NACo launches justice and public safety initiative, seeks future participants

The National Association of Counties (NACo) recently launched the Convening County, Court & Justice Leaders: A Framework for Cross-System Collaboration initiative, which is designed to support county, court and justice leaders as they work together to establish local priorities and align resources to achieve justice and public safety goals. The initiative is a partnership with NACo, Rulo Strategies and Praxis Consulting, with support from the State Justice Institute. The initiative kicked off with five participating counties and is now looking for five more.

Participating counties will evaluate how to best invest American Rescue Plan funds in their communities to support partnerships across different government branches. Counties will identify and prioritize local needs and review available resources, and then work on developing evidence-based strategies to address those challenges by improving policies, practices and programs. Participating counties will benefit from a year of expert consulting to help them create ways for courts and other justice system elements to work together. The initiative concludes with a written implementation plan that addresses each county’s unique justice-related and public safety priorities. Counties will then showcase their efforts and outcomes in a nationally disseminated toolkit.

The first group of participating counties and their projects are:

Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville, Va.: Improving behavioral health, reducing stigma
Criminal justice and behavioral health leaders in Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville will establish a strategic planning framework designed to reduce reliance on incarceration, in appropriate circumstances, to address local public health and safety challenges, and will seek to improve jail-to-community transition and reentry services, expand alternatives to incarceration such as diversion and reduce the stigma associated with being justice-involved or having a substance use or mental health disorder. The team will support additional community-based services and improve access to mental health and substance abuse services.

Cuyahoga County, Ohio: Addressing community violence
The Cuyahoga County team will leverage its existing Corrections Planning Board to build a more robust criminal justice planning group that focuses on community violence—including gun violence and gun-related homicides—and the underlying problems that lead to violence. The team will examine opportunities to expand prosecutor and court diversion programs, develop a unified reentry program for people leaving jail and reduce racial and ethnic disparities among justice-involved individuals.

Lake County, Colo.: Increasing access to services and collecting, sharing data
The Lake County team will improve collaboration between county and court leaders and community stakeholders by developing and implementing a community justice plan. Local leaders will examine opportunities to increase access to and the quality of justice and community-based services and improve data collection and sharing practices by and between justice-related agencies to inform effective policy making. The plan will include strategies to reduce crime and address other court-based measures to promote community wellness and reduce associated justice costs.

Navajo County, Ariz.: Bridging the gap between mental health and the criminal justice system
Navajo County’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) will develop an action plan to bridge the gap between community behavioral health providers and the criminal justice system to better address the needs of people with mental health disorders. The planning team will examine opportunities to expand law enforcement and court diversion programs and develop and implement policies and procedures that will support communication and coordination across CJCC member agencies and community stakeholders.

Potter County, Pa.: Improving aftercare and reentry
The Potter County team will establish a data-driven road map that takes a systematic approach to criminal justice and prevention activities with a goal of unifying existing county and justice-related efforts and enhance services and programs to improve outcomes for people involved in the justice system. The planning team will examine opportunities to build an aftercare program that assists people in jail with reentry into the community to reduce recidivism and improve individual outcomes.

NACo is currently accepting proposals from counties to participate in the Convening County, Court & Justice Leaders: A Framework for Cross-System Collaboration initiative going forward. The next deadline for submissions is February 11, 2022. Applications can be submitted here.