The Crime and Justice Institute at CRJ, with funding from the Public Welfare Foundation, put on the conference “Measuring Realignment: Using data for management and evaluation at the local and state level” to assist key criminal justice stakeholders in California in their implementation of Assembly Bill 109.
The bill, which shifts the responsibility of incarcerating many low-risk inmates from the states to the counties, was passed in July 2011. The conference was aimed at assisting individual counties in California struggling with how to measure the success of realignment, and how to understand their offender population and its intervention needs.
Conference sessions covered many topics including: developing data dashboards, collaborative measurement efforts at the state and county level, cost-benefit analysis, and treatment program evaluation.
The event was attended by 240 people representing 40 counties, 8 state agencies, and a variety of disciplines including county administrators, district attorneys, probation chiefs, sheriffs, and researchers. Attendance exceeded expectations — it was standing room only, with a line at the door of those hoping to register on-site.