A new strategic planning effort
In November 2009, the Authority initiated a strategic planning effort. This effort, unlike the 1999 effort, recognizes the barriers posed by the current fiscal environment in Illinois and around the country, and the uncertain status of continued federal funding. Bearing in mind these challenges, the overall goal of the current initiative is to provide information on effective strategies to address justice-related challenges by shifting resources, utilizing evidence-based or promising practices, and forming cross-disciplinary and cross-jurisdictional partnerships to conserve resources and share information.
Between November 2009 and March 2010, the Authority engaged in a comprehensive assessment process to identify challenges within the criminal justice system. Authority staff gathered information from state and local leaders, criminal justice practitioners, policymakers, and service providers about the primary issues facing their agencies or jurisdictions related to the effective administration of services and sanctions. This multi-tiered process included phone interviews with local and county-level law enforcement, state's attorneys, public defenders, judges, probation and court services officers, and human services providers.
The Authority also garnered input on the structure, content, and administration of a two-day strategic planning summit from an advisory group of Illinois agency directors who work with, and implement public policies for, criminal justice-involved populations.
Additionally, the Authority hosted a workgroup of academic researchers and public policy advocates to identify their most pressing concerns resulting from research and direct work in the field.
Lastly, the Authority met with the leaders of existing criminal justice reform initiatives on the issues of mental health and justice, offender reentry, victim services, and corrections reform to ensure the strategic planning process complemented and was informed by work already underway to improve and enhance the adult criminal justice system. Staff also reviewed existing academic and public policy literature about criminal justice policies, practices, and programs.
The needs assessment was completed and the most prevalent issues were identified. Topics were validated using existing Illinois criminal justice and health and human services data for quantitative evidence. Staff also examined academic literature, state criminal justice and drug policy strategies, and reports and policy statements from major national criminal justice-related groups and associations.
Once the topics were established, Authority staff organized them categorically and prioritized strategies for addressing barriers that could potentially generate the greatest impact with the least cost. This process involved another multi-tiered information gathering process including: identifying evidence-based, replicable, measurable, and efficient national and statewide practices, and considering geographically relevant strategies that could be adapted or replicated in Illinois.
The issues covered in the summit agenda are not the only issues identified during advisory meetings, workgroups, interviews, and in the review of the literature. The topics were, however, most commonly identified through the needs assessment process and have the greatest potential for broad system impact, recognizing ICJIA’s mandate within grants administration, research and analysis, policy and planning, and information systems and technology:
The topics are:
- Why You Need the Neighborhood: Ensuring Community Participation in Public Safety
- Smarter Spending: Reducing Spending on Corrections to Increase Public Safety Through Justice Reinvestment
- The Two Hardest Problems: Addressing Drug Abuse and Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System
- Staying Ahead of the Curve: Current Illinois Initiatives
- Letting Success Guide Public Policy.
- What You Don't Know CAN Hurt You: Sharing Data and Information through Criminal Justice Partnerships
