Center for Court Innovation

The Center for Court Innovation seeks to help create a more effective and humane justice system. Founded as a public/private partnership between the New York State Unified Court System and the Fund for the City of New York, the Center creates operating programs to test new ideas and solve problems, performs original research to determine what works (and what doesn't), and provides expert assistance to justice reformers around the world. Our programs include community-based violence prevention projects, alternatives to incarceration, reentry initiatives, and court-based programs that reduce the use of unnecessary incarceration and promote positive individual and family change. Our researchers conduct independent evaluations, documenting how government systems work, how neighborhoods function, and how reform efforts change things. We have published much-cited studies that have looked at such topics as youth in the sex trade, reentry court, and drug treatment as an alternative to incarceration. We also provide hands-on, expert assistance to reformers around the world. Having launched dozens of innovative justice initiatives, we know firsthand the nuts-and-bolts of how to get a new project off the ground. Our assistance takes many forms, including analyzing data, facilitating planning sessions, and hosting site visits to our operating programs in the New York City area.