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Institute Intelligence
Insights, case studies, news, and updates from ISLG’s good governance research and action.
Backed by Data and Community Input, Counties Work Toward Increasing Successful Exits from Probation
The RRC is a national initiative that aims to increase success on probation through the identification, piloting, and testing of promising strategies grounded in a robust analysis and understanding of why revocations occur.
Promoting Healing and Strengthening Relationships within the West Harlem Community: The Role of Credible Messengers
The West Harlem Community Reentry and Restoration Project aimed to support community members who have recently returned, or are soon to return, from incarceration and strengthen the capacity for local community-based organizations to provide services and support violence prevention.
To Make Pretrial Reforms Work, Listen to Workers in the Justice System
Though policymakers are responsible for establishing the policy frameworks, local agencies and practitioners — court officials, law enforcement, prosecutors, service providers and defense attorneys — are ultimately the ones who carry them out. Their buy-in during the legislative process can ensure policies in theory reach their intended goals in practice.
Fourth Cohort of Kriegel Fellowship for Public Service Leaders Kicks Off
The Fellowship seeks to help chiefs of staff and other legislative office leaders excel in their current positions, network with other chiefs of staff, and grow confidently into the next generation of elected officials and public service leaders.
Institute Intelligence, Fall 2023: Bail reform, supporting Manhattan’s youth, and more
We’ve put together a snapshot of the work we’ve done and are doing toward our goals of advancing justice, promoting opportunity, and optimizing state and local governments across the country
How We Conducted On-the-Ground Research During a Global Pandemic
New York’s sweeping criminal legal reforms went into effect just three months before the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought about its own unique set of challenges. As part of a qualitative process evaluation of how changes were implemented on the ground, we had to quickly adapt our methods to safely and meaningfully interview practitioners as well as interpret data that was now more nuanced.
New Landmark Report by CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance Details Firsthand Experience of Agencies Tasked with Implementing the New York State 2019 Criminal Justice Reform Act
The study includes feedback on how provisions have shaped policies and practices, along with learned lessons to inform comprehensive legislative reform development.
Supporting Staff and Participants Amid Influx: Lessons from New York’s Reforms to Pretrial Services
Changes to New York’s criminal legal system in 2019 involved multiple provisions that touched many facets of the system, but its expansion of pretrial services as an alternative to pretrial detention precipitated significant policy and operational changes. Pulling from a process evaluation of its implementation, here are some recommendations for pretrial service providers to manage the shift.
Discovering how to Deal with Discovery: Lessons from New York’s Reforms to Evidence-Sharing Practices
As part of the overarching goal of creating a fairer and more equitable criminal legal system, the 2019 New York Criminal Justice Reform Act made sweeping changes to how evidence was shared between prosecutors and defenders. Pulling from a process evaluation of its implementation, here are some recommendations for prosecutors to manage the shift.
Using Evidence-Based Assessments to Understand Trauma and Healing among Gender-Based Violence Survivors
An innovative assessment approach successfully measures trauma and healing among families impacted by gender-based violence. Administered by a holistic and innovative program in Manhattan that provides family-focused programming, the approach helped participants better understand their healing journeys.
Strengthening Bonds & Healing Families Impacted by Gender-Based Violence
Using a unique approach that focused on families as a whole, the FamilySafe Project (FSP) developed a trauma-informed approach to provide counseling services to families who have experienced gender-based violence.
Strengthening Programs through Research & Evaluation: Lessons Learned in a Cross-Sectoral Youth Mental Health Initiative
Program evaluations are useful tools for programs, funders, and researchers to better understand the impact of services on participants and collaborations between organizations. One such evaluation of the Margaret’s Place in Communities Impacted by Trauma-exposed Youth (MP-CITY) program identified several ways to improve programmatic operations and participant experiences.