Strategic Planning in the Criminal Justice System A Guide to Understanding the Process Challenges in the criminal justice system are seldom simple and rarely isolated to one agency or program, but rather require a coordinated and thorough approach. Comprehensive planning enables governors and their administrations to deploy strategies that are responsive, effective and cost efficient. Limited resources require that investments be made in programs with proven outcomes and that address the needs of greatest priority. A comprehensive strategic planning process enables an agency, community or state to clearly identify those challenges of greatest urgency and allocate available federal, state and local resources across programs, targeted populations and/or to geographic areas so that the highest needs are met. Done effectively, strategic planning helps to bring the problems into focus, define reasonable and achievable goals, decide how to deploy available resources responsibly and evaluate success toward desired outcomes. Used together with a collaborative communications strategy, comprehensive planning assists in identifying and addressing potential barriers to success and can chart progress toward stated goals. A continuous analytic process, strategic planning is used to create a focus for activities and resources to achieve specific results and to develop shared responsibility for achieving those results.
The Governor’s role in leading effective planning Leadership from the governor’s office is essential for setting an expectation of cross-system collaboration, including setting a vision for criminal justice in the state. The governor plays a pivotal role in directing state agencies to work together and providing a structure for effective collaboration (i.e., appointing and empowering a public safety sub cabinet). In this way, the governor not only provides a mandate for change, but also a purpose and structure for convening state and local government partners and the broader statewide stakeholder community. A governor’s bully pulpit can draw attention to key issues, direct executive actions and encourage legislative actions.
The State Administering Agency’s role in strategic planning State administering agencies (SAAs) are the state’s designated criminal justice planning agencies, administering more than $3 billion in federal grants each year, including the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) program. Strategic planning is an important tool SAAs use to ensure resources address each state’s most pressing challenges, that desired outcomes are achieved and that the programs supported are evidence informed and data-driven. As the designated criminal justice planning and policy development agency, the SAA is given the ability to access a wide perspective of local and state justice initiatives, provide support to promising initiatives and coordinate similar efforts across the state. The SAA may also identify gaps across disciplines and provide leadership, when necessary, to address those gaps. Originally passed in the 1968 Omnibus Crime Control & Safe Streets Act, Byrne JAG was intended to “(1) encourage States and units of general local government to prepare and adopt comprehensive plans based upon their evaluation of State and local problems of law enforcement; (2) authorize grants to States and units of local government in order to improve and strengthen law enforcement; and (3) encourage research and development directed toward the improvement of law enforcement and the development of new methods for the prevention and reduction of crime and the detection and apprehension of criminals” (emphasis added). Although the original requirement for comprehensive strategic planning was inadvertently dropped when the program was reauthorized in 2005, it was renewed in the Justice for All Reauthorization Act of 2016 (JFARA) with specific guidance to states on the stakeholders and process to engage. 1
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets, https://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/OSEC/library/legislative_histories/1615.pdf
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Strategic planning is an important tool for SAAs to ensure that grant resources are used to address each state’s most pressing challenges, that desired outcomes are achieved and that the programs supported are evidence informed and data driven Strategic planning requirement in the Byrne JAG program Beginning with the FFY19 State Byrne JAG Solicitation, states must develop a comprehensive strategic plan which shall: •
Be designed in consultation with local governments and representatives of all segments of the criminal justice system including judges, prosecutors, corrections personnel, providers of indigent defense services, victims’ services, juvenile justice delinquency prevention programs, community corrections and reentry services; • Include a description of how the state will allocate funding within and among the eight statutory Byrne JAG purpose areas; • Describe the process used by the state for gathering data and developing and using data-informed and evidence-gathering approaches in support of funding decisions; • Describe the barriers at the state and local level for accessing data and implementing evidence-based approaches to preventing and reducing crime and recidivism; and • Be updated every five years, with annual progress reports.
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Purpose and mechanism for engaging stakeholders Crafting an effective strategic plan requires several key steps: engaging stakeholders, using data to drive decisions, identifying the problem, assessing resources, defining goals, implementing programs and policies with fidelity, and evaluating the chosen programs in meeting the identified goals. Engaging diverse stakeholders means involving individuals from relevant state and local government partners as well as voices from various areas of the state, demographic groups and perspectives, including those with experience of the justice system. Actions can include: hosting a statewide committee or task force; conducting a needs assessment, interviews or focus groups; performing systems mapping; engaging the administration and key partners in ongoing dialogue; and sharing crime and performance information. Comprehensive stakeholder engagement fosters new ideas, welcomes varied perspectives, establishes buy-in and support, identifies potential roadblocks in advance, strengthens consensus, creates connections, increases credibility and most importantly, increases chances for success.
Tools for successful planning The Sequential Intercept Model (top of page 3) is an effective tool to illustrate how individuals move through the justice system. As part of a comprehensive planning process, use of the model enables state and local governments to examine their justice systems at each intercept, engage stakeholders that operate at each intercept, identify service gaps and create solutions to address challenges. This model can be used throughout the planning process to measure progress in implementing system change and aligning data and resources across intercepts.
Sequential Intercept Model
Use of data to define the problem and measure performance To be truly effective, data must be used to inform the strategic plan to help with problem identification, performance management, outcome evaluation, assessment of impact on stakeholders and citizens, and measurement of program or policy efficacy. Data driven decision making establishes a continuity between the strategic objectives and actual outcomes. States and localities can use a logic model like the one below to help turn data into information.
INPUTS » ACTIVITIES » OUTPUTS » OUTCOMES • • • •
Inputs – resources, staff, time, equipment. Who and what is involved in the initiative? Activities – services, actions, methods. What will be done? Outputs – measurable events from activities. What will happen? Outcomes – results or changes realized from outputs. What will have changed as a result?
Data-driven decision making is also helpful in determining the resources you have or need to address the problem. Planning enables the budgeting of resources, staffing, facilities and expertise. Through this process, the governor, with the SAA and other state and local agencies will identify the resources needed to address a specific challenge or to launch a program until savings can create sustainability. These may be federal, state, or local funds or a blend of sources combined
to create a comprehensive approach. Careful planning will help policymakers target which funds are available and appropriate for each purpose. In addition to the Byrne JAG program, SAAs administer other Department of Justice federal formula grant programs. These include the Violence Against Women Act, Victims of Crime Act and the Sexual Assault Services Program from the Office on Violence Against Women and Office for Victims of Crime, and the juvenile justice and prevention initiatives supported with Title II grants from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. To learn more about these grant programs and the agencies that administer the funds, visit the NCJA website. Also, their colleagues in the state alcohol and substance abuse treatment agencies administer more than $3.4 billion in federal formula grants from the Department of Health and Humans Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The state’s law enforcement, courts and non-profit service partners will also have access to federal competitive discretionary grant funds that can be used for more defined purposes.
SAAs administer more than $3 billion in federal formula grants from the Department of Justice including Byrne JAG which has a broad range of allowable purpose areas. www.ncja.org www.ncja.org 3
SMART goal setting One of the greatest challenges in strategic planning is defining clear goals for the proposed approach. SMART goal setting is one of the most effective, and least used, tools for addressing the priority issues that are important to the overall well-being of the state or impacted agency. SMART goal setting means Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timebound. It is a process that can: • • • • •
Bring structure and tracking to goals and objectives; Define a clear path toward a certain objective, with clear milestones and an estimation of the goal’s attainability; Create transparency throughout the process; State the desired impact and anticipated outcomes of each action; and Define the criteria used to measure success.
Implementing effective strategies State resources are limited and investments in proven strategies makes good economic sense. Evidence-informed decision making means that the state has relied upon information in support of the effectiveness of a program, practice or policy along a continuum ranging from very low to very high levels of confidence. This strategy allows governors and other state policymakers to implement programs and services that have been proven effective for similar challenges in other jurisdictions, states or settings, adapted with care to their unique needs as determined by the strategic plan. The SAA, through the national network of peers convened by the National Criminal Justice Association, and through training and technical assistance can bring insight and research to the state to address priority and emerging issues.
Evaluation of outcomes The final step in comprehensive strategic planning is evaluation and adaptation. Not all plans or programs are
effective, so continuous monitoring and performance measurement will ensure that the investment is generating desired outcomes. An evaluation strategy addresses changing circumstances in the state and describes how the state may adjust investments if needed. Using data in the evaluation strategy means providing an ongoing assessment of need to ensure that this issue is still of great importance when compared to other emerging challenges. The evaluation creates an opportunity to celebrate success and accomplishment of goals identified in the strategic plan as well as reflect on how the plan influenced state investments, policy decisions and program design.
Strategic planning technical assistance The National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) provides strategic planning training and technical assistance to states and territories through the Byrne JAG grant program. There are a variety of resources and levels of support available including customized training, facilitation, survey development and analysis, as well as onsite and remote technical assistance. More information is available at http://www.ncja.org/ncja/ncja-services/ncja-services-strategic-planning-tta.
Based in Washington, D.C., the National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) represents state, tribal and local governments on crime prevention and crime control issues. As the representative of criminal and juvenile justice practitioners, the NCJA works to promote a balanced approach to communities’ complex public safety and criminal and juvenile justice system problems. For more information about NCJA, or to become a member, please visit our website at www.ncja.org. 720 Seventh Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington DC, 20001 • (202) 628-8550
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