For a larger list of resources in each topic area click on "view all links" following the topic headings on this page.


Community Court, view all links

Collingwood Neighbourhood Justice Centre, Melbourne, Australia
http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/CA2569020010922A/page/Courts+and+Tribunals-Neighbourhood+Justice+Centre?OpenDocument
Australia's first community court.

Criminal Justice System of England and Wales
http://www.cjsonline.gov.uk/index.html
The Criminal Justice System of England and Wales is is one of the major public services in the country. Across the System, agencies such as the Police, the Courts, the Prison Service, the Crown Prosecution Service and the National Probation Service work together to deliver the criminal justice process. The site is divided into sections for victims, witnesses, defendants, offenders, and jurors.

National Center for State Courts
http://www.ncsconline.org/WC/Education/CtCommGuide.htm
The mission of the National Center for State Courts is to improve the administration of justice through leadership and service to state courts, and courts around the world. Its web site includes a database of information, a library of publications, and a list of court web sites.

North Liverpool Community Justice Centre
http://www.dca.gov.uk/judicial/appointments/cjjl04/cjjlvs04.htm
England's first community court project.

Red Hook Justice
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/redhookjustice/
A documentary film focusing on the dramatic stories of three Red Hook defendants and a handful of staffers, Red Hook Justice first aired on PBS in May 2005.

Vancouver Community Court
http://www.bcjusticereview.org/working_groups/street_crime/media_release_10_12_05.pdf
Canada's first community court project.

Drug Court, view all links

American University Drug Court Clearinghouse
http://spa.american.edu/justice/drugcourts.php
The Drug Court Clearinghouse Project serves as a national clearinghouse for drug court information and activity, disseminating sample operational materials developed by drug courts. The project also compiles and continually updates information on national drug court activity and emerging issues, and maintains an extensive reference collection of drug court materials.

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
http://csat.samhsa.gov/
The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was created in October 1992 with a congressional mandate to expand the availability of effective treatment and recovery services for alcohol and drug problems. Its site includes a quick FAQ on finding effective alcohol and drug addiction treatment; a list of its programs, guides, and publications; and information on funding opportunities offered through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Drug Court Technology Resource Center
http://www.drugcourttech.org/
The Drug Court Technology Resource Center is an online forum offering tools and information for drug court practitioners who are creating computer applications for their courts. The Resource Center sponsors two related web sites: Drug Court Technology, which provides technical staff and planners with an overview of how technology can improve drug courts, and Drug Court MIS, which provides technical staff with detailed project planning tools and sample documents. Both sites are accessible from the Center home page.

National Association of Drug Court Professionals
http://www.nadcp.org/
Founded in 1994, the National Association of Drug Court Professionals is the principle organization of professionals involved in the development and implementation of treatment-oriented drug courts. Among other things, its site details its technical assistance activities, hosts a job bank, and offers general information on drug courts and drug court research.

National Institute on Drug Abuse
http://www.drugabuse.gov/
The National Institute on Drug Abuse was established in 1974, and in October 1992 became part of the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. Its various divisions and offices all participate in programs of drug abuse research. Its site is geared towards researchers and health professionals, parents and teachers, and students, and contains funding information as well as numerous fact sheets, publications, newsletters, reports, and other resources.

Office of National Drug Control Policy
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/index.html
The principal purpose of the Office of National Drug Control Policy is to establish policies, priorities, and objectives for the nation's drug control program, which aims to reduce illicit drug use, manufacturing, and trafficking; drug-related crime and violence; and drug-related health consequences. This site is chock full of drug facts and information on prevention, treatment, policy, enforcement, funding, international developments, and a great deal more. There is also an extensive publications library.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
http://www.samhsa.gov/
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was established by an act of Congress in 1992 to focus attention, programs, and funding on improving the lives of people with or at risk for mental and substance abuse disorders. In addition to information about mental illnesses and drug abuse—including research reports, surveys, and statistics listings—this government site contains funding information and program descriptions.

Domestic Violence Court, view all links

The Office on Violence Against Women
http://www.usdoj.gov/ovw
The Office on Violence Against Women manages the U.S. Department of Justice's legal and policy responses to violence against women, and funds a wide range of criminal justice initiatives and research.

Violence Against Women Online Resources
http://www.vaw.umn.edu/
This site—a cooperative project of the Office on Violence Against Women, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice and Minnesota Center Against Violence & Abuse within the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota—provides up-to-date information on interventions to stop violence against women. Users can browse documents regarding domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, child custody and protection, and batterer intervention programs.

WomensLaw.org
http://www.womenslaw.org/
The mission of WomensLaw.org is to provide easy-to-understand legal information and resources to women living with or escaping domestic violence. It publishes state-specific legal information for domestic violence, as well as information on getting help in specific communities.  

American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence
http://www.abanet.org/domviol/home.html
Founded in 1994, the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence is the only national organization that focuses exclusively on improving the legal response to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Its site contains includes publications and videos, information about domestic violence in the workplace, public education brochures, and other useful resources for attorneys and victims of domestic violence.

Family Violence Prevention Fund
http://endabuse.org/
Instrumental in developing the landmark Violence Against Women Act passed by Congress in 1994, the Family Violence Prevention Fund has continued to break new ground by transforming the way health care providers, police, judges, employers and others address violence. Its site contains information about the Fund’s programs for and about children, health, immigrant woman, public education, public policy, and more. A Take Action section urges others to become involved in the movement to end abuse, while a Resource section includes personal stories, a fact sheet, a celebrity watch, and other features.

National Center for Victims of Crime
http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/Main.aspx
A resource and advocacy organization, the National Center for Victims of Crime is dedicated to serving individuals, families, and communities harmed by crime. The site offers litigation information, policy updates, and victim assistance, and hosts resource centers for issues like dating violence, violence against women, and stalking.

National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence
http://www.ncdsv.org/
Created to encourage unprecedented levels of collaboration among professionals working to end violence against women, the National Center of Domestic and Sexual Violence maintains an extensive library of domestic violence and sexual violence resources in areas like battering prevention, dating/teen violence, incarcerated women, portrayal of women in the media, sexual harassment. News brief and the Center’s newsletter are also offered on the site.

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
http://www.webmerchants.com/ncadv/
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence is a grassroots non-profit membership organization working to end violence in the lives of women and children. This small site offers contact information and a brief description of the Coalition’s activities.

National Domestic Violence Hotline
http://www.ndvh.org/
Created as part of the milestone legislation of the Violence Against Women Act passed by Congress in 1994, The National Domestic Violence Hotline receives more than 13,000 calls a month from people asking for crisis intervention, referrals and general information about domestic violence. The hotline’s website is full of facts and resources for victims.

National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women
http://www.vawnet.org/
The goal of the National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women is to harness and use electronic communication technology as a resource for those working to end violence against women. The site offers a wealth of publications, including newsletters, research reports, brochures, and articles on sexual violence, domestic violence, and funding sources.

National Network to End Domestic Violence
http://www.nnedv.org/
The National Network to End Domestic Violence is a social change organization representing state domestic violence coalitions, and is dedicated to creating a social, political and economic environment in which violence against women no longer exists. Its site includes, among other things, a Legislative Action Center and a Legal Action Center that detail the network’s legislative activities and current court cases.

National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women
http://www.immigrantwomennetwork.org/
The National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women is a broad-based coalition of more than 500 organizations and individuals that advocate, provide services, and offer assistance to immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking. Its site describes the network and the technical assistance it provides to those who encounter immigrant survivors of these crimes.

National Sexual Violence Research Center
http://www.nsvrc.org
The National Sexual Violence Research Center is an information and resource hub relating to all aspects of sexual violence. Its site provides four categories of resources—materials, organizations, library, and publications—as well as lists of organizations and funding material.

New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence
http://www.opdv.state.ny.us/
The Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence is an executive level state agency, created in 1992 to improve the response of the State and local communities to domestic violence. The site lists New York’s domestic violence services by county, and contains general information about domestic violence and victim safety.

Office of Court Administration – Integrated Domestic Violence Courts
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/ip/domesticviolence/index.shtml
The Office of Court Administration is the administrative arm of the New York State Unified Court System. Based on the one family - one judge concept, its Integrated Domestic Violence Courts exist to handle all related cases pertaining to a single family where the underlying issue is domestic violence. This site details the key principles and structure of the courts, and provides a comprehensive list of integrated domestic violence courts in New York State.

Mental Health Court, view all links

CASES – Nathaniel Project
http://www.cases.org/np_sub.html
The mission of CASES is to increase the understanding and use of community sanctions that are fair, affordable, and consistent with public safety. Its award-winning Nathaniel Project, launched in 1999, is an alternative-to-incarceration for mentally ill felony offenders operating in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Mental Health Courts Program, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Council of State Governments
http://consensusproject.org/mhcourts/
The Bureau of Justice Assistance administers this program in coordination with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, funding projects that mobilize communities to improve the way that adult and juvenile offenders with mental illnesses are treated. The program’s goal is to improve clients’ social functioning through stable employment, housing, treatment, and support services—thereby decreasing client contact with the criminal justice system. The site offers grant information and additional mental health court resources.

National Alliance on Mental Illness
http://www.nami.org/
Founded in 1979, the National Alliance on Mental Illness works to achieve equitable services and treatment for more than 15 million Americans living with severe mental illnesses. Its site is full of news and advocacy information, as well as general content about mental illness and public policy.

National Institute of Mental Health
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/
The National Institute of Mental Health is the lead U.S. federal agency for research on mental and behavioral disorders. Its site has information on mental illnesses, grants and funding sources for researchers, clinical trials, its outreach program, and an extensive library of publications and other educational resources to help people with mental disorders, the general public, health care practitioners, and researchers gain a better understanding of mental illnesses.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
http://www.samhsa.gov/index.aspx
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was established by an act of Congress in 1992 to focus attention, programs, and funding on improving the lives of people with or at risk for mental and substance abuse disorders. In addition to information about mental illnesses and drug abuse—including research reports, surveys, and statistics listings—this government site contains funding information and program descriptions.

Community Prosecution, view all links

American Prosecutors Research Institute – National Center for Community Prosecution
http://www.ndaa-apri.org/apri/programs/community_pros/cp_home.html
The National District Attorneys Association founded the American Prosecutors Research Institute (APRI) in 1984 as a non-profit research and program development resource for prosecutors at all levels of government. Since then, APRI has become a vital resource and national clearinghouse for information on the prosecutorial function. Its National Center for Community Prosecution hosts conferences, provides technical assistance, conducts research and offers extensive resources to prosecutors in the form of publications, newsletters, videos, and hands-on support. Its web site offers an Ask the Experts section that allows readers to pose questions to a panel of community prosecution experts.

John F. Kennedy School of Government Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management – Community Prosecution
http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/criminaljustice/research/community_prosecution.htm
This page defines community prosecution, describes the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management’s research into community prosecution, and lists the program’s published research.

Bureau of Justice Assistance Bulletin: Community Prosecution Strategies: Measuring Impact
http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/bja/commpros/bja1.html
A description of the history of community prosecution, an explanation of key features and concepts, with lists of references and links to BJA publications.

Problem-Solving Justice, view all links

“Moving Problem-Solving Courts into the Mainstream: A report card from CCJ-COSCA Problem-Solving Committee”
http://aja.ncsc.dni.us/courtrv/cr39-1/CR39-1BeckerCorrigan.pdf
This article—authored by Hon. Maura D. Corrigan and Daniel Becker—originally appeared in the Court Review in Spring 2002.

American Bar Association – Problem-solving Courts, Therapeutic Justice, Restorative Justice
http://www.abanet.org/justice/01summary/traditionalact/problemsolving.html
This American Bar Association page provides a brief overview of problem-solving courts, therapeutic justice, and restorative justice, along with some useful links.

Bruce J. Winick
http://www.brucewinick.com/
Professor Winick is co-founder (with Professor David Wexler) of the school of social enquiry known as therapeutic jurisprudence, or the study of law's healing potential. This site includes a description of this way of the thinking, along with Winick’s books and courses on the subject.

National Legal Aid & Defender Association – Ten Tenets of Fair and Effective Problem-Solving Courts
http://www.nlada.org/DMS/Documents/1019501190.93/document_info
This National Legal Aid & Defender Association page contains the guidelines developed by the American Council of Chief Defenders to increase both the fairness and the effectiveness of problem-solving courts while addressing concerns regarding the defense role within them.

Reentry, view all links

American Probation and Parole Association
http://www.appa-net.org/
The Association focuses on “issues relevant to the field of community-based corrections.” Its site details its mission, organization, technical assistance, and research projects, and also offers a list of publications and other resources.

Corrections Connection Network
http://www.corrections.com/
The “official home of corrections,” this site offers an enormous amount of corrections-related resources, including news, bulletin boards, online training, job boards, and weekly programs, as well as 12 “networks” that cover topics like education, health care, and juvenile justice.

Street Law Juvenile Justice Re-Entry Program
http://www.streetlaw.org/content.asp?ContentId=176
Street Law works with teams from over a dozen U.S. reentry programs to create education programs for young people returning to their communities. Approximately 70 U.S. law schools have Street Law programs, in which law students teach practical law in high school, juvenile justice, prison, or community settings. This site describes its programs and curricula.

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Programs – Reentry
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reentry/
This comprehensive government site includes numerous resources, FAQs, links, and publications, as well as information about the Office of Justice Programs’ Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative, which provides funding to communities for developing, implementing, enhancing, and evaluating reentry strategies.

U.S. Parole Commission
http://www.usdoj.gov/uspc/index.htm
The Commission’s goal is to “promote public safety and strive for justice and fairness in the exercise of its authority to release and supervise offenders under its jurisdiction.” Its site provides numerous facts about parole, as well as a thorough history of the Commission.

Vera Institute of Justice – Sentencing and Corrections page
http://www.vera.org/project/project1_1.asp?section_id=3&project_id=46
This page outlines Vera’s Project Greenlight, which “helps structure systems that provide people leaving local jails and state prisons with discharge planning and preparation for release.” Greenlight is currently working with the New York City Department of Correction and the Center for Employment Opportunities to introduce discharge planning at the time of intake. Users can sign up for email updates to stay informed about new developments.

Juvenile Justice, view all links

American Prosecutors Research Institute – National Juvenile Justice Prosecution Center
http://www.ndaa-apri.org/apri/programs/juvenile/jj_home.html
The American Prosecutors Research Institute's National Juvenile Justice Prosecution Center recognizes that juvenile justice is a dynamic and rapidly changing field that poses new challenges to prosecutors who must assure that juvenile offenders are held accountable for their actions. Among other things, its site provides a compendium of juvenile justice programs led by or involving prosecutors' offices, newsletters, a list of state statutes, and other publications and resources.

Children’s Defense Fund
http://www.childrensdefense.org/
The Children’s Defense Fund’s mission is to reduce the numbers of neglected, sick, uneducated, and poor children in the United States. Its information-packed website outlines its various initiatives and programs, and contains reports and statistics about American children today.

Coalition for Juvenile Justice
http://www.juvjustice.org/
A resource for delinquency prevention and juvenile justice issues, this website offers fact sheets on subjects like American Indian youth and the juvenile justice system and mental health needs of young offenders. It also details the Coalition’s stance on a number of current issues, and contains a glossary of terms and other useful information.

National Center for Juvenile Justice
http://ncjj.servehttp.com/NCJJWebsite/main.htm
A resource for independent and original juvenile justice-related research, on its site the Center outlines its services and provides information on confidentiality issues, the death penalty, parental responsibility and other issues affecting young people in the criminal justice system.

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
http://www.ncjfcj.org/
Founded in 1937 by a group of judges dedicated to improving the effectiveness of the nation's juvenile courts, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges strives to increase awareness and sensitivity to children's issues, and provides assistance to the judges, court administrators and related professionals. Its site is full of useful information about family violence and juvenile justice.

National Criminal Justice Reference Service – Juvenile Justice
http://virlib.ncjrs.org/JuvenileJustice.asp
The National Criminal Justice Reference Service is a federally funded resource that offers information and resources in a number of fields, including juvenile justice. Its lengthy list of juvenile justice topics includes subjects like AIDS/HIV in correctional facilities, community-based corrections, drug abuse and crime, grief and grieving, inmate vocational training, and minority overrepresentation.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has been charged by Congress to tackle the challenges that juveniles in crisis pose to the nation. On its site, a long list of topics and subtopics cover areas like child protection, corrections/detention, courts, delinquency prevention, gender/race/ethnicity, and more.

Youth Law Center
http://www.ylc.org/
The Youth Law Center is a non-profit, public interest law office that works to protect abused and at-risk children; its site describes current cases, and offers annual reports, publications, and links.

Mediation, view all links

American Arbitration Association
http://www.adr.org/index2.1.jsp
The American Arbitration Association is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the development and widespread use of prompt, effective and economical methods of dispute resolution. Its site is full of information about all forms of dispute prevention and resolution, including mediation, arbitration, fact-finding, partnering, dispute review boards and other related alternative dispute resolution processes.

American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution
www.abanet.org/dispute
The American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution develops and offers educational programs, provides technical assistance, and produces publications that promote problem-solving in the provision of dispute resolution services. Its site lists its ongoing projects, offers publications, and has a section for featured resources.

Association for Conflict Resolution
http://www.acrnet.org/
The Association for Conflict Resolution is a professional organization dedicated to enhancing the practice and public understanding of conflict resolution. Its site details the association—its membership, programs, and conferences—while the online library offers a wide range of articles, publications, newsletters, and research studies about conflict resolution.

Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
http://www.afccnet.org/
The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts is an international and interdisciplinary association of family, court, and community professionals dedicated to the constructive resolution of family disputes. This site describes the association and its various training programs, and houses the Family Court Review journal.

Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service
http://www.fmcs.gov/internet/
Created in 1947, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is an independent agency whose mission is to preserve and promote labor-management peace and cooperation. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the agency provides mediation and conflict resolution services to industry, government agencies and communities. The site’s resource section provides numerous articles, speeches and presentations detailing the agency’s latest thinking about mediation.

Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation, Inc.
http://www.transformativemediation.org/
The Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation provides a forum for the work of scholars and practitioners in the conflict intervention field who approach conflict from a relational or transformative view—first described in the 1994 article The Promise of Mediation. The Institute was founded in 1999 to study and promote understanding of conflict and intervention processes from the transformative perspective; its site details this approach.

International Academy of Mediators
http://www.iamed.org/
The mission of the International Academy of Mediators is to define standards and qualifications for the professional mediator of commercial disputes and to promote the mediation process as the preferred means of resolving disputes. Its site offers membership and academy information, along with a series of mediation-related articles.

Mediate.com
http://www.mediate.com/
This site is a comprehensive resource on mediation. Users can locate mediators, review academic programs in mediation, browse by topic areas (including books, careers, collaborative law, government, and health care), purchase mediation-related books and CDs, and participate in mediation-focused discussions.

National Association for Community Mediation
http://www.nafcm.org/
The National Association for Community Mediation’s stated purpose is to support the maintenance and growth of community-based mediation programs, to present a compelling voice in appropriate policy-making and legislative arenas, and to encourage the development and sharing of resources for these efforts. Its site lists grant opportunities, programs and initiatives, links, articles, and training programs. Users can also search for community mediation centers.

Victim Offender Mediation Association
http://www.voma.org/
The Victim Offender Mediation Association is an international membership association that supports and assists people and communities working at restorative models of justice. It provides resources, training, and technical assistance in victim-offender mediation, conferencing, circles, and related practices. Its web site features restorative justice fact sheets, articles, and newsletters.

Technology, view all links

American Bar Association Legal Technology Resource Center
http://www.lawtechnology.org/
A comprehensive site dedicated to “helping lawyers solve the technology puzzle,” the Resource Center includes numerous articles on technological issues affecting the legal community, as well as “info centers” on topics like court technology, web development, and surveys and statistics.

Conference of State Court Administrators
http://cosca.ncsc.dni.us/
The Conference—dedicated to the improvement of state court systems—outlines its mission, bylaws and policies on this website, and includes a page of position papers that explore various issues of interest to court administrators, including technology.

Court Tech Forum
http://www.courtechforum.com/
This site consolidates court technology news and stories from around the world, and also allows users to ask and answer specific court technology questions through the CTF Forum.

Drug Court Tech
http://www.drugcourttech.org/
The Drug Court Technology Resource Center is an online forum offering tools and information for drug court practitioners who are creating computer applications for their courts. It sponsors two related web sites: Drug Court Technology, which provides technical staff and planners with an overview of how technology can improve drug courts, and Drug Court MIS, which provides technical staff with detailed project planning tools and sample documents. Both sites are accessible from the Center home page.

Forum on the Advancement of Court Technology
http://fact.ncsc.dni.us/
The Forum is a consortium of private sector companies and senior court representatives dedicated to strengthening the dialogue between courts and their providers of technology. The group’s online newsletters contain articles on court technology as well as resources such as surveys, reports, and discussions of emerging trends.

JURIST "Court Tech" columnist Bradley Hilli
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/courttech.htm
In his columns, collected here, Hillis discusses the ongoing impact of technological change on the judicial system. Topics include electronic briefs in trial and appellate courts, and internet security and the courts.

National Center for State Courts – Court Technology Laboratory
http://ctl.ncsc.dni.us/
The National Center for State Courts’ Court Technology Laboratory page offers links to information modules on topics like integrated criminal justice information systems, digital signature/system security, and electronic filing, as well as technological news, e-filing information, and more.

Research, view all links

American Society of Criminology
http://www.asc41.com
The American Society of Criminology is the professional society serving criminologists throughout North America. The web site includes updated professional information as well as paper abstracts from past annual meetings.

Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse
http://www.mincava.umn.edu
The Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse, established in 1994 by the Minnesota State Legislature, supports research and education on all types of violence and abuse, and houses an extensive electronic clearinghouse of research reports and training materials.

National Center for State Courts
http://www.ncsconline.org
The National Center for State Courts conducts research on court operations and best practices, as well as providing consulting and education services to courts nationwide. Its website includes a Problem-Solving Courts Resource Center (under Research) that features a research library and a directory of U.S. problem-solving courts.

National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
http://www.casacolumbia.org
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse includes a policy research and analysis division with research publications on new trends and interventions concerning substance abuse and treatment.

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
http://www.ncjfcj.org
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges provides technical assistance and research to help courts, judges and staff address juvenile and family-related issues. The Council's research arm, the National Center for Juvenile Justice (http://www.ncjj.org), is the country's only non-profit research organization concentrating solely on the juvenile justice system and the prevention of juvenile delinquency and child abuse and neglect.

National Criminal Justice Reference Service
http://www.ncjrs.gov
The National Criminal Justice Reference Service is a federally-funded resource that offers justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and program development models. The website houses final reports and documents from most research projects funded by the U.S. Department of Justice.

National Institute of Justice
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/
The National Institute of Justice is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice.

New York City Criminal Justice Agency
http://www.nycja.org
The New York City Criminal Justice Agency (CJA) provides pre-trial release services for New York City's Criminal Courts. CJA provides arraignment judges with information on a defendant's likelihood of returning to court, assisting bail decisions and helping to reduce the failure to appear in court. In addition, CJA's research department provides comprehensive analyses of case processing and outcomes in the New York City criminal courts and conducts special studies of alternative to incarceration programs, the processing of domestic violence cases, and other topics.

General Resources

Bureau of Justice Assistance
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/
The Bureau of Justice Assistance, a component of the Office of Justice Programs, provides leadership and assistance in support of local criminal justice strategies to achieve safe communities. BJA’s drug court program provides financial and technical assistance, training, and programmatic guidance and leadership.

Safe Horizon
http://www.safehorizon.org
Safe Horizon’s mission is to provide support, prevent violence, and promote justice for victims of crime and abuse, their families and communities. Its site details its advocacy and policy while also offering numerous resources for victims, including sections on domestic violence, stalking, torture, trafficking and more, with information on exactly what a victim can do to get help.

Urban Institute
http://www.urban.org
The Urban Institute is a nonprofit nonpartisan policy research and educational organization established to examine the social, economic, and governance problems facing the U.S. Its site provides facts and findings on a sampling of programs and topics of particular relevance to policymakers and researchers, and contains numerous publications. A section on crime and justice includes research on crime and prisoners, courts and policing, juvenile justice, and other related topics.

Vera Institute of Justice
http://www.vera.org
The Vera Institute of Justice, located in New York City, develops and implements demonstration projects designed to improve the quality of the justice in the United States and elsewhere. In addition, Vera's research department conducts research and evaluation projects on a wide range of justice system innovations.

LawHelp NY
http://lawhelp.org/NY
LawHelp NY helps people acquire information about their legal rights on approximately 150 legal topics, including access to the court system itself. LawHelp.org/NY also directs the viewers to legal services, advocacy, government and social service organizations in their area.