders. No two places are alike, so what worked in Portland, Oregon may not work in Portland, Maine. We don’t offer a one-size-fits-all solution. We work with you to create solutions that work for your community…

The Center has partnered with courts and communities to pilot and scale new approaches since 1993, launching the nation’s first community court and creating programs that have now expanded to include work like alternatives to bail, alternatives to incarceration, restorative justice programs, and placekeeping that builds neighborhood safety from the ground up.

We work with communities on a range of issues, including:

• the intersection of housing needs and system involvement
• community-based responses to intimate partner violence innovative
• innovative responses from courts to address the true true drivers of crime
• restorative, holistic responses to harm, trauma, and crime
• upstream community-based interventions that prevent crime and crime and system-involvement

How We Work

The Life Cycle of Innovation

At the Center for Justice Innovation, our process is unique. The court- and community-based work of our 30 on-the-ground programs in New York and New Jersey directly inform the work of Community Justice Solutions, and the conversations and recommendations we make to our partners. We help identify goals and define success, while building long-term capacity for data-driven policy and practice.

A National Lens: Housing Is Justice

Justice systems and housing agencies can better collaborate to break cycles of criminal legal system involvement and housing instability. The Center’s national survey and scan of more than 50 programs helped identify cross-sector innovations that bring safe, stable housing to people who are system-involved. Housing experts are available to help bring these solutions to your community.

Build a Culture of Data

Collecting and analyzing data is core to our approach with any partner or project. Our in-house researchers help translate findings to help system leaders understand complex problems. We help you build long-term capacity for data-driven policy and practice with tailored recommendations and hands-on support.

Leading the Way to Survivor Safety

The Center is a national expert in developing and implementing abusive partner intervention programs (APIPs). To respond to the identified need of parenting support after violence has occurred, the Center piloted an in-depth program in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. PAVE sets parents up for success by teaching them about gender roles, healthy co-parenting, and ways to address conflict with partners and children that are based in healthy communication. To ensure long-term continuity, we helped set up a local advisory board, surveys, and training for community and system-based practitioners to build a positive future.