Shane Correia

As difficult as it is to engage the community in defining problems and articulating priorities, the hard work really starts here. How do you turn all of this into a concrete plan?

Drawing up a budget isn't easy. There are a lot of things to keep track of: Staff costs, rent, supplies, consultants, insurance, etc. Planners of community justice projects face an extra challenge: Identifying all the non-traditional items—from research to social services, from community outreach to technology—their project will require. To help with that task, here's a list of some of the things that planners might want to consider when making their budgets. Personnel Program Administration Project Coordinator Include staff time for overall project coordination, administration and fund-raising. If the project is complex, a full-time coordinator may be a worthwhile investment. Researcher/Evaluator Project evaluation can be done by collaborating with independent evaluators, linking with a professor from a local college, or by hiring in-house staff to measure the effectiveness of the project. Community Liaison Build in staff time to ensure consistent communication with community members. Social Services Clinical Director If social services are a major part of an initiative, having professional on-site staff and office space for social service partners is important. Even when a social service agency is providing social workers, it may be a good idea to hire a clinical director to oversee delivery of services and maintain quality control. Social Worker(s) Social workers on staff can handle a wide-range of functions, performing psycho-social assessments to help link participants with appropriate services, performing intensive case management, communicating with on-site and community-based social service partners and counseling victims. Alternative Sanctions Alternative Sanctions Coordinator Many community justice projects use alternative sanctions or diversion programs. Intensive monitoring is necessary to ensure compliance and promote confidence among criminal justice professionals and community members. Community Service Supervisor(s) Coordinating schedules for community service crews, troubleshooting the day-to-day issues that arise as offenders perform community service and finding new community service projects are crucial to making community service an effective sanction. Information and Resource Coordination Resource Coordinator Allocate resources for efficient information and resource sharing among partners. For example, if a probation officer refers a young person to a job-training program, how will the officer get information on their progress? A resource coordinator, or information manager, can fill that role. Spokesperson/Communications specialist Community justice programs communicate regularly with stakeholders, explaining their work, soliciting feedback and generally trying to foster trusting and productive relationships. A communications specialist can help by putting together newsletters or brochures and speaking at community meetings. The person can also handle media inquiries, ensuring that accurate information about your program is disseminated to the public. Other than Personnel Services Contracts with Service ProvidersThis might include contracts with drug treatment providers, mental health and other service providers, such as GED programs and English as a Second Language instructors. ConsultantsCommunity justice programs often hire consultants for a number of tasks, including:Computer program development Strategic planning Facilitation of focus groups Architectural or design services Community ServiceIf your program has a community service component, don't forget to budget for: Community service supplies (e.g., overalls, vests, paint, gardening equipment, brooms, etc.) Food for participants Transportation, including insurance, gas and maintenance of a vehicle Community EngagementCommunity engagement is crucial to the success of any community justice project. Keep in mind the things you'll need to do it effectively, such as: Meeting space Refreshments Child-care arrangements Parking facilities Printing and postage for community outreach materials (newsletters, articles, event invitations)

A successful search for funds is supported by three things: solid research of potential funding sources, a compelling project and old-fashioned networking. Planners should look beyond the traditional sources of criminal justice funding—is there, for instance, a foundation that might be interested in neighborhood beautification? Is there a local elected official with discretionary funding that might be enticed to support community service projects? Is there a hospital that might fund drug prevention efforts? Networking is also key because cultivating relationships with funders—as opposed to simply responding to requests for proposals—helps you stay abreast of new funding opportunities and keep your project in the spotlight. Here are some other tips from planners who have found money for their community justice projects: 1. Seek local funding Take a close look at any institution—banks, businesses, government agencies, foundations—that has a stake in the success of your neighborhood or your project. It is usually easier to make a pitch to someone with a vested interest. The most important thing is to find someone—anyone—to take that initial leap to invest in your ideas. Once you get the ball rolling, other funding is sure to follow. For example, a grant from a community foundation can fund a planner who can then seek additional support for the project. Local funding, even if modest, demonstrates that there is local commitment to the project—a feature many national and federal funders look for. 2. Look for grants from the U.S. Department of Justice The Department of Justice provides funding to community justice initiatives through the divisions of the Office of Justice Programs, including the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and the Community Capacity Development Office. For example, BJA in the past has had solicitations for community justice, community courts and community prosecution initiatives. On a regular basis, review their web sites, program plans and press releases. A significant portion of federal money is now distributed to the states through block grants. The Bureau of Justice Assistance, for example, provides criminal justice support primarily through two avenues, the Edward Byrne Memorial State Grants and the Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program. Find out what state agencies are responsible for the distribution of these funds so you can apply for them. 3. Seek out other federal funding sources Community justice initiatives often have goals that may be of interest to funders outside criminal justice. These may include youth development, job training, violence prevention, or economic development. At the federal level consider these strategies: Set aside five minutes each day to review The Federal Register on the Internet. The Federal Register provides a daily compilation of federal documents. This is a great starting point to review both federal agencies’ grant opportunities and to learn more about agencies' policies, procedures and future program directions. The Register also provides links to federal agencies. If you’re tackling crime in a neighborhood with a large public housing population, explore opportunities with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Also, investigate funding opportunities available through the Department of Health and Human Services if violence prevention is a project goal. Projects that have a youth focus should review funding opportunities available through the Department of Education. 4. Build partnerships Explore filing joint funding applications with other programs or agencies. There’s often strength in numbers. Many funders look for creative collaborations as a way of leveraging resources and getting the biggest bang for the buck. In addition, sometimes your partners will have access to funding sources that you won’t. 5. Get noticed At the end of the day, the most successful fund-raising strategy is to run a high-quality program. Funders, whether they’re local or national, respond to results. Unfortunately, a successful program doesn’t always speak for itself. Often it is necessary to aggressively get the word out. The best advice here is this: don’t be shy. Send out newsletters and press clips to foundations and elected officials. Launch your own web site. Make every possible effort to communicate with the public—you never know when a letter or a press release will catch a funder’s attention.

All the important facets of a community justice collaboration can be enhanced through the use of technology. Here is a list of commonly asked questions about the subject.   Q: I want to develop an information system for my community court. How do I start? A: Here are some steps to take if you are developing or adapting an information system: Identify the key players in your community court who will use the information system. At a minimum, these probably include the judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, on-site clinical staff and treatment providers. Ask the key players: What information do you need? When do you need it? How would you like to see the information displayed on the computer screen? Also ask about the functionality they need from an information system. For example, how will the information system alert community court staff if a defendant is not in compliance? Does the judge need to be able to record comments on individual cases? How many people need access to the system? Based on these conversations, decide what information you need in your computer application. Is it already being collected? Who's collecting it? How are they collecting it? Determine which data are not being collected and if it is possible to develop the procedures to begin collecting it. Write a design document, which is a memo describing your information needs. Include information on community court case flow and caseload (e.g. approximately how many cases will the information system need to keep track of?); a list of data fields; functional requirements, sketches (hand-drawn is fine) of what the computer screens should look like; and any ‘business rules' (e.g., specifications about who has access to different pieces of information). Enlist the help of an information systems professional to help you conduct an analysis of what type of information system you need. The analysis should answer the following questions: Based on your needs (as outlined in the design document) and budget, should you build your own information system or should you adapt an information system developed by another community court? What will be your software and hardware needs? How long will it take to develop or adapt an information system? What will be your ongoing maintenance needs? Q: How much does it cost to develop a community court information system? A: Below are some of the items to include in a budget for a community court information system. The actual costs will vary depending on the size and scope of your community court and our technology needs. You will have a good understanding of this once you develop a design document (see previous question). Project Management. Because of the number of people and steps involved in the development of a community court technology system, it is wise to designate one individual to manage the entire project. Programming: Whether you build your own computer system or adapt an existing system, you will have initial programming costs. It is also likely that you will have ongoing programming costs for modifications and/or enhancements once the initial programming is complete. Maintenance: Ongoing maintenance of a computer system usually requires a system administrator who can handle matters such as account additions or changes. Hardware: This may include personal computers for individual users and a server computer and related hardware to house the computer application. Software: A community court technology system typically consists of an underlying database and a front-end application that allows the users to see or edit the data. Depending on the level of sophistication necessary for your community court, these two components may be included in one software package (e.g., Microsoft Access) or may be different software packages (e.g., Sybase database software and Powerbuilder software for the front-end application.) Training and Technical Support: Users typically need both initial training and ongoing support to use the information system correctly. Q: How do community court information systems handle issues of confidentiality and access to client information? A: All community courts should become familiar with federal and state regulations governing the release of information about an individual's criminal justice history and participation in substance abuse treatment programs. For treatment program participants supervised by the criminal justice system, confidentiality regulations usually allow the exchange of treatment-related information between affiliated community court agencies, or with other criminal justice or community agencies. Once consent for release of information is provided within the criminal justice settings, it generally cannot be rescinded until the participant completes or leaves the program. Individuals who receive confidential information may disclose and use it only to carry out their official duties with respect to the release. Once rules about who has access to what set of information are understood, they should be clearly stated in a written document. The system administrator can use the written document to create security procedures for the information system. These usually involve setting up tiers of access and controlling access to the different tiers through individual accounts with passwords. Q: Will community court staff require training to use the community court information system? A: Yes. Once the information system has been developed, you should schedule training sessions for community court staff who will use the system. The training will ensure that all users understand the features of the information system and have an opportunity to ask questions. You should keep training and support needs in mind when designing the information system. If the system is clear and easy to use, you will spend fewer resources on training and support. Q: Are there best practices in the community court information systems that my system can adopt? A: These are some of the features that can make community court technology easier to use: Use colors that make intuitive sense to the users. For example, when displaying compliance information use green for good outcomes and red for bad outcomes. Flashing buttons can attract the users attention to important information. Visual displays can make it easier to digest information, especially in a busy courtroom. For example, a picture of a beaker next to a date can indicate a drug test. Q: Are there other issues we should be thinking about as we design a community court information system? A: These are some additional items to think about early on: Performance (i.e., processing speed) Protection against data loss (i.e., system back-ups and contingency plans) Screen appearance varying from PC to PC depending on local Windows settings.