After the Summit
Working groups will convene to develop strategies to address state and local justice-related challenges, including evidence-based or promising practices, cross-disciplinary and cross-jurisdictional partnerships, and professional development and training strategies to conserve resources and share information. Working groups will be organized by jurisdiction size, with smaller, medium, and larger sized jurisdictions paired with those of similar-size. Existing plans that overlap with the Authority's responsibilities, such as the Illinois Department of Corrections reform efforts and the Mental Health and Justice Initiative, will be integrated into the Authority's plan.
The Authority will provide facilitators and technical assistance coordinators to the working groups to:
- help frame specific crime-related issues and other challenges that are identified within the region;
- provide resources, reference material, web sites, or subject matter experts pertaining to successful and promising policies, programs, and practices; and
- offer perspectives regarding the role of state agencies.
Working groups will produce goals, objectives, and action steps for each of the identified problem issues. Specific action steps may pertain to both local and state-level stakeholders, and may include the need for program grants, changes in public policy, additional research, and/or enhancements to information technology. In accordance with the overriding theme of creating smarter solutions for crime reduction, the action steps will fall within programs, practices, and policies that:
- are multijurisdictional and multidisciplinary;
- are promising or evidence-based; and
- support professional development and training.
Once the strategic plan elements are generated by the working groups, the Authority staff will compile and synthesize the information to formulate an integrated State of Illinois Criminal Justice Strategic Plan to assist the legislature, state and local policymakers, and practitioners in increasing public safety and in improving the criminal justice system.
