Justice Programs
Education, Training & Technical Assistance
This work involves specialized training and technical assistance (TTA) for criminal legal professionals and social service providers at both the national and local levels. We offer practical policy solutions for addressing systemic injustice and preventing future harm. We:
Train and work with agencies and professionals to develop victim-centered, trauma-informed strategies for notifying crime victims and survivors of renewed case activity.
Provide practical solutions for agencies to keep victims and survivors informed, engaged, and supported throughout the post-conviction period.
Create custom policies and procedures for agencies to serve victims and survivors throughout the post-conviction legal process.
Assist agencies with managing media attention.
Provide expert advice on open post-conviction cases.
Identify and support needed criminal legal reforms.
This work also creates opportunities for the individuals we serve to utilize their experiences to participate directly in justice reform and become leaders of change. We regularly conduct public education events and professional training, as well as provide a variety of specialized technical assistance upon request. Through these activities, we have assisted thousands of practitioners and service providers and touched the lives of many through policy reforms. Our justice programs have been supported by the US Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime through three grant-funded projects, one of which resulted in the creation of the first-ever specialized tools and resources for practitioners navigating these cases.
Healing Justice can partner with your agency and community to help you adhere to and implement the resources developed through customized and tailored training and technical assistance.
Listening Sessions
A signature program of our justice reform work are our Listening Sessions. These sessions create unique opportunities that empower individuals to have their voices heard and to motivate systemic change. These specialized listening sessions are aimed at motivating systemic change. The “listeners” are typically criminal justice officials and policymakers, who through listening, learn about needed reforms to prevent future harm, become better informed about gaps in services, and learn from those with lived experiences. These listening sessions also promote personal agency for those harmed as they serve to lay the foundation for the creation of our program services. Healing Justice has conduced many listening sessions to date in partnership with the US Department of Justice and the national Innocence Network.
In February 2020, funded through the US Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, Healing Justice announced the development of a website created to offer support to crime victims and survivors, and to provide tools to victim service providers and other justice professionals. Visit the site to hear directly from victims and survivors in these cases, and to access critical victim services guidelines, practical templates, sample policies, and other key resources for providing support in the post-conviction setting. Learn more at: www.survivorservices.org.
Healing Justice also provides other opportunities for harmed individuals to have their voices heard and to participate in justice reform through presentations aimed at raising awareness and through professional trainings tailored for specific agencies or jurisdictions. We provide presentations and trainings to stakeholder organizations across the country, such as for example the National Crime Victims Law Institute, the National Association of Victim Assistance in Corrections, and the National Association of Social Work. We also provide specialized technical assistance and support to individual agencies.
If your organization or community would like support in either hosting a listening session, or finding ways you can better serve crime victims and their families in a post-conviction space, please contact us for additional information.