Other Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation

The criminal legal system (CLS) encompasses a range of settings, populations, and organizations. Our work spans these different contexts, with research and evaluation focused on understanding needs, strengthening programs, and informing practice. The examples below highlight some of the settings and populations represented in our work.

Victim Services

We have partnered with funders and community organizations that support people who have experienced crime to understand service needs, access, and availability, and identify opportunities to strengthen the systems that support victims of crime. Through the Governor’s Crime Commission Needs Assessment for Victims of Crime in North Carolina, we examined service needs and availability across populations, barriers to accessing services, and organizations’ training and capacity-building needs. This work provided a statewide perspective on opportunities to strengthen victim services and improve coordination among organizations. 

Courts and Re-entry

We have examined how courts and reentry programs can connect people involved in the criminal legal system with behavioral health treatment and other supports. For the Durham County Mental Health Court Expansion Initiative, we evaluated changes to referral, assessment, enrollment, and engagement processes and examined factors that influenced implementation. In a project with the Durham County Justice Services Department, we assessed their re-entry program, which facilitated the transition from jail to the community for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.  

Workforce

Criminal legal system staff play an important role in shaping how people experience and access services, supervision, and other system processes. Their decisions, interactions, and working conditions can influence the fairness, consistency, and quality of support individuals receive. We work with agencies to understand workforce experiences, identify organizational needs, and strengthen staff capacity. 

We partnered with the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (NCDAC) to examine workforce engagement, retention, and well-being. As part of this project, we explored methods used by correctional agencies to assess their workforce engagement and retention. We also surveyed NCDAC staff about their well-being and wellness service needs to inform future programming. 

Learn more about our other criminal justice/ criminal legal system projects: