Justice Systems

AIR, through our work in justice, believes that evidence-based and practice-informed solutions can provide access and equity to opportunities for all people to thrive. AIR’s work in justice systems is committed to generating and using rigorous evidence to engender transformative change that dismantles structural factors that lead to racial and other disparities. Our work spans the justice continuum—from prevention to intervention and reentry—and embeds community-based, restorative, developmentally appropriate, and culturally responsive approaches. We aim to address root causes of harm and trauma and promote equitable access to resources and opportunities that engender safety, dignity, and thriving.
 

Our Work

AIR’s justice experts bring decades of interdisciplinary experience in the social and behavioral sciences both conducting rigorous mixed-methods and participatory research and evaluation, while promoting evidence-based solutions. Through our relationship-driven technical assistance, we support partners to use evidence for capacity building to transform policies and systems. We partner with federal, state, and local government agencies, community-based nonprofit organizations, and foundations.

 

Contact
Candace Hester

Candace Hester

Principal Researcher
Image of Roger Jarjoura

Roger Jarjoura

Principal Researcher
Patricia Campie

Patricia E. Campie

Principal Researcher

Key Work

National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC)

Factory workers discussing paperwork

The NRRC is the go-to resource hub and repository for reentry in the United States. Funded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Administration, this resource center highlights tools, media, events, news, and topics related to reentry. The NRRC, which includes the National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Conviction, National Clean Slate Clearinghouse, and the Public Safety and Risk Assessment Clearinghouse, is a central place for policymakers, reentry partners, community members, law enforcement members, practitioners, and people and families impacted by the justice system to access evidence-based information and resources. Through the Corrections and Community Engagement Technical Assistance Center (CCETAC), AIR provides technical assistance to grantees using the tools and resources of the NRRC and facilitates a community of practice that shares and replicates best, evidence-based practices for reentry.
 

Evaluation of the Neighborhood Opportunity and Accountability Board (NOAB)

Man in a group therapy meeting

Restorative diversion programs promote accountability by engaging community members to holistically increase community safety. Through the generous funding of the AIR Equity Initiative, AIR is evaluating a point-of-arrest restorative diversion program—The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform’s NOAB in Richmond and Oakland, California. AIR will implement Youth Participatory Action Research and collaborate with young people with lived experience in the justice system. Together, we will disseminate findings that inform community-based diversion programs about strategies to best engage youth and their communities to implement contextually relevant and restorative solutions.
 

Center for Coordinated Assistance to States (CCAS)

Happy teenagers smiling to the camera

High-quality, proactive, and coordinated technical assistance improves youth-serving programs and systems. Through funding from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, AIR supports states, territories, tribes, and communities to develop a continuum of juvenile justice services, enhance systems, and ensure outcome-driven implementation of grants. As a result of longstanding relationships and relationship-based technical assistance, AIR and partners have implemented strategies that have resulted in systemic, sustainable changes in policies and practices and facilitated events and resources that promote evidence-based practices.
 

Justice Equity Fellowship

People who were previously incarcerated have disproportionately been excluded from education and workforce opportunities upon their release from incarceration. Funded by the AIR Equity Initiative, AIR is developing a 12-month part-time Justice Equity Fellowship for individuals directly impacted by the justice system. The Fellowship aims to advance employment opportunities in research and technical assistance positions, in addition to advancing AIR’s organizational learning and development to create a more inclusive workforce. Contact us for more information.

Related Work

Indicators of School Crime and Safety

The purpose of this project is to plan, research, design, and execute the annual Indicators of School Crime and Safety, a flagship report co-sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Image of troubled teen girl

Helping Courts Guide Young Lives Back on Track

25 Sep 2017
As communities across the country mark National Recovery Month, Roger Jarjoura explains why recovery can be particularly challenging for youth, and how the juvenile justice system must address their specific needs.

Tribal Defending Childhood Initiative

The Tribal Defending Childhood Initiative supports four federally recognized tribes—the White Earth Nation (Minnesota); the Winnebago Tribe (Nebraska); the Northern Arapahoe Tribe (Wyoming); and the Southern Ute Tribe (Colorado)—as they develop or continue developing trauma-informed practices and procedures across juvenile justice and related child-serving systems. ...

Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines

14 Jun 2017
Nationwide, more than 400 juvenile drug treatment courts (JDTCs) offer a way to respond to the complex needs of youth with substance use disorders, which often require specialized interventions. Courts are continually developing and refining their treatment-oriented approach for adolescents with substance use disorders and involved in the juvenile justice ...

Crime and Safety Surveys Project

This project covers support in all aspects of the Department of Education's NCES crime and safety surveys.

Evaluating Title I, Part D Funds and their Impact on Neglected and Delinquent Youth

Title I, Part D of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act allocates funds to states and school districts to improve educational services for neglected and delinquent youth. This study, prepared by AIR for the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, was designed to better ...

Latin America and the Caribbean - Youth Violence Prevention

The Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region is home to less than 8% of the world’s population, but its rates of crime and violence are some of the highest in the world, with 37% of all homicides. The Latin America and the Caribbean-Youth Violence Prevention project’s overarching goal is to ...
Young woman sitting on floor at locker in school hallway

National Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Neglected or Delinquent Children and Youth

The National Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Neglected or Delinquent Children and Youth served as a national resource center to provide direct assistance to states, schools, communities, and parents seeking information on the education of children and youth who are considered neglected, delinquent, or at risk. ...

Defending Childhood American Indian/Alaska Native Policy Initiative: Supporting Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Systems for Tribes

The 2014 Attorney General’s Advisory Committee report on American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence proclaimed the need for a re-imagined and re-created tribal juvenile justice system focused on prevention, treatment, and healing. AIR and its partners seek to serve and support the vision of promoting the health and well-being ...

Helping Ex-Offenders Return to Their Communities: An Interview with Roger Jarjoura

19 May 2016
More than nine million individuals are released from correctional facilities annually, and the transition home is not always easy. Many face numerous obstacles including poverty, drug abuse, family dysfunction, and lack of access to services and treatment. Failure to reconnect can mean that many end up back in prison: 68 ...