Across the justice system, many policies and practices are labeled “best practices” simply because they are familiar, efficient, or widely adopted—not because they have been shown to work. While these approaches may reflect professional experience, they are often implemented without rigorous evidence that they reduce arrests, improve compliance, support well-being, or promote equity. 

In some cases, these practices unintentionally increase harm—deepening racial disparities, worsening behavioral health outcomes, or pulling more people into the justice system rather than helping them exit it. When assumptions go untested, systems risk investing time, resources, and trust into strategies that fail to deliver meaningful results. 

Investing in evidence that works means shifting from tradition-driven practice to outcome-driven action. It requires testing new approaches, evaluating what actually improves safety and well-being, and scaling solutions that demonstrate impact—while being honest about what doesn’t work. When equity is embedded from design through implementation and scale, evidence becomes a tool not just for efficiency, but for fairness and lasting change. 

We partner with justice agencies and community organizations to challenge assumptions about what “works” and replace them with evidence grounded in real outcomes. Our work supports agencies in piloting innovative approaches that aim to reduce arrests, improve compliance, strengthen support, address substance use and mental health needs, and improve overall well-being, while explicitly examining how these outcomes differ across groups. 

In practice, we help design and test new interventions, evaluate their effectiveness, and assess whether they are being implemented as intended. This includes identifying where fidelity breaks down, understanding contextual factors that influence results, and refining approaches to better align with equity and impact goals. 

Once interventions demonstrate positive outcomes, we support agencies in adapting and scaling them across sites and contexts, ensuring that what works in one place can be responsibly translated elsewhere. Across this work, our focus is simple: move justice systems away from untested tradition and toward practices that measurably reduce harm, advance equity, and improve lives.