A Year in Review
Wishing you a Happy Holidays from our JPO team!
As 2019 comes to a close, we reflect on a year that began with the First Step Act and has seen growing momentum to reform the justice system. This year, our JPO team worked with stakeholders from across the justice system to provide research, program evaluation, training and technical assistance, and more to impact change. Here’s a snapshot of our contributions which we hope to build upon in 2020.
A Snapshot of 2019
We Launched a Human Trafficking Project
JPO launched the Maximizing the Office for Victims of Crime’s Survivor Assistance in Court Settings project, MOSAICS, at the start of 2019. MOSAICS is a training and technical assistance project to assist courts in identifying and responding to the needs of survivors of human trafficking facing criminal charges. JPO is proud to partner with national experts in labor and sex trafficking, including survivors of trafficking, who have joined the project as members of Training and Advisory Board. To date, the project has produced three topical webinars, available to watch online , and we plan to begin providing hands-on learning to individual jurisdictions in 2020.
We Provided Training and Technical Assistance
In 2019, the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Training and Technical Assistance Initiative presented at nine drug treatment court conferences across the country and provided eight jurisdictions with hands-on, individualized training and technical assistance. Also, the project team hosted an intensive three-day training here at American University on the best practices for juvenile drug treatment courts.
We Held a Meeting with Judges and Court Administrators
In May, JPO’s Right to Counsel National Campaign team held a meeting with judges and court administrators on how to enhance caseflow management to ensure effective assistance of counsel. The sustained energy, thoughtfulness, and critical thinking that manifested during the May meeting was beyond our highest expectations. Multiple participants stated how they previously attended meetings titled “Enhancing Caseflow Management,” or meetings that only referenced “Effective Assistance of Counsel,” but never had they attended a meeting that combined the two. Participants left encouraged to help spread the energy to other jurisdictions across the nation and establish a framework for all courts to use to enhance caseflow management by ensuring effective assistance of counsel.
Three Highlights in Criminal Justice Reform

2019 saw many wins for reform, with the issues being in the spotlight during elections like never before. ICYMI: Here are three major successes in criminal justice reform we would like to highlight from this past year:
New Podcast Series: Color in the Court
We've just released a new podcast series: Color in the Court: Exploring Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Treatment Courts. In three parts we take a look at the current US justice system and the root causes that have led to this magnitude of racial and ethnic disparities (RED). We also explore what led us to release a RED program assessment tool and hear from a court that has used it. Listen to our latest podcasts today!
A Huge Thank You to You!

Overall, it has been another year of learning, supporting, and growing for the Justice Programs Office team and we couldn’t have done it without all of you! If you are interested in seeing what we hope to do more of next year, keep following this newsletter or on Twitter for the issues we will focus on in 2020.