Digital Library

CCE testified before the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety of the Council of the District of Columbia at the Performance Oversight Hearing for the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice.

On February 6, 2019, CCE testified before the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety of the Council of the District of Columbia at the Performance Oversight hearing for the Office of Victims Services and Justice Grants.

CCE and Reentry Subcommittee Chair Theodore Whitehouse of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP testified before the Committee on Finance and Revenue of the Council of the District of Columbia on Bill 22-0668, the "Local Work Opportunity Tax Credit Amendment Act of 2018".

In a letter dated July 30, 2018, the Council for Court Excellence urged several U.S. Senators to confirm highly qualified nominees for judicial vacancies in D.C. local courts, citing significant concerns about the overwhelming number of unfilled positions.

The Department of Behavioral Health's (DBH) mission is to develop, manage and oversee a public behavioral health system for adults, children and youth and their families that is consumer driven, community-based, culturally competent and supports prevention, resiliency and recovery and the overall wellbeing of the District of Columbia. Among the populations that DBH serves are adults with behavioral health disorders who commit, or are accused of committing, a criminal offense. In October 2016, the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor (ODCA) engaged the Council for Court Excellence (CCE) to conduct a review of, and make recommendations for improving, the effectiveness of DBH's interactions with the criminal justice system and the services it provides to justice-involved behavioral health consumers.

2017 edution of CCE's guide to DC's justice system for victims of crime in Amharic.

Una guía del sistema de justicia de DC para víctimas de delitos.

CCE's Victim's Guide has been a stalwart resource for victims and their advocates for nearly 30 years. While previous versions focused on court proceedings and the trial process, this revision took a more holistic approach because most criminal cases do not go to trial. The 2017 editiion of the Victim's Guide provided comprehensive overview of various facets of D.C.'s justice system and directs victims to the myriad community-based resources that have become available in recent years.

Collaborating with Georgetown Law Center's Community Justice Project to identify the most serious collateral consequences of having a criminal record, CCE has focused on reforms needed in D.C.'s occupational and professional licensing system. This report examines barriers that a returning citizen may experience while working to obtain an occupational or professional license in the District of Columbia. CCE's eight recommendations include prohibiting D.C.'s licensing boards from considering non-conviction background information and older convictions, as well as creating and applying a uniform standard that all licensing boards use to review convictions.

CCE is proud to provide "Remote Public Access to Electronic Court Records: A Cross-Jurisdictional Review for the D.C. Courts," a cross-jurisdictional review of systems for remote access to public court records to help guide the D.C. courts as they continue to implement new technologies.

Executive Summary of CCE's Beyond Second Chances: Returning Citizens' Re-entry Struggles and Successes in the District of Columbia. This report provides the most complete picture to date of the challenges that returning citizens face in D.C. and offers recommendations to help them succeed when reintegrating into their communities. In a city where 1 in 22 adults is under some form of correctional control on any given day, easing the path home will benefit thousands of D.C. residents, their families, and the entire city by helping returning citizens move beyond second chances to fulfill their potential.

Through a review of previously unreleased data and a series of in-depth interviews with returning citizens and service providers, this report, Beyond Second Chances: Returning Citizens' Re-entry Struggles and Successes in the District of Columbia, provides the most complete picture to date of the challenges that returning citizens face in D.C. and offers recommendations to help them succeed when reintegrating into their communities.In a city where 1 in 22 adults is under some form of correctional control on any given day, easing the path home will benefit thousands of D.C. residents, their families, and the entire city by helping returning citizens move beyond second chances to fulfill their potential.