CAMBRIDGE, MA – The Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab (GPL) has announced the selection of six jurisdictions to receive applied research support and technical assistance through its Pretrial Initiative. The Initiative aims to help state and local jurisdictions improve outcomes for individuals awaiting trial, reduce costly and unnecessary pretrial supervision conditions, and use pretrial staff resources more efficiently.
The recipients are: the Superior Court of Alameda County (California); the Clark County District Court (Washington); Dane County Pretrial Services (Wisconsin); the North Las Vegas Justice Court (Nevada); the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project (California); and the Santa Cruz County Probation Department’s Pretrial Division (California).
“Through our pretrial work over the past five years, we have heard judges consistently ask for more and better information about their pretrial clients,” said GPL Executive Director Gloria Gong. “Providing judges with data to inform their pretrial decision-making helps minimize burdens on both those awaiting trial and the staff managing caseloads. We are excited to extend our support to six jurisdictions as they build real-time feedback loops with judges, connect pretrial clients to needed services, and reduce the use of unnecessary supervision conditions.”
Many jurisdictions release people from jail while awaiting trial and place them on supervision conditions, such as regular check-ins with a pretrial officer or drug tests. To make decisions about assigning or changing supervision conditions, judges often need access to information about their pretrial clients — such as who is on which supervision conditions, whether they show up to court, and if they remain arrest-free.
However, judges often lack access to this data, resulting in an unnecessarily high number of people being assigned restrictive and expensive supervision conditions that accumulate over time. When supervision conditions are overly restrictive, they burden both clients and government agencies, as clients face costs associated with monitoring, such as traveling for regular drug tests, and agencies must pay for new monitoring technology and hire additional staff to manage growing caseloads.
Through the Pretrial Initiative, the GPL provides jurisdictions with pro bono applied research support and technical assistance focused on making data-driven pretrial supervision decisions, creating client connections to voluntary supportive services, and building new approaches to release and supervision that allow for alternatives to punitive conditions. This includes the implementation of data-driven performance management (DDPM) — a public management tool that involves high-frequency reviews of performance metrics with key stakeholders to improve target outcomes. Implementing DDPM techniques can also equip courts with more effective data systems, providing judges with timely, high-quality information to inform their decision-making and enable adjustments to pretrial conditions.
Specific areas of support may include: 1) training for pretrial stakeholders on topics such as data dashboard development, utilizing community-based service referrals in the pretrial phase, and best practices on pretrial condition use and 2) hand-on coaching on topics such as conducting data analysis, testing new release strategies, and right-sizing pretrial condition use.
The GPL selected recipients using criteria including readiness and willingness to analyze data on pretrial success outcomes; interest and investment of pretrial staff and leadership; and the ability to engage judges as key stakeholders.
This announcement builds on the previous expansion of the Pretrial Initiative in 2023, when the GPL provided technical assistance to five state and local jurisdictions, including supporting the launch of a pretrial service referral pilot in Alameda County. Three jurisdictions – the Superior Court of Alameda County, the Clark County District Court, and the Santa Cruz County Probation Department’s Pretrial Division – are receiving a second year of support from the GPL. The GPL will also provide coaching support to select jurisdictions in the coming months.
For more information, contact Hena Rafiq at hena_rafiq@hks.harvard.edu.
Statements of Support
“Last year, with support from the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab, we launched a pretrial service referral system that has successfully assessed 190 clients and provided them with recommendations for supportive services. Now, as we expand the pilot to include case management and housing services, we look forward to the GPL’s assistance in expanding and evaluating the pilot’s success, as well as collecting feedback from clients and justice partners.” – Cory Jacobs, Pretrial Program Manager, Superior Court of Alameda County
“During our first year of support from the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab, GPL staff helped us collect important pretrial data, analyze it, and identify needed policy changes based on trends. This additional technical assistance will help us further our efforts to reduce unnecessary pretrial supervision conditions, educate criminal justice system stakeholders on the outcomes of our pretrial program, and use our staff resources more effectively.” – Star Felty, Division Manager, Pretrial Services, Clark County District Court
“Dane County Pretrial Services is committed to working with judges and pretrial staff to reduce an overreliance on pretrial incarceration and cash bail. This support from the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab will help us improve the way we collect and analyze data and ensure judges have the information they need to appropriately assign pretrial supervision conditions and use our resources more effectively.” – Shannon Pierce, Director, Dane County Pretrial Services
“I’m thrilled that the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab will provide court staff with coaching and support to create dashboards and data tools related to pretrial outcomes, such as the court appearance rates of pretrial clients. This live feedback will improve my ability to make informed decisions about pretrial release and supervision conditions.” – Judge Belinda Harris, Department 3 of the North Las Vegas Township Justice of the Peace
“Because of the GPL’s training, our team members are drawing more actionable insights from the data we collect on pretrial clients. With the GPL’s continued support, we look forward to building our capacity to give judges access to the real-time data they’ve asked for in order to better understand their pretrial clients’ outcomes.” – Matt Miller, Senior Director of Policy & Evaluation, San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project
“Our goal is to ensure we are supervising pretrial clients with the least restrictive means possible. With support from the GPL, we are now tracking real-time data, which will soon be shared directly with judges so they can update release decisions throughout the life of a case. With another year of support, we will create new data tools for judges to review their decisions and for pretrial staff to more effectively manage their caseloads.” – Yolanda James-Sevilla, Pretrial Division Manager, Santa Cruz County Probation Department, Pretrial Division
About the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab
The Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab (GPL), based in the School’s Taubman Center for State and Local Government, supports state and local governments across the country in designing and implementing solutions to pressing social problems. The GPL works closely with governments to develop and test service reforms – from how governments spend money through procurement to how they incorporate community voice in reforms – and thereby build more just and effective service systems. The GPL has completed more than 270 projects in 112 jurisdictions, which have helped government leaders improve results for their residents. An important part of the GPL’s research model involves capturing the insights, tools, and practices gained through these hands-on projects to share with current and future government leaders through teaching and creation of public resources.
Contacts:
Gabi Remz
gabi_remz@hks.harvard.edu
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