2024

For me, 2024 ended the way it began: with a trip that embodied the enduring bipartisan appetite for improvements to our justice system and underscored the CSG Justice Center’s role in supporting those changes.

January found me in Massachusetts, touring the Middlesex County Jail with the CSG Justice Center Advisory Board’s Vice Chair, Sheriff Peter Koutoujian. Among the many innovations he showed me were a new unit designed for older individuals and a family-friendly visiting room.
And my February began in Lincoln, Nebraska, where I joined Governor Jim Pillen and his cabinet members as he unveiled a proclamation that the state had joined the Reentry 2030 initiative and set bold goals for improving reentry success.
Fast forward to December, and I traveled to Houston, where I rode along with an officer on the Houston Police Department’s Homelessness Outreach Team (HOT). The officer drove us to a homeless encampment to check on people he knows. The HOT officers shared that it sometimes takes years to get someone who is struggling with mental illness and addiction to accept housing. But the team is working to develop their trust and eventually get them housed.

Later that same month, I traveled to Philadelphia for the 2024 Second Chance Act conference—a gathering of over 800 reentry practitioners from across the country where we celebrated the 15th anniversary of the Second Chance Act and the 23 percent reduction in recidivism it heralded.

The CSG Justice Center was a driving force behind all these innovations and many others. In 2024, we centered data, research, and equity in policy conversations, brokered bipartisan consensus, and helped communities capitalize on new opportunities to promote health and justice.

In this annual report, you will read examples of our team meeting states and communities where they are and offering data-backed solutions. In 2024, we provided state policymakers with data on what is driving violent crime locally and advised them on how to increase the solve rate for homicides. We also helped states leverage Medicaid to expand access to treatment and diversion for nonviolent offenses. And we positioned communities to launch alternative responses to 911 crisis calls, prioritizing access to care for people who need it. We also supported red and blue states to launch Reentry 2030, improving employment, education, health, and housing outcomes for people returning to their communities. Finally, we released new research demonstrating the crisis in which too many kids and families find themselves, and we called on leaders and systems to come together to better support youth and prevent justice system contact.

These are just a few of our accomplishments in the past year. As I travel around the country, I see and feel our organization’s impact, as well as the hunger for ideas and innovations that are data-backed and have bipartisan support. I hope that you will feel what I’ve felt: gratitude for those doing the hard work in the field, pride at all they’ve accomplished, and inspiration for all that we can do together in the years to come.

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Number of programs implemented with our support: 

CSG Justice Center staff members across 33 states and the District of Columbia
195

In 2024, we took critical strides toward a more just and equitable criminal justice system, reshaping how communities respond to crises, guiding policymakers with data-driven insights, and removing barriers to successful reintegration. From implementing community responder programs, to supporting mental health interventions and strengthening reentry outcomes, our work this past year reflects a commitment to building safer, more inclusive, resilient communities. Together, these efforts illuminate a path forward for our justice system, demonstrating how comprehensive, compassionate, data-driven reforms can lead to lasting change in the justice system.

Preventing Justice Involvement

We transformed community responses to people in crisis, emphasizing support over punishment.  

Caption: Olympia, WA’s Crisis Response Unit provides free, confidential, and voluntary crisis response assistance. Photo courtesy of Olympia Crisis Response Team.

We invested in a community-first approach to public safety and crisis response by launching a groundbreaking commission aimed at setting national best practices for community response. We also supported the development and expansion of community responder programs nationally that divert people in crisis from jails and emergency rooms to appropriate care.

We prioritized data and research in policymaking for fair and effective criminal justice practices.

By focusing on evidence-based solutions to violent crime, youth behavioral health, and systemic data transparency, we tackled pressing criminal justice challenges. From improving solve rates for violent crimes to supporting data-driven policymaking and addressing recidivism, we empowered stakeholders with actionable insights and tools to create safer, more equitable communities nationwide.