COLLABORATION IN ACTION
A Toolkit for Courts and Counties
Collaboration in Action: A Toolkit for Courts and Counties is an easy-to-use online resource for county and court leaders building safer, more effective local criminal justice systems. It draws on the real work of counties across the country that brought together many sectors, including judges, sheriffs, prosecutors, public defenders, behavioral health providers, and people with lived experience, to plan for change. Whether your county is just getting started or refining an existing approach, the modules below give you tools and videos you can adapt to your own context. Start with the module that matches where your team is today.
Intended audience
Teams planning and implementing local justice system change, including:
- County commissioners, executives, and criminal justice planners
- Judges, court executives, prosecutors, and public defenders
- Sheriffs and jail administrators
- Treatment and behavioral health providers
- People with lived experience and family members
Guiding principles for this work
- Assess your county's readiness before planning begins, and strengthen the weakest areas first.
- Ground the case for change, and the plan itself, in data, including the cost of inaction and local trends.
- Bring many sectors to the table, including people with lived experience.
- Plan on a three-to-five-year horizon, and resist jumping to quick fixes.
This toolkit builds on the work of nine project sites that took part in the State Justice Institute's County, Court, and Justice Leaders initiative.
The toolkit is organized into five modules, moving from getting oriented to the work through developing and implementing a strategic plan. Each module pairs short videos with supplemental materials, such as templates, sample plans, and assessment tools, that teams can put to use right away. Throughout, the toolkit draws on real perspectives from courts and counties that have done this work, so teams can see how the process plays out in practice, not just in theory.
Modules
MODULE 1
3 videosToolkit Overview
Learn why counties take on this work and what the toolkit covers, straight from officials who led the charge.
MODULE 2
3 videos 7 resourcesFrameworks: Leading Change, Collaboration, and Strategic Planning
Learn how to lead change, build the conditions for real collaboration, and choose a strategic planning model to adapt.
MODULE 3
5 videos 4 resourcesGetting Started: Organizing for Success
Learn how to bring the right people to the table, make the case for action, and assess whether your county is ready to start.
MODULE 4
4 videos 19 resourcesDeveloping a Strategic Plan
Learn how to build a strategic plan step by step, using actual completed plans and data from counties as models.
MODULE 5
2 videos 6 resourcesTransitioning from Planning to Implementation
Learn how to carry momentum from planning into action, with sample job descriptions, a data sharing agreement, and advice from officials who have done it.