Despite policies adopted to provide relief from criminal records, having a criminal record continues to make reentry difficult for many americans

This $422,100 Project Grant, awarded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) under the CFDA 16.560 National Institute of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants program, will fund a 3-year evidence-to-action demonstration project focused on improving court-based strategies for mitigating the collateral consequences of criminal records. The project, led by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), will meaningfully engage court leaders in identifying and adopting theory-based records relief strategies using implementation science frameworks. NCSC will guide participating courts through a six-session learning collaborative to enhance organizational readiness and facilitate successful implementation. The project aims to provide evidence to further the use and impact of existing research, while also advancing the testability of implementation science theories, models, and frameworks in the context of court systems.

And even though many individuals are eligible for records relief under their jurisdictions laws, strategies implemented to increase relief and decrease racial and ethnic disparities created by policies and practices, have had minimal impact. To successfully adopt and sustain effective strategies, court decision makers must use systematic approaches to reduce the collateral consequences of criminal records. Within complex and dynamic settings like court systems, context is a key determinant to implementation; however, few court decision-makers assess the organizational readiness of their court systems to mitigate any barriers to successful implementation. Accordingly, we will meaningfully engage court leaders in identifying and adopting chosen records relief theory-based strategies using implementation theories, models, and frameworks (TMFS). In this evidence-to-action demonstration project, we will guide court leaders through adoption using a phased-based learning collaborative model, which includes determinant, process, and evaluation frameworks that are grounded in organizational readiness theories. Court leaders will participate in a six session records relief learning collaborative that includes didactic and engaging assignments to guide courts through the stages of implementation. We will collect data throughout the implementation process to provide evidence to further the use and impact of existing research evidence by decision-makers, as well as glean insight into the usability, applicability, and testability of implementation science theories, models and frameworks. The project specifically focuses on the theory and measurement of organizational readiness, and the impact of organizational readiness mitigation strategies developed and implemented through a hybrid implementation framework. To share the findings with practitioners and researchers, the project employs a robust dissemination strategy using dissemination frameworks in knowledge transfer and knowledge use. CA/NCF