The Douglas County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) unanimously adopted a three-year strategic plan during its meeting today, Feb. 11, at the County Courthouse.

The plan outlines four priority areas:

• Data – Collect, analyze and share data to identify trends, guide strategic discussions and inform decision-making.
• Pretrial processes – Document current pretrial phase processes and impacts to make recommendations that maximize pretrial outcomes.
• Client services – Analyze gaps between clients’ needs and services available to meet those needs.
• Communications – Develop a coordinated, consistent, and effective communication plan for member agencies, the public and the media.

Developed in partnership with the Justice Management Institute, which has provided technical assistance since August 2023, this plan is informed by facilitated focus groups, an online community survey and existing data in the criminal justice system.

“I look forward to our strategic plan. I am looking forward to providing input and to utilizing the data and resources that we can gain from it,” Douglas County Sheriff Jay Armbrister said.

The strategic plan culminates approximately 18 months of work to align the CJCC with the National Standards for Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils. In June 2024, council members adopted revised bylaws and a new structure to improve governance, approving a vision and mission statement, guiding principles, and establishing an executive committee. Membership was also reduced from 23 to 15 members to enhance efficiency.

The council includes representatives from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, District Court, Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, Lawrence Police Department, Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, DCCCA Inc., Douglas County Criminal Justice Services, Lawrence Municipal Court, Board of Indigents’ Defense Services and community members.

DCCCA CEO Lori Alvarado said, “I am excited to have a new strategic plan so we can focus on our work together to achieve outcomes that will help our community grow and prosper.”

For more information about CJCC, visit: https://dgcoks.gov/cjcc.