National Projects

Active Projects

Project:: Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project
Issue Area:: Improving the response to people with mental illnesses involved with‚ or at risk of involvement with‚ the criminal justice system.
Description:: The Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project is an unprecedented, national effort to help local, state, and federal policymakers and criminal justice and mental health professionals improve the response to people with mental illnesses who come into contact with the criminal justice system.; The landmark Consensus Project Report, which was written by CSG staff and representatives of leading criminal justice and mental health organizations, was released in June 2002. Since then, Justice Center staff working on the Consensus Project have supported the implementation of practical, flexible criminal justice/mental health strategies through on-site technical assistance; the dissemination of information about programs, research, and policy developments in the field; continued development of policy recommendations; and educational presentations.
Resources:: To view a list of the Justice Center's criminal justice / mental health resources, click here.

Project:: Re-Entry Policy Council
Issue Area:: Charting the safe and successful return of prisoners to the community.
Description:: The Re-Entry Policy Council (RPC) assists state government officials and others grappling with the increasing number of people leaving prisons and jails to return to their communities.; The RPC was formed in 2001 with two specific goals: develop bipartisan policies and principles to help elected officials and other policymakers improve the likelihood that adults released from prison or jail will avoid crime and become productive, healthy members of families and communities; and facilitate coordination and information sharing among organizations implementing re-entry initiatives, researching state policy trends, communicating about related issues, or funding re-entry programs.
Resources:: To view a list of the Justice Center's re-entry resources, click here.

Project:: Justice Reinvestment Initiative
Issue Area:: Increasing public safety, reducing spending on corrections, and improving conditions in the neighborhoods to which most people released from prison return.
Description:: In every state, there are a handful of “high-stakes” communities to which most people released from prison return; these are also the communities where taxpayer-funded programs are disproportionately focused. Justice reinvestment is a strategy that makes the most of opportunities presented when helping the increasing numbers of people returning from prison and jail to break the cycle of recidivism—making these communities safer, stronger, and healthier. To assist state policymakers, Justice Center staff working on the Justice Reinvestment Initiative is providing technical assistance to a limited number of states that demonstrate a bipartisan interest in this strategy.
Resources:: To view a list of the Justice Center's justice reinvestment resources, click here.

Projects in development

Community- and Faith-Based Organizations Initiative: Interest in funding community and faith-based organizations, particularly those involved in prisoner re-entry, continues to grow at the federal level. Yet state governments continue to have difficulty building meaningful partnerships with community-based organizations. To address this need for collaboration, the CSG Justice Center will convene a working group of legislators, corrections directors, community and faith-based organizations, and other officials. This group will help the Justice Center develop strategies for fostering cooperation between state governments and community- and faith-based organizations and for providing technical assistance to interested jurisdictions.
Emergency Room Initiative: Hospital emergency rooms are the most expensive places for individuals to receive medical care. They are often also the primary point of access to health services for individuals with untreated alcohol and substance use problems. Leading medical associations, policymakers, researchers, and public health organizations have agreed on the need to change policies in emergency rooms and trauma centers, remove barriers to intervention, and provide better training and protocols for physicians and other practitioners. The CSG Justice Center will develop a guide for state-level policymakers that discusses strategies for identifying and addressing untreated alcohol and substance abuse problems among people receiving medical care in emergency rooms.
Immigration Initiative: Issues surrounding immigration reform are among the most controversial at all levels of government. Caught in the heated debate that has overtaken the national agenda, states are grappling with conflicting pressures to address the needs and enforcement concerns related to illegal immigrants within their borders. There is general agreement that regardless of the outcomes of proposed federal legislation, the states will still be required to address issues related to public benefits, enforcement of federal laws, and other immigration issues. The CSG Justice Center is planning to bring together experts from across the political spectrum to discuss the feasibility of conducting a short briefing session for state legislators to help them think through some practical issues that policymakers and practitioners involved with immigration reform often face, including who should ask for identification and when, the processes for gathering identification, how to confirm the accuracy of information regarding illegal immigrant status, and how to act on that information.