About
The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) is a non-profit nonpartisan organization whose mission is to reduce society’s reliance on incarceration as a solution to social problems.
In pursuit of this mission, CJCJ provides direct services, technical assistance, and policy analysis that work in unison to promote a balanced and humane criminal justice system designed to reduce incarceration and enhance long-term public safety.
Direct Services
Currently, CJCJ has 14 model direct service programs that cater to both adult and juvenile offenders at various stages of the justice system. These programs serve Bay Area residents and operate in collaboration with San Francisco’s criminal justice stakeholders and other community-based organizations.
Technical Assistance
CJCJ provides technical assistance to counties and states to develop methods to reduce the number of adults or youth they incarcerate. Additionally, the Sentencing Service Program (SSP) provides expert analysis and assistance on a variety of individual criminal and juvenile justice cases.
Policy Analysis
CJCJ conducts data-driven research and policy analysis promoting effective approaches to criminal and juvenile justice policies. CJCJ has published numerous reports on topics ranging from juvenile justice reform to analyses of drug policy enforcement. In 2009, CJCJ developed the California Sentencing Institute as the foundation for data- and research-driven commentary on the broader public safety dialogue.
Read a complete listing of current CJCJ services.
History
In 1985, CJCJ originated as the Western Regional office of the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (NCIA), based in San Francisco, California. In 1991, CJCJ established separately from NCIA and obtained 501(c)(3) status. In 1997, CJCJ created the Justice Policy Institute (JPI), to conduct policy work from a social justice perspective in both its west and east coast offices. In 2003, JPI became its own 501(3)(c) nonprofit on the east coast. In 2012, the agency merged with the San Francisco-based Northern California Service League (NCSL), a 64-year-old agency providing high-quality community-based re-entry services to ex-offenders.
CJCJ maintains a professional staff of 35-40 individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise, including practitioners, policy analysts, and researchers. We possess over 30 years of experience in the criminal and juvenile justice fields including program operations, policy development and analysis, technical assistance, nonprofit management, program evaluation, and organizational reform.