Since 1986, CJCJ has provided specialized technical assistance to public agencies, policymakers, and legal teams who are transforming correctional and justice systems. We have four decades of experience including justice reform, sentencing policy, and correctional oversight. Our team provides jurisdictions with expert guidance, local analysis, and implementation support. We create more equitable and humane practices that reduce incarceration, strengthen accountability, and support successful reentry.
Proven expertise and collaborative solutions to reform justice policy
Our Expertise
CJCJ’s policy and technical assistance team includes nationally recognized experts, led by Daniel Macallair, Executive Director, and Gerald Miller, Director of Community-Based Services. Together, they bring decades of experience leading and advising reform efforts across the country.
Our team combines on-the-ground expertise, from running community programs, with policy innovation. CJCJ is uniquely equipped to implement effective, sustainable change.
We provide expertise in:
- Systemic corrections reform and restructuring
- Implementation of community-based programs
- Sentencing practices and reducing disparities
- Prison and juvenile facility conditions
- Prevention and oversight of institutional violence
- Treatment services for special populations
- Parole planning and reentry systems
- Institutional standards and compliance
CJCJ grounds our work in research and practical, field-based experience. We transform ideas into proven practices that strengthen justice systems and communities.
How it Works
CJCJ provides consulting and implementation support for:
- Government reforms of sentencing, corrections, and reentry
- Legal actions and consent decrees addressing correctional practices, and compliance
- Development of community-based alternatives to incarceration
Our technical assistance instituted landmark reforms in Hawaii, California, and the District of Columbia. We improved facility conditions, reduced institutional violence, and restructured correctional systems.
For case studies of CJCJ’s work, you can view Transforming Youth Justice in Hawai’i and Closing California’s Youth Prisons.
Our Lead Experts
Daniel Macallair, Executive Director
Daniel Macallair is one of California’s foremost experts on sentencing policy, correctional reform, and institutional practices. For nearly four decades, he has advised state and national policymakers, including the Little Hoover Commission’s Advisory Committees on Sentencing & Parole Reform and the Corrections Oversight Project.
He has implemented reforms nationwide and pioneered model programs for the justice system’s most challenging populations. Mr. Macallair has testified in over 200 adult and juvenile sentencing cases, including death penalty hearings, and has authored landmark studies on California’s prison and juvenile justice systems.
Publications & Media
Mr. Macallair is the author of After the Doors Were Locked: A History of Youth Correction in California and the Origins of Twenty-First Century Reform (2015) and serves as a Practitioner-in-Residence at San Francisco State University’s Department of Criminal Justice Studies.
Macallair’s research has appeared in Stanford Law & Policy Review, Youth & Society, Journal of Juvenile Law, and Western Criminology Review. He has been featured on BBC, NPR, CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.
Selected Commentary & Appearances:
Feb 24, 2024: ABC Radio National (Australia) — Tough on Crime: A History of Putting Kids in Prison
July 27, 2023: KQED Forum — California State Youth Detention Facilities Are Closed. What Happens Now?
Feb 27, 2017: Testimony on Sentencing Reform before the California Assembly Budget and Public Safety Subcommittee
Contact info:
Daniel Macallair
dmacallair@cjcj.org
Gerald Miller, Director of Community-Based Services
Gerald Miller brings more than 25 years of experience in alternative sentencing, reentry, and community-based service design. Before joining CJCJ, he spent 12 years with the Delancey Street Foundation, where he directed the Institute for Social Renewal.
Mr. Miller has developed and managed innovative reentry and resentencing programs, including initiatives with the U.S. Federal Courts and the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. His expertise includes designing and implementing model community-based approaches for individuals transitioning from incarceration — emphasizing accountability, opportunity, and long-term success.
He has also served on multiple advisory boards, including two terms on the San Francisco Reentry Council, and frequently testifies on California prison conditions, offering insights drawn from both professional and lived experience.
Contact info:
Gerald Miller
gerald@cjcj.org
Applying for Technical Assistance
CJCJ accepts technical assistance requests on a case-by-case basis after assessing the project’s scope.
We also provide presentations and training for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. Our team helps jurisdictions build transformative change grounded in proven, effective strategies.
To inquire about technical assistance or schedule a consultation, please contact:
Brian Goldstein Director of Policy and Development
brian@cjcj.org
Tel: 415−621−5661 x. 102