Counties are critical contributors to building and improving community safety, health and wellbeing. However, some residents experience poorer outcomes in areas such as education, health, safety and economic mobility. In the justice system, these disparities often stem from overpolicing, historic disinvestment and underinvestment in social systems in communities of color and unjust policies and practices that often prioritize criminal justice responses over meaningful community supports that address socioeconomic and public health needs. To address these disparities, county elected officials play a key role in advancing policies, practices, programs and funding to improve outcomes for all community members, enhance public safety and ensure all residents have an opportunity to thrive.

With support from John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the National Association of Counties (NACo) invites county elected officials to apply to the County Officials advancing Racial Equity (CORE) in Justice Network.

The network aims to strengthen the capacity of county leaders to identify and assess their community’s current barriers to identifying and eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal legal system and share scalable and transferable policies and programs.

The CORE Justice Network will support up to 10 county leaders with an interest in creating or expanding efforts to identify and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in the local criminal legal system. This is an opportunity for counties to learn about and deploy policies, programs, practices and resources that make communities safer and more equitable, as well as reduce the collateral consequences of justice system involvement, particularly for communities of color. The Network provides opportunities to:

• Engage with peers, including in-person peer exchanges to communities with model practices and policies
• Participate in virtual technical assistance opportunities with subject matter experts
• Improve understanding of the history and systems at play that contribute to structural racism and create racial and ethnic disparities
• Explore programs, practices and policies to advance racial equity, and
• Highlight local efforts to a national audience.

More information about the time expectations and opportunities is included in the application. County leaders are invited to participate at no cost to their jurisdiction. We anticipate each leader will use the expertise and assistance offered through this initiative in different ways based on their community’s unique needs.

Interested county leaders are encouraged to apply to participate in the CORE Justice Network. To learn about eligibility, selection criteria and ways to apply, please visit this site and submit your application by September 30, 2022. NACo will select 10 leaders based on application responses, geographic diversity and county demographics.

Please contact Chelsea Thomson, Justice Program Manager at cthomson@naco.org with any questions.