Justice Counts Work Session Series

Between October 24 and 26, 2022, Justice Counts is hosting seven sector-specific work sessions to help define the data elements to include in Justice Counts metrics to empower data-driven decision-making. The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), and Justice Counts partners will host work sessions on the Justice Counts Tier 1 metrics Technical Implementation Guides. The Justice Counts Tier 1 metrics were developed by seven sector-specific subcommittees composed of practitioners and researchers who focused on determining the most useful and feasible metrics for policymakers to consider and for agencies to publish. Through a series of votes and detailed prioritization discussions that included feedback from subcommittee members, partner organizations, and system stakeholders, the Justice Counts coalition reached consensus on the first tier of 67 metrics, which were released to the public in May 2022. Since May, the Justice Counts coalition has developed the Technical Implementation Guides, which expand upon the metrics to provide the information and explanations that criminal justice agencies will need to publish the metrics.

Each sector-specific work session will include: (1) a presentation of the draft Technical Implementation Guide for that sector’s metrics; (2) a deep-dive discussion designed to further shape the definitions, fields, and agency-specific customizations in the forthcoming Justice Counts data infrastructure; and (3) a conversation about potential barriers to implementing the Justice Counts metrics. These sessions will be valuable learning opportunities for both session participants and the Justice Counts team. The information gained from these critical conversations will drive work with project partners in the subsequent weeks, leading to the release of the final Technical Implementation Guides that agencies will use as part of the Justice Counts onboarding process.

Audience:

The work sessions are intended primarily for agency staff who are likely to be tasked with gathering the data recommended by the Justice Counts metrics and entering the data for their agency via the Justice Counts digital infrastructure. The sessions are geared toward a more technically oriented audience than most policymakers or agency leaders who are data-informed but not responsible for data management. That said, the Justice Counts team welcomes any members of the public who wish to engage in a robust conversation about creating a flexible way to meaningfully define criminal justice data to participate in the work sessions.

Event Speakers:

Katie Mosehauer, Program Director, State Initiatives, CSG Justice Center
Laura van der Lugt, Deputy Program Director, State Initiatives, CSG Justice Center
Matt Herman, Data Scientist II, Research, CSG Justice Center
Sarah Lee, Senior Policy Analyst, State Initiatives, CSG Justice Center