Children Come First: A Process Evaluation of the Nassau County Model Custody Part -- NEW
By Samantha Moore and Michelle Zeitler
This report presents a process evaluation of the Children Come First (CCF) Program, a problem-solving matrimonial court designed to provide a more effective and child-centered response to high conflict divorce cases involving custody issues. The study documents the program's planning, implementation, structure, and lessons learned and includes a multi-method analysis incorporating observation, interviews, and an examination of case processing data.
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Testing the Impact of the Midtown Community Court: Updating Outcomes a Decade Later -- NEW
By Dana Fox-Kralstein, Justin Hakuta, and Vishtasp Soroushian
This study examines the impact of the Midtown Community Court, as compared with Manhattan's traditional centralized criminal court, on case processing and sentencing outcomes. The study finds that Midtown makes greater use of alternative sanctions, less use of jail, and less use of sentences such as time served that do not involve any ongoing obligations. However, the study also finds that practice has changed in the centralized court, which has itself become relatively more likely to use alternative sanctions than in the 1990s, when the original evaluation of the Midtown Community Court was conducted.
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The Perceptions of Self-Represented Tenants in a Community-Based Housing Court -- NEW
By Rashida Abuwala and Donald Farole, Jr.
An article presenting the major findings of the Center's comparison of tenant perceptions at the Harlem Community Justice Center and the centralized Manhattan housing court. The article focuses on those findings related specifically to court fairness, which found that Harlem's tenants had more positive perceptions than those processed in the centralized court. Published in Court Review, Volume 44, Issue 1/2 (2008).
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Evaluation of the Suffolk County Juvenile Treatment Court: Process and Impact Findings -- NEW
By Dana Kralstein
A comprehensive evaluation of the Suffolk County (New York) Juvenile Treatment Court, including the results of systematic courtroom observations, participant focus groups, and an impact study testing effects on recidivism. The results showed above-average retention and graduation rates, but little impact on recidivism. The report also provides a thorough account of Suffolk's juvenile model, how it differs from adult drug courts, and what the previous literature (including 19 earlier studies) finds regarding the effectiveness of the juvenile model.
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Journal of Court Innovation - Second Issue
The Fall 2008 issue focuses on efforts to improve the
journey system with articles on the comprehensibility of new jury instructions, how the internet has affected the jury trial and more.
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Annual Report: 2007
Highlights of the Center for Court Innovation's accomplishments in 2007.
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The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in New York City: Executive Summary
By Richard Curtis, Meredith Dank, Kirk Dombrowski, Bilal Khan, Melissa Labriola, Amy Muslim, Michael Rempel, and Karen Terry
Few crimes are more abhorrent than the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), yet few are more challenging for communities to address. This Executive Summary highlights major findings from a two-volume study exploring the problem of CSEC and evaluating a coordinated effort to find solutions in New York City.
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The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in New York City: Volume One: The CSEC Population in New York City: Size, Characteristics, and Needs
By Richard Curtis, Meredith Dank, Kirk Dombrowski, Bilal Khan, and Karen Terry
A multi-method study to estimate the size, characteristics, needs, and geographic spread of New York City's CSEC population. Using Respondent-Driven Sampling (RDS), a method that has previously been successful in recruiting hard-to-reach populations, the study involved interviews with 249 youth ages 18 years or younger who were participating in CSEC-related activities. Through application of RDS statistical techniques and official city arrest data, the research team estimates that there are currently 3,946 CSEC victims citywide.
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The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in New York City: Volume Two: Formative Evaluation: The New York City Demonstration
By Melissa Labriola, Amy Muslim, and Michael Rempel
An evaluation of New York City's ambitious initiative to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). The evaluation documents achievements, obstacles, and lessons learned for other jurisdictions in four key areas: (1) coordination among CSEC stakeholders citywide; (2) prosecution of exploiters, (3) programs for victims, and (4) prevention initiatives in group homes and schools.
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Youth Culture in Red Hook, Brooklyn: Using Ethnographic Research to Enhance Youth Program Planning
By Elise White
A study that explores the advantages of employing ethnographic research as a central strategy of youth program development. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 23 African American and Latino Brooklyn teenagers, this paper explores these young people’s social worlds, presents key findings, and describes how findings might productively be used in program design.
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Increasing the Voice of Youth: Strategies for New York City Teens Influencing Public Policy
By Shane Correia and Rachel Swaner
A study to determine the most effective ways for New York City teenagers to influence public policy, revealing "how to" advocacy strategies as well as factors related to the structure of youth civic engagement programs. The findings can be used to enhance the credibility of youth with policymakers and to help increase their voice in policymaking.
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Community Justice: An International Overview
By Robert V. Wolf
A redacted and updated version of the article "Community Justice Around the Globe," which originally appeared in Crime & Justice International. Published in Judicature, Vol. 91, No. 6, May-June 2008.
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The Effects of the Harlem Housing Court on Tenant Perceptions of Justice
By Rashida Abuwala and Donald Farole, Jr.
This study examines the perceptions of self-represented tenants in two New York City housing courts: an innovative community housing court at the Harlem Community Justice Center and the centralized Manhattan housing court. Based on structured interviews and court observation, we find that while tenants in both locations provided favorable evaluations of their court experience, Harlem tenants viewed the experience in more positive terms. We also find that tenants in Harlem had more positive perceptions of their housing court experience in large part because they were more likely to perceive the court process and outcome as fair.
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Community Courts Across the Globe: A Survey of Goals, Performance Measures and Operations
By Diana Karafin
There are currently more than 50 community courts open in the U.S. and internationally. By the end of 2008, that number is expected to grow to as many as 79. Given this context of a burgeoning international community court movement, coupled with pressing questions about how to adapt the model to diverse settings, the Open Society Foundation for South Africa commissioned the Center for Court Innovation to conduct a systematic survey of community courts around the world (other than South Africa).
link provided by the Open Society Foundation's web site
Examining Defendant Perceptions of Fairness in the Courtroom
By Somjen Frazer
A brief article highlighting the major findings and implications of the Center's comparison of defendant perceptions of fairness at the Red Hook Community Justice Center and a nearby "downtown" criminal court. Published in Judicature, Volume 91, Number 1 (July-August 2007).
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Does Judicial Monitoring Deter Domestic Violence Recidivism? Results of a Quasi-Experimental Comparison in the Bronx
By Robert Davis, Melissa Labriola, and Michael Rempel
A study of the impact of intensive judicial monitoring with convicted domestic violence offenders. Key findings are also presented in Chapter Six of Testing the Effectiveness of Batterer Programs and Judicial Monitoring Published in Violence Against Women, Volume 14, Number 2 (February 2008).
available from Sage Journals online
Introduction to Problem Solving: Key Issues and Challenges
This curriculum is based on the agendas and participant handbooks created for two workshops held for grante sites under the Community-Based Problem-Solving Criminal Justice Initiative of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice. Intended to provide practitioners with the tools to initiate their own problem-solving initiative, it includes a number of resources that can be adapted for a variety of purposes. It is intended to assist court managers, judicial trainers, and other in putting on trainings at the local level, creating agendas and participant handbooks based on these materials. The hope is that it will help jurisdictions train their local system players in planning and implementing a community-based problem-solving criminal justice initiative.
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Problem-Solving and the American Bench: A National Survey of Trial Court Judges
By Francine Byrne, Yueh-Wen Chang, Donald Farole, Jr., and Michael Rempel
A nationwide survey of more than 1,000 trial court judges concerning their attitudes and practices with respect to problem-solving. The results indicate broad support for problem-solving methods and offer encouraging news for those interested in integrating problem-solving court principles in conventional court settings. The results also identify important obstacles, including limited resources and a need for greater education and training of judges.
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Bridging Theory and Practice: A Roundtable about Court Responses to Domestic Violence
By Carolyn Turgeon
An edited transcript of a daylong conversation among 20 national experts as they explored options for improving criminal court responses to domestic violence, with particular focus on batterer program mandates, judicial monitoring, probation supervision, and victim advocacy.
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