Summer job reports show that human services and state and local government are among the fastest-hiring sectors. But many of these jobs lag behind in wage growth. Our analysis of New York State charts a path for policymakers and other leaders to create a pipeline of quality, sustainable public services.

“The folks behind the scenes are the majority of the people working in city politics. There's only 51 council members in New York City, but each council member has a team of 7 to 10 people. So now we're talking about hundreds of people that are advocating for constituents. It's an army of people who care.”

Travis brings an unmatched breadth of experience in criminal justice policy, research, and reform, and in leadership roles across government, academia, philanthropy, and nonprofit organizations.

A snapshot of the work we’ve done this past month, including a recap of our Community-Based Restorative Justice initiative year-end celebration and a blueprint for creating service navigation programs.

The cohort of CUNY ISLG interns will work hands-on with the research, policy, data science, legal, and operations teams, as well as participate in discussions with subject matter experts across a number of pressing issue areas.

“We try to come at people like equals, in this together. And I think that helps build trust. I also think the fact that we, our team, is largely made up of people who have a lot of lived experience—there's just a different energy that people are getting and so that trust is a lot faster to form.”

A year after launch, ISLG convened the 16 Community-Based Restorative Justice initiative grantees to celebrate the work being done on the ground, as well as the training and technical assistance experts who’ve provided support along the way and the funders who can keep the work going.

The Request-for-Proposal (RFP) and other parts of grantmaking often leave out smaller, grassroots community organizations who are closest to those they serve. Using our Community-Based Restorative Justice Program and Grassroots Policy Incubator as examples, we dig into ways that funders and grant managers can create a more inclusive process that uplifts new ideas without sacrificing program quality and accountability.

A snapshot of the work we’ve done this past month, including a report on the constitutionality of NYPD Stop-and-Frisks and incubating grassroots policy ideas.

The 2024-2025 cohort of the Kriegel Fellowship celebrated their graduation at ISLG’s midtown office.

The study assessed how frequently officers who conduct stops violate the Fourth Amendment, examined the conditions in which unconstitutional stops occur, and identified the reasons a stop was unconstitutional.

There’s a shortage of funding and capacity-building opportunities available to small grassroots organizations in NYC, which is why the Grassroots Policy Incubator has been designed specifically to support their needs.