Sean Vargas helps both parents with youth in probation and young people with court cases to get the services they need. He is the coordinator of family support services at the Queens Community Justice Center, where he has worked for 10 years. Everyday, he witnesses how kids experience going through the system, and they can be angry or worried. Sean uses fun—games, toys, jokes, to lower barriers and engage with people, bringing fun with him wherever he goes. Sean is a true changemaker who transforms communities with joy and hope.
The June 2019 expansion of New York City’s Supervised Release Program increased the number of people released into supervision. This was true for those facing misdemeanor or non-violent felony charges. In addition, the expansion reduced pretrial detention among people charged with non-violent felonies. There was no decrease in pretrial detention for those facing misdemeanors. This suggests that these individuals would likely have been released on recognizance—with no supervision requirements—prior to the expansion.
Youth in the Rockaways, Queens reveal that they have an ever-present fear for their physical safety. The 50 young people we spoke with report maintaining constant vigilance when they are outside and staying indoors most of the time as strategies for staying safe. They experience a dearth of local activities for youth and express a desire for sports, arts, and financial literacy programming; school support; fun field trips; and spaces to learn about and discuss social issues like systemic racism.
Housing is a human right. What if we designed our systems—beginning with Housing Court—to embody that? Given the current eviction crisis, it's a far-off concept, but there's work to make it a reality in pockets across the country. In this special episode of New Thinking, hear a profile of one of those efforts in Brooklyn, led by our Red Hook Community Justice Center.
Women and gender-expansive people are uniquely vulnerable to the widespread violence, dysfunction, and lack of access to essential services on Rikers Island. This report contains policy recommendations to safely and effectively reduce the number of these individuals in New York City jails to below 100 in order to achieve the planned closure of Rikers Island by 2027.
Bronx Heroin Overdose Prevention and Education (HOPE), a new initiative of Bronx Community Solutions, addresses substance use issues with a harm-reduction model at the precinct level. By giving clients the option of accessing community services instead of appearing in court, Bronx HOPE gives Bronx residents the opportunity for rehabilitation and connection to community rather than jail or options that don’t address the underlying issues.
The Bronx Community Justice Center works to create a safer, more equitable Bronx through community-driven public safety initiatives, youth opportunity, and economic mobility efforts focused in the South Bronx. Our vision is to support the South Bronx community to become a safe and thriving place where local ownership, community-led investment, and youth opportunity can flourish. The Bronx Community Justice Center works toward this vision by focusing on community safety, restorative practices, and youth and economic development.
Intimate partner violence poses a challenge to jurisdictions weighing the imperative of reducing pretrial detention against potential risks to survivors. Our study of practices across the country found few specialized pretrial alternatives in these cases. Our research brief highlights the handful of specialized practices we did uncover along with recommendations for new approaches. Five case studies and “Notes from the Field” add further context.
St. Louis County’s Domestic Violence Court in Missouri operates a “one family one judge” civil court model for orders of protection with judicial monitoring and contempt dockets, serving a suburban and urban community.
The Tucson City Domestic Violence Court is a high-volume criminal misdemeanor court. The Court specifically provides services and safety for Deaf victims of domestic violence through their partnership with Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse and the Community Outreach Program for the Deaf.
