Criminal Justice Coordinating Council

The Strategic Planning Process

The Douglas County CJCC enlisted the support of JMI to guide the strategic planning process with the goal of creating a realistic and actionable strategic plan for the Douglas County CJCC that supports its mission and vision. Core objectives included:

• Identify key priority areas for the CJCC to focus on in the coming years
• Develop strategic initiatives with short-, medium-, and long-term goals for each priority area
• Create an action plan to implement the CJCC’s strategies effectively
• Per national standards, the CJCC undertook several steps to ensure a participatory and data-guided approach to developing its strategic plan, including:
  • A formal workgroup charter to guide strategic planning process with CJCC staff and technical assistance provided by JMI
  • Outreach to the community and the engagement of a wide array of stakeholders in the strategic planning process
  • The use of system level data to inform plan development

The process unfolded from August 2024 through February 2025:

August 2024: Development and adoption of a workgroup charter to guide the strategic planning process.

October 2024: In-person focus groups facilitated by JMI with 42 participants across six separate stakeholder groups.

November 2024: Administration of an online community survey informed by key findings from the focus groups, including 196 respondents. System data gathering and analysis, including metrics from the Jail, District Court, District Attorney’s Office, Treatment Courts, Pretrial, Probation, and Court Services.

December 2024: Completion of a briefing presentation to ground the strategic plan, including the key qualitative and quantitative information gathered through the system data analysis, focus groups, and community survey. (Provided in Appendix B.) One-and-a-half-day strategic planning retreat with 12 current and past CJCC members and staff on December 3-4. 

January 2025: Iterative drafting of the strategic plan. 

February 2024: Final adoption of the strategic plan by the CJCC on February 11.

Priority #1 Enhance System Data Metrics

Enhance existing system data metrics: Collect, analyze, and share data to identify trends, guide strategic discussion, and inform decision making

Goals

• By January 2026, the CJCC will have established a quarterly cycle of system data reporting.
• By April 2027, the CJCC will have produced two annual reports.

Objectives

• Set Expectations: Create and Convene Data & Technology Committee
• Start Measuring: Establish Initial CJCC Systemwide Data Metrics
• Decide What Else to Measure: Expand CJCC Systemwide Data Metrics
• Make data metrics understandable: Establish reporting templates
• Make data metrics accessible: Produce Standard Reports for the Public

Priority #2 Assess & Strengthen Pretrial Processes

Assess and strengthen pretrial processes to maximize pretrial outcomes.

Goal

• By December 2026, document the current processes and impacts of pretrial phase decisions, and make recommendations to maximize pretrial outcomes.

Objectives

• Assess what happens in practice and determine where to intervene: Map current practices at each pretrial decision point and identify area(s) in need of intervention
• Intervene: Identify and implement specific intervention(s) where needed
• Ongoing Jail Population Review: Develop an ongoing process to review the status of detained defendants and safely expedite lengths of stay
• Recommend Improved Pretrial Assessment Practices: Reexamine c

Priority #3 Programs

Improve public safety outcomes by more deliberately providing a continuum of criminal justice program options to intentionally reduce crime-contributing factors.

Goal

By December 2027, the CJCC will analyze the gaps between clients’ crime-contributing factors and available services, and issue initial evidence-based recommendations for more intentionally reducing the risk of reoffending.

Objectives

• Set Expectations: Create and Convene Criminal Justice Programming Committee
• Assess crime-contributing factors: Produce a Risk, Need, Responsivity (RNR) analysis of the justice-involved population within each decision point
• Identify available services: Inventory existing services provided to CJS clients and bring My Resource Connection up to date
• Identify what RNR factors are/not being met and what to do about it: Complete a gap analysis between RNR profiles and existing services with recommendations for more intentionally reducing crime-contributing factors

Priority #4 Communications Plan

Develop a strategic communications plan

Goal

By October 2025, develop a comprehensive communications plan that outlines how the CJCC will strategically convey information to member agencies, the public, and the media, in a coordinated, consistent, and effective manner.

Objectives

• Publish and disseminate Strategic Plan
• Develop strategic communications plan
• Intentional and ongoing updated information sharing