Section 4: Sustainability

Policies and Procedures

Changes in policy, practices, and procedures should be written out. This will increase the likelihood that such changes will be adopted and implemented as intended. For example, as your jurisdiction implements key elements of the TJC model like universal screening in the jail or targeted assessment of criminogenic risks, the details about these new policies and procedures—when the procedures occur, where, who is responsible for performing them, and how the results will be used and by whom—are written down and circulated to key stakeholders. Written procedures don’t have to be too formal but should provide enough detail so that anyone who reads them understands how and why they are being used. Helpful questions to consider include

What business aspects need to be formalized?

Screening and assessment procedures
Referral and service agreements
Transition plans and case management

Are policies, procedures, and decision points documented?

Who is doing what, to whom, when, how, and for how long?
Are these materials accessible to the broad collaborative?

Information Exchange and Data Sharing

Many jurisdictions struggle with information flow and exchange. Mechanisms like the MOUs discussed above and those below facilitate information sharing by clarifying what information will be shared, about what, with whom, and for how long. This empowers staff to request and provide information, and to use the information. It also facilitates greater transparency and collaboration among agencies, reduces duplication of effort, and promotes more efficient use of scarce resources.

Client-level

Release of information (ROI)—an ROI specifies what inform about a client can be shared with other agencies. This is essential for development of transition case plans and monitoring of those plans.
Interagency agreement or memorandum of understanding—as discussed above, MOUs may specify an agency’s agreement to participate in an initiative; address details about the use of resources, such as redeployed staff; and clarify data and information that will be collected and shared.

Partner and Community-level—the mechanisms below promote sustainability by keeping partners and other constituents informed of progress and issues; they also provide a running record of decisions made and changes in policy and procedures. The implementation group should decide who should receive these materials and how often.
- Meeting notes
- Newsletters
- E-mail list-serve or web site

Public Education and Outreach

Support from various constituencies is vital to the progress and sustainability of the TJC initiative. Public education and outreach is an essential mechanism by which to identify, engage, and retain the interest and support of key constituencies. In turn, local leaders can serve as ambassadors for the initiative, taking its message to new and influential groups willing to lend their support. Ask stakeholders for their input about groups to target and enlist those stakeholders reaching out to those groups.

Public education and outreach should tell the story of your initiative and highlight early wins, milestones, or successes. Another key message is what those early wins, milestones, or successes mean for constituents (i.e., public resources saved, increased public safety, a better community). Anything that demonstrates how the initiative is making a positive impact or how it is designed to do so should be part of the initiative’s story. Education and outreach can be conducted in many informal and inexpensive ways:

Release briefs, fact sheets and newsletters about issues central to the initiative
Videotape success stories and use them in outreach efforts to new groups
Write op-ed pieces
Engage the local business community
Involve local media—invite local newspapers, TV stations, or community bloggers to key events or meetings

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