Measures for Justice

Measures for Justice (MFJ) was created in 2011 as a non-profit organization for the development of criminal justice system performance indicators that can be used nationally to collect and analyze data, benchmark, and compare counties on case processing from the point of arrest to post-conviction and related outcomes. The proposed award enables MFJ to document stories to illustrate and develop media content from practitioners, policy makers, community leaders, impacted persons, and advocates to illustrate how its data resources, tools, and analytics can be used to drive criminal justice reform. MFJ’s mission is to make data available and actionable to inform public policy and spur reform. MFJ works to educate system agency and community stakeholders about the importance of their data and the quality of such data in identifying policy goals and strategies. The project includes a redesigned website built around data storytelling and a media campaign geared to promote what MFJ does, why they do it, and how.

Measures for Justice (MFJ) was created in 2011 as a non-profit organization for the development of performance indicators that can be used nationally to collect and analyze data, and benchmark and compare counties on case processing and its outcomes. The proposed award enables MFJ to enhance its Data Portal and create a Use Lab to develop a range of analytical tools that will yield information that can be used to inform policy making, assess system performance, and promote transparency and accountability in criminal justice. The tools include county comparison analytics, dashboards, data visualization, and customized reports that can be generated for different user groups, such as prosecutors or court administrators as well as advocates and researchers. The project sets performance measurement standards and benchmarks for assessing the statewide context for the Safety and Justice Challenge Network by collecting and analyzing county-level data in three areas: public safety, fiscal responsibility, and fairness and accuracy.

Measures for Justice (MFJ) was created in 2011 as a non-profit organization for the development of performance indicators that can be used nationally to collect and analyze data, and benchmark and compare counties on case processing and its outcomes. MFJ has proposed a joint project in collaboration with the Institute of State and Local Governance at the City University of New York (ISLG), the resource hub and technical assistance coordinator for the Safety and Justice Challenge. MFJ and ISLG are well positioned to work together because MFJ’s measurement framework shares much in common with ISLG’s baseline information describing the current performance of sites participating in the Safety and Justice Challenge Network (Network), 20 competitively selected local jurisdictions committed to finding ways to reduce unnecessary jail incarceration safely and sustainably. The project sets performance measurement standards and benchmarks for assessing the statewide context for the Network counties by collecting and analyzing county-level data in three areas: public safety, fiscal responsibility, and fairness and accuracy.

Established by statute, the Administrative Office of the Courts is the administrative arm of the Illinois Supreme Court. Measures for Justice is a non-profit organization that develops performance indicators that can be used nationally to collect and analyze data, and benchmark and compare counties on case processing and its outcomes. The companion grants will support a joint AOIC and MFJ project to improve the collection and analysis of criminal justice systems data to enable the Illinois Supreme Court to compare county legal services and processes across the state.