Local JRAC to use data and state support to restart projects, members say
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Summary
Johnson County’s newly formed local JRAC will begin using program and justice system data to identify gaps and restart projects; members described state-provided consulting support and a planned shift to include data staff at quarterly meetings.
Members recounted the history and purpose of the local Justice Reinvestment Advisory Committee (JRAC) and said they will restart data-driven work to identify gaps in the adult criminal justice system.
Speakers traced the committee’s roots to a locally formed Adult Practices Improvement Committee (APIC) that began meeting in early 2020 to review programming, pretrial practices and jail overcrowding. They said APIC created subcommittees on pretrial release, courthouse security, programming and incentives, and a sequential intercept model to map system touchpoints. Local stakeholders later helped form a state-mandated JRAC when House Enrolled Act 1068 was signed into law in July 2021.
The group has engaged an outside consultant, Denise from the Center for Effective Public Policy, paid for by the state Supreme Court, to help counties implement JRAC work. Members said the consultant will assist “as much or as little as we want,” and that obtaining timely data will be the priority to restart projects. County staff named potential data sources and asked JRAC members to bring their jurisdictional data leads to the next quarterly meeting.
Board members discussed that many programs already exist locally but that the state mandate focuses attention on delivering measurable improvements; a recurring concern raised was the lack of designated capital or state funding to expand local programs. The committee plans to present initial data at the next quarterly JRAC meeting to identify priority projects.
