Community First engages community members in need who frequent the Times Square area and who come through Midtown Community Justice Center’s court and diversion programming. These individuals may be experiencing homelessness and/or need mental health or harm reduction services, benefits connections, medical treatment, or other support. A team of Community Navigators act as peer mobile case managers to address the varied needs of people in our community using a client-centered lens.
Diversion programs are key policy levers prosecutors can use to minimize traditional criminal legal system contact. Diversion strikes a balance between maintaining public safety, preserving scarce resources, and reducing future system involvement. Our guide provides an overview of the key data elements, study designs, and questions agencies seeking to assess and document program efficacy should consider.
Watch as Basaime Spate and Javonte Alexander, co-directors of the cutting-edge new Street Action Network, take part in a candid discussion with New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams about their experiences growing up as Black men in New York City, why they care so deeply about ending gun violence, and how government and communities can work together to improve the health and safety of all New Yorkers.
This video introduces Street Action Network! Co-Directors Basaime Spate and Javonte Alexander share their cutting-edge approach to address gun violence in the communities that face the highest rates of gun violence. Led by a team with lived experience and high social capital in the streets, Street Action Network will build on the research approach from a groundbreaking gun violence report released in 2023 to combine rigorous research, community action, and policy change to engage and support people who are involved in gangs and street economy.
Led by a team with lived experience and high social capital in the streets, the Street Action Network connects directly with people involved in gangs and the street economy to amplify the power of their knowledge and stories, change narratives, and create sustainable solutions to address gun violence.
Despite the obvious need, most mental health interventions for court-involved people are brief and conducted inside the counter-therapeutic confines of the criminal legal system. The challenge for practitioners is making those encounters meaningful. Little research speaks to this reality. Our publication presents the highlights of a national convening we hosted to begin to fill the gap.
Before implementing the CCAT, jurisdictions should consider how the tool will be used and enact policies to support these goals. This module will explore the national landscape of CCAT implementation and offer tips for effectively implementing the CCAT, including stakeholder collaboration, data mining, decision-making frameworks, and revalidation.
Recognizing the inherent limitations of risk-need tools, it is critical that practitioners use assessments appropriately to minimize potential harms and create positive case outcomes. This practical session examines the development of the Criminal Court Assessment Tool (CCAT), reviews all assessment domains and scoring, and provides tips for effective implementation.
Modern criminal justice reforms have called for the use of risk-need-responsivity (RNR) theory to help reduce the inherent subjectivity in case processing. Yet there is growing concern over racial bias and misclassification in risk assessment. This research-based module dives deep into the origins and core principles of RNR and its inherent limitations.
In an effort to help practitioners consider the implications of applying Risk-Need-Responsitivy (RNR) principles and learn how to effectively administer risk-need tools, the Center developed the training series, Administering the Criminal Court Assessment Tool.