Community Justice Collaborating Council — Agenda Packet

Community Justice Collaborating Council (CJCC) Agenda July 30, 2026 8:00 AM St. Croix County Government Center - Room 1400 Government Center - 1101 Carmichael Road, Hudson, Wisconsin Call to Order Roll Call Approval of Minutes 1. Minutes of Previous Meeting - May 14, 2026 Public Comment Business 1. TAD Grant Updates 2. Adult Treatment Court Updates 3. Family Treatment Court Updates 4. Justice Support Service Updates 5. Pretrial Dashboard Discussion 6. CJCC Assessment Report Discussion 7. Presentation from Deacon Gregg Miller with Fill the Crack of St. Patrick Church 8. Subcommittee Reports Request for Future Agenda Items Announcements Date of Next Meeting 1. Date of Next Meeting - September 10, 2026 Adjournment Reasonable efforts will be made to provide special accommodations for access to public meetings. To request a special accommodation, please contact the County Clerk’s Office at (715) 386-4600 at least two business days prior to the time of the Page 1 of 40 meeting. For more information on St. Croix County's public meetings visit: sccwi.gov/meetings Page 2 of 40 Community Justice Collaborating Council (CJCC) Minutes May 14, 2026 8:00 AM St. Croix County Government Center - Room 1400 Government Center - 1101 Carmichael Road, Hudson, Wisconsin Call to Order Roll Call PRESENT: Heather Amos, Bob Feidler, Amber Hahn, Craig Hooyman, Scott Needham, Liesl Nelson, Eilidh Pederson, Mark Richert, Bob Rohret, Kristi Severson, Greg Tellijohn, Curt Thomassen, Mark Carlson, ABSENT: Karl Anderson, Scott Knudson, Randy Morrissette II, Travis Satorius, Kyle Schaffer, Ken Witt, Approval of Minutes 1. Minutes of Previous Meeting - March 26, 2026 Approved Public Comment None Business 1. Recognition of CJCC Stakeholder Retirement Judge Needham recognized Mark Lemke for his service to the criminal legal system and the county CJCC. 2. CJCC Membership Updates Judge Needham recognized Mark Carlson as the new PP&J representative on the CJCC. 3. CJCC Chair Report Judge Needham announced that the Adult Treatment Court will be discontinuing at the end of 2026. 4. TAD Grant Updates JSS Director Galli discussed the TAD Grant Application for 2027. 5. Family Treatment Court Updates Corp. Counsel Matt Dobbe discussed updates to the Family Treatment Court. 6. Presentation from Western Wisconsin Health Regarding Substance Use Programming Eilidh Peterson from Western Wisconsin Health discussed updates to their SUD programming. 7. Subcommittee reports Subcommittee chairs reported out. Page 3 of 40 Request for Future Agenda Items Announcements Date of Next Meeting 1. Date of Next Meeting - July 30, 2026 Adjournment Page 4 of 40 Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC April 27, 2026 Page 5 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC Table of Contents Acknowledgement ...................................................................................................................i I. The History and Structure of the St. Croix County CJCC ....................................................1 II. CJCC Assessment Framework ...........................................................................................2 III. CJCC Member Priorities ..................................................................................................23 IV. Summary and Recommendations ...................................................................................25 Appendix A: CJCC Member Survey Results .............................................................................32 Page 6 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC i | P a g e Acknowledgement JMI would like to thank the St. Croix County CJCC members who participated in interviews and completed the survey. Their insights and perspectives were invaluable for assessing the council. We appreciate members taking the time to openly share their experiences and suggestions for enhancing the CJCC. Page 7 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 1 | P a g e I. The History and Structure of the St. Croix County CJCC The St. Croix County Community Justice Collaborating Council (St. Croix County CJCC) was created by resolution on May 7, 2013, by the St. Croix County Board of Supervisors. The mission of the St. Croix County CJCC is to promote the safety of St. Croix County citizens and to provide direction, leadership, and vision for an improved community justice system. The creation of the St. Croix County CJCC’s began because of St. Croix County’s desire to receive grant funds from the State of Wisconsin as part of its Treatment Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) program. That objective continues today as St. Croix County continues to receive TAD grant funds to support its treatment court and diversion program. Besides the programs funded by the TAD grant, the St. Croix County CJCC has also focused its efforts on creating (expanding?) its pretrial program and participating in a sequential intercept model mapping workshop in June 2025 to identify gaps in its substance use disorder programs. The St. Croix County CJCC bylaws were originally adopted on September 12, 2013, and have been amended over the last thirteen years to add member categories, change meeting requirements, and other minor changes. The bylaws include two subcommittees: the Executive Committee and the Treatment Court Committee. The Treatment Court Committee satisfies the TAD program requirement to receive grant funds. There are 19 voting members and 23 advisory members of the CJCC as follows: Voting Members • Presiding Judge for St. Croix County • Attorney Manager, Office of State Public Defender • Chair, County Board • Chair, Health and Human Services Board • Chair, Public Protection & Judiciary Committee • Two Citizen Members • Clerk of Circuit Court • Corporation Counsel • County Administrator • Director, Department of Health and Human Services • District Attorney • Representative, Bar Association • Representative, Chiefs of Police • Representative, Faith Based Community • Representative, Medical Community • Representative, Municipal Courts • Sheriff • Supervisor, Division of Community Correction Advisory Members • Circuit Court Judges • Victim Witness Supervisor • Treatment Court Coordinator(s) • Restorative Services Executive Director • Medical Examiner • Jail Captain • Diversion Program Coordinator • Circuit Court Commissioner • CJCC Coordinator • Turning Point Executive Director • Patrol Lieutenant • Children Services Administrator • AODA Supervisor • Child Support Administrator • Children Services Supervisor • Family and Children Services Supervisor Page 8 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 2 | P a g e • Jail Inmate Education and Program Coordinator • Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin - River Falls • County Veterans Service Officer • Behavioral Health Administrator • COMPAS Assessor/Treatment Court Case Worker The presiding judge serves as the chair of the CJCC and has held that position since 2017. The vice chair is chosen from the St. Croix Bar Association. The CJCC has four additional subcommittees beyond those stipulated in the bylaws: the Behavioral Health Subcommittee, the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Subcommittee, the Criminal Justice Subcommittee, and the Domestic Violence Subcommittee. The St. Croix County CJCC has a long history of meaningful accomplishments with many of its major initiatives completed. The council engaged the Justice Management Institute for technical assistance. This report captures the findings of that assessment and offers recommendations for the council's consideration as it plans its next chapter. Page 9 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 2 | P a g e II. CJCC Assessment Framework Technical Assistance The Justice Management Institute (JMI), a non-profit organization founded in 1993 and based in Arlington, Virginia, provides cutting-edge research, education, and training programs, and technical assistance in justice policy, planning, and operations. As part of its technical assistance, JMI has supported criminal justice coordinating councils (CJCCs) since its founding. However, its work with CJCCs became more significant in 2010 through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Through that grant, JMI established the National Network of Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils (NNCJCC), an association of local criminal justice coordinating councils (CJCCs), with membership composed of leadership and staff from CJCCs across the country. Currently, the NNCJCC has 40 jurisdictions as members. The NNCJCC empowers CJCCs to drive positive change through knowledge sharing, advocacy, and innovation. It advocates for CJCC directors to lead systemic initiatives and serves as a resource for jurisdictions seeking to establish or sustain an effective CJCC. Assessment Framework Through its continued work and technical assistance, JMI developed the National Standards for Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils and an accompanying publication, CJCC Essential Elements, in partnership with the National Institute of Corrections.1,2 These publications outline best practices for achieving effective CJCC operations. The CJCC Essential Elements includes an assessment tool that compares an existing CJCC to the ideal model of a council as defined by the national standards. This gap analysis assesses how closely a CJCC aligns with best practices and identifies areas for improvement. The assessment tool delineates ten essential elements that characterize high-performing CJCCs. The essential elements are the following: 1) Systemic Focus – The CJCC takes a systemic approach to coordinating the criminal justice system and is guided by a vision statement and a mission statement. 2) Participation – The CJCC has executive-level decision-makers as members, and they actively participate in the council. 3) Leadership – The CJCC has an effective leadership structure that includes officers and an Executive Committee. 4) Consensus Building – The CJCC makes consensus-based decisions and relies on voting for procedural matters. 5) Organized Meetings – The CJCC, including committees and workgroups, has structured meetings regularly. 1 Thomas Eberly and Aimee Wickman, National Standards for Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils (U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, 2023), NIC Accession #033675. 2 Thomas Eberly and Aimee Wickman, CJCC Essential Elements Councils: A Companion to the National Standards for Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils (U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, 2023), NIC Accession #033676. Page 10 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 3 | P a g e 6) Committees and Workgroups – The CJCC has standing committees and workgroups that advance the strategic initiatives and work of the council. 7) Strategic Planning – The CJCC has a strategic plan that guides the work of the council and produces desired outcomes. 8) Data and Research – The CJCC produces quantitative and qualitative data on the criminal justice system and uses the data to inform decision-making. 9) Community Engagement – The CJCC engages the community by sharing information and by involving the community in the work of the council. 10) Director and Staff – The CJCC has a director and staff who coordinate and advance the council’s strategic initiatives. This section presents the findings of the assessment using the Essential Elements tool. Given the tool's design, it is improbable that any CJCC will receive high ratings across all essential elements. Although the standards outline characteristics of high-performing CJCCs, those characteristics may not be what is best for every jurisdiction, nor may all the standards be attainable. For example, a CJCC may lack the financial resources to implement all aspects of the standards. The CJCC should view the findings that follow as a guide for potential improvement, recognizing that full compliance on every measure may not be feasible. Assessment Ratings Each essential element listed above has five to seven key factors associated with it that indicate if the element is operationalized. The assessment tool uses a rating scale to determine compliance with each key factor and to assign an overall rating for each element. The rating scale is: • Fully compliant – The CJCC fully comports with the key factor/essential element. • Mostly compliant – The CJCC comports with a majority of the key factor/essential element; the council deviates from the key factor/essential element, but aspects of the key factor are mostly present. • Somewhat compliant – The CJCC comports with a minority of the key factor/essential element; aspects of the key factor/essential element are somewhat present. • Not compliant – The CJCC does not comply with the key factor/essential element. When evaluating a CJCC, compliance is not a simple “yes” or “no.” For example, having bylaws does not automatically mean “fully compliant” on that key factor. JMI reviews the bylaws to determine if they fully meet the specified criteria of the national standards. If specific details are missing, such as the duties of officers, the CJCC would likely be “mostly” or “somewhat” compliant on that key factor. Assessment Process To understand the St. Croix CJCC, JMI collected governance and recent and historical materials related to the CJCC and observed CJCC and committee meetings between January and April 2026. JMI conducted interviews with 17 CJCC voting and advisory members virtually, lasting approximately one hour each. An online survey was also distributed to members, and the results were analyzed for additional context. Page 11 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 4 | P a g e Preliminary assessment findings and recommendations were presented to the CJCC in March 2026 and a draft report was then provided to members for review and feedback. About the Survey See Appendix A for full survey results. The survey distributed to the St. Croix County CJCC stakeholders served two purposes. It provided a structured way to gather anonymous input from a broader group of participants than could be reached through individual interviews, and it offered a quantitative complement to the qualitative themes that emerged from those conversations. Survey results are used throughout this report to inform the assessment findings and to illustrate how members and other stakeholders perceive the council's performance. The survey was distributed to 60 CJCC stakeholders, and 27 responses were received (45% overall response rate). Respondents identified their involvement with the CJCC as follows: 14 as CJCC members (52%), 7 as non-voting members (21%), 3 as staff (11%), and 3 as uncertain of their role (11%). Of all respondents, 22 indicated they had participated in a CJCC committee or workgroup in the past year. Ratings on the performance statements in the survey asked respondents to indicate their agreement with statements about the CJCC on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 indicates strong disagreement, and 10 indicates strong agreement. Mean scores from those performance statements are listed in the right blue column of the assessment findings below. Assessment Findings In the following pages, JMI will address each of the ten essential elements as they pertain to the St. Croix County CJCC. JMI assigned a rating to each element on key factors, indicating whether the key factor was present or not fully present, based on information obtained from interviews, the online survey, reviewing CJCC foundational documents, and observing committee meetings. Commentary is also provided to support the assigned rating. The ten essential elements covered in this assessment are interconnected by design. A strong CJCC does not operate in isolated components; its leadership, governance, membership, data practices, and community engagement all reinforce one another. As a result, readers will notice that certain themes appear across more than one section. Page 12 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 5 | P a g e Systemic Focus The CJCC takes a systemic approach to coordinating the criminal justice system and is guided by a vision and a mission statement. Key Factors Fully Compliant Mostly Compliant Somewhat Compliant Not Compliant Survey Mean Score The CJCC focuses on systemic issues that cross multiple agencies and systems. x 8.2 The CJCC maximizes system resources and available justice system funding. x 7 The CJCC pursues a system that is fairer, more just, and equitable. x 7.4 The CJCC responds to crises affecting the criminal justice system. x 7.3 The CJCC has a vision statement and a mission statement that reflect the systemic role of the council. x The CJCC has bylaws that outline the systemic purpose and structure of the council. x Overall Rating x Commentary: The St. Croix County CJCC was designed to be system-focused, with a clear goal of cross-system collaboration and avoiding duplication across agencies. That foundation is still evident today. Members generally view the CJCC as maintaining a systems-wide perspective, and survey respondents affirmed this strength. The CJCC demonstrates full compliance on several core factors, including its focus on multi- agency issues, its commitment to equity and fairness, its responsiveness to crises affecting the justice system, and its established mission statement. At the same time, there is broad interest among members in revisiting the mission and vision together as a group, recognizing that although the written mission exists, it is not being regularly internalized across the full membership. Members also noted that the CJCC has historically been effective in its primary purpose – supporting the Treatment Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) grant – but additional matters addressed are usually brought forward by one individual or as a way to seek grant funding, rather than through a systematic way of selecting projects and initiatives. There was interest among members in fine- tuning the CJCC’s approach to selecting initiatives, and the national standards recommend that developing a strategic plan is the best way to provide that structure. Further, in line with the national standards, several members felt that developing tangible tasks and measurable goals based on data and reporting annually to indicate progress would also improve the CJCC. The CJCC has a solid set of bylaws that provide a strong foundation and mostly align with national standards. The bylaws include a mission statement in Article III, which reflects the council’s systemic intent along with a statement on the power of the CJCC. While this provides a useful foundation, the bylaws lack a single, clear statement of purpose and a vision statement. Strengthening the bylaws with a more concise and standalone purpose statement would make it easier for members and the public to understand what the CJCC is and why it exists. Page 13 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 6 | P a g e The bylaws could also be enhanced by consolidating the council’s structural elements, including providing information about member responsibilities, vice chair selection, chair selection of subcommittees, staff responsibilities, and a conflict of interest policy. An organizational chart would be a practical complement to the bylaws, giving both members and the public a clear picture of how the council is organized. Areas for Improvement: • Develop a strategic plan with S.M.A.R.T.3 goals. • Develop a formal vision statement that articulates the council's long-term aspirations. • Revise the current mission statement to more fully reflect the council's systemic coordination role. • Strengthen the bylaws to include a clear statement of purpose, member and staff responsibilities, additional information about subcommittees and chair selection, and a conflict-of-interest policy. 3 For more information about developing a strategic plan, see the Strategic Planning element located on page 16. The S.M.A.R.T. paradigm refers to a strategic plan that is Specific (well-defined outcomes), Measurable (quantifiable outcomes), Achievable (doable outcomes), Realistic (practical outcomes), and Time-Bound (outcomes with a clearly defined timeline). Page 14 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 7 | P a g e Participation The CJCC has executive-level decision-makers as members who actively participate in the council. Key Factors Fully Compliant Mostly Compliant Somewhat Compliant Not Compliant Survey Mean Score CJCC membership includes executive-level leadership representing key entities from municipal, county, and state justice agencies. x CJCC membership size is appropriate to fulfill the council’s mission. x 8 CJCC membership includes at least one community representative. x CJCC bylaws outline expectations for council members. x CJCC members attend council meetings; the use of proxies and delegates is limited. x 7.7 CJCC members actively participate in council meetings. x 7 The CJCC has a formal process for onboarding new members. x The CJCC’s membership list is publicly posted and updated annually. x Overall Rating x Commentary: The St. Croix County CJCC has a strong executive-level membership that represents key entities across the justice system, and its membership list is publicly posted and kept current on the council's website, both of which are consistent with national standards. Survey results confirm that members feel good about the council's ability to reach consensus and work through issues productively, which is an important strength. The CJCC currently lists 19 voting members and 23 advisory members in its bylaws, which sits at the upper end of the recommended range. National standards suggest that councils maintain between 16 and 25 members, with any new position added by vote of the CJCC and reflected in a bylaw amendment. The CJCC membership includes two citizen members who are active on the CJCC. To increase community commitment and engagement when these positions become open, broaden community representation by selecting citizen members with lived experience and/or from underrepresented communities. The CJCC does not rely heavily on proxies, which reflects well on its members' commitment to show up directly. Consistent attendance and active participation are areas where the CJCC has room to grow. This is not unusual for councils at a similar stage, and strong officer engagement can meaningfully address it. National standards place responsibility on CJCC officers to personally reach out to members who attend inconsistently, check in on their engagement, and reaffirm their commitment to the council. When members feel a clear sense of purpose and know that their presence matters, participation tends to Page 15 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 8 | P a g e follow. Alternatively, when officers and staff learn why members are not attending, this can help to make necessary adjustments to encourage attendance and overall member satisfaction. Two additional areas for improvement are adding additional guidance in the bylaws for member responsibilities and developing a formal onboarding process. The current bylaws provide limited guidance on member responsibilities. National standards recommend that bylaws explicitly define member expectations, including attendance, open communication, collaboration, shared responsibility, and a commitment to data-informed decision-making. Alongside clearer expectations, a formal onboarding process would help new members feel connected from the start. National standards call for a structured process that includes a personal welcome from officers, an orientation packet, a formal introduction to the full council, and a follow-up meeting at the six-month mark. Areas for Improvement: • Retool bylaws to include guidance on member responsibilities. • Develop a formal onboarding process for new members to accelerate engagement and alignment. • Broaden community representation to include individuals with lived experience and members from underrepresented communities. Page 16 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 9 | P a g e Leadership The CJCC has an effective leadership structure that includes officers and a steering committee. Key Factors Fully Compliant Mostly Compliant Somewhat Compliant Not Compliant Survey Mean Score The CJCC has designated officers from different disciplines. x The CJCC has a fair and transparent process for selecting the chair and vice-chair. x 6.7 Officers keep the CJCC and the steering committee's activities and initiatives on track. x 7.7 CJCC officers and the executive committee work in consultation with CJCC staff to prepare for CJCC meetings and advance CJCC initiatives. x CJCC bylaws clearly outline the appropriate duties and responsibilities of the officers and executive committee. x The executive committee includes CJCC officers and a small fraction of the CJCC membership. x Overall Rating x Commentary: The St. Croix County CJCC currently has a chair and vice chair from different disciplines, which aligns well with national standards. The standards recommend that officers represent a range of perspectives and backgrounds across the council's membership. Having officers from two different disciplines is a genuine structural strength that is worth preserving. Survey respondents gave a lower rating to the transparency in selecting the chair and vice chair (6.7). This may be because the process for selecting the vice chair is not currently contained in the bylaws. This could be addressed with a bylaw change that specifies that the selection process for the vice chair begins with suggested candidates from the St. Croix Bar Association and the process thereafter, if the lower rating was due to the vice chair selection. The bylaws state that the chair of the CJCC is the presiding judge. The lower rating may be due to this designation, as it removes the ability to select the chair member based on the individual and can cause one person to hold the position for an extended period. The CJCC should commit to discussing the chair and vice chair selection process at an upcoming meeting to determine whether any adjustments to the bylaws are of interest. This may be an opportunity to reconsider how the chair and vice chair positions are filled going forward. Rather than tying the role to a specific position or title, national standards encourage councils to elect their chair from among the membership based on qualities like availability, commitment, and the ability to bring people together. Opening the selection process in this way allows the most qualified and engaged person to step into the role, regardless of their title or agency. While the feedback about the current chair was positive, a future presiding judge may not have an interest or lack the skills and Page 17 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 10 | P a g e availability for the position. This is a natural and healthy conversation for the council to have and is an opportunity to establish clearer expectations for the role. Similarly, the council could use this opportunity to consider a co-chair model. Rather than designating a single chair and a vice-chair who steps in only during the chair's absence, a co-chair model places two leaders in equal, shared leadership roles. Both co-chairs preside over meetings, share responsibility for the council's direction, and work collaboratively with the executive director to advance the council's priorities. This model is gaining interest among CJCCs across the country for several reasons. It distributes the sometimes considerable demands of the chair role across two people, reducing the risk that the council's momentum depends on any single individual. It also provides the executive director with two engaged officers rather than one, creating a more balanced and supportive working relationship. When co-chairs come from different disciplines, as national standards encourage, the model reinforces the cross-system perspective that makes CJCCs effective. The executive committee is another area that needs attention. The bylaws include the creation of an executive committee. Its membership includes the council chair, the vice chair, the county board chair, the county administrator, and a fifth at-large member. Although the executive committee's size is consistent with national standards, the membership is not. The executive committee is one of the most important bodies, as it oversees the CJCC's operations and progress. According to the national standards, the membership should be the chair and vice chair of the CJCC and a small number of key criminal justice decision-makers, such as the chief judge of the criminal courts, the sheriff, the district attorney, a police chief, and the public defender. Additionally, because of the importance of this committee, proxies should be strongly discouraged or used only rarely. National standards require an active executive committee to oversee CJCC operations, prioritize initiatives, monitor committee work, advise officers, draft agendas, and provide direction to staff. Currently, the chair most often makes decisions directly with the executive director rather than through the committee. This offers a level of efficiency, but this arrangement leaves the council without the shared governance structure it needs. Restructuring the executive committee is the single most consequential structural step the CJCC can take to strengthen its governance foundation. Restructuring and reinvigorating the executive committee also provides a venue for additional council work to occur, as suggested in this assessment, including developing a strategic plan. Areas for Improvement: • Restructure and define a clear operational role for the executive committee, which currently only meets periodically. • Formalize a written, transparent nomination and election process for council officers to address current perceptions of opacity. Page 18 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 11 | P a g e Consensus Building The CJCC makes consensus-based decisions and relies on voting for procedural matters. Key Factors Fully Compliant Mostly Compliant Somewhat Compliant Not Compliant Survey Mean Score The CJCC is advisory in nature and relies on consensus to make decisions. x 7.5 The CJCC discusses matters productively and professionally to find common ground and possible solutions. x 7.2 CJCC voting is used primarily for procedural matters and when it is required by the CJCC’s bylaws or legislative mandate (if applicable). x CJCC bylaws outline the council’s voting procedures. x The CJCC includes the perspective of underrepresented communities when making decisions. x 5.8 The CJCC has a conflict-of-interest policy. x Overall Rating x Commentary: The St. Croix County CJCC is advisory in nature and relies on consensus for decision-making, which is consistent with how most CJCCs operate and reflects a real cultural strength. Survey respondents affirmed this, and observations from meetings confirmed that when matters are brought forward for discussion, members engage constructively and treat one another with respect. National standards identify this kind of consensus-oriented culture as a core characteristic of high-functioning CJCCs, noting that it leads to more thorough and well-supported decisions and strengthens member engagement over time. The CJCC includes two citizen members representing various areas of the community, and the full membership reflects a variety of perspectives. This is commendable and reflects a real commitment to bringing community voices to the table. At the same time, survey respondents gave a low score on the statement about including perspectives of underrepresented communities in decision-making, and interviewees noted that the council does not yet fully reflect the diversity of the people the justice system serves. This gap between the council's genuine efforts at inclusion and how those efforts are being experienced by members is worth exploring. It may be less about who is in the room and more about how community perspectives are being heard, considered, and reflected in the council's work and decisions. A dedicated conversation among members about how underrepresented voices are currently incorporated, and how that could be strengthened, would be a productive step. National standards call for community representation that reflects the diverse constituencies the CJCC serves and emphasize that inclusion must be authentic rather than symbolic. That means providing training and support so that community members can contribute meaningfully, not just filling a seat. Survey comments echoed this directly, with respondents calling for genuine membership from returning citizens and others with lived experience and Page 19 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 12 | P a g e encouraging the council to think ambitiously about how community voices can be brought into real leadership roles over time. The CJCC does not currently have a conflict-of-interest policy. National standards explicitly require councils to adopt a policy that prohibits members from voting when they have a personal or financial conflict, and recommend that the policy be incorporated into the bylaws and reviewed with members regularly, including through practical examples. Areas for Improvement: • Adopt a formal conflict-of-interest policy, which is a required component for full compliance under the national standards. • Develop deliberate mechanisms to incorporate perspectives from underrepresented and marginalized communities into the decision-making process. Page 20 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 13 | P a g e Organized Meetings The CJCC, including its committees and workgroups, holds regular structured meetings. Key Factors Fully Compliant Mostly Compliant Somewhat Compliant Not Compliant Survey Mean Score CJCC meetings are well organized. x 8.3 CJCC meetings are productive. x 7 The CJCC meets monthly or bimonthly, with a set meeting time and date throughout the year. x The CJCC provides agendas at least three working days before a meeting and 24 hours before an emergency meeting. x CJCC meetings are open to the public and allow time for public comment on the agenda. x Requirements for a quorum are stipulated in the bylaws. x The CJCC produces meeting documentation and posts it on the council’s website. x The CJCC follows open meeting laws. x Overall Rating x Commentary: The St. Croix County CJCC meets every other month on a consistent date and time, which aligns with national standards. Agendas are sent well in advance, meeting minutes and presentations are posted publicly on the council's website, and the CJCC adheres to open meeting laws and quorum requirements stipulated in the bylaws. Survey respondents affirmed this strong logistical foundation, and it reflects well on the council's commitment to keeping members informed and prepared. Despite this solid foundation, perceptions of meeting productivity are more mixed. While members generally appreciate the structure, many felt that meetings sometimes lack sufficient substance or direction. National standards recommend designating action items on agendas to reinforce that the CJCC is a decision-making body, not just an information-sharing forum. Adding clearer action items and decision points to agendas alongside the existing updates would give members a stronger sense of purpose when they attend and help ensure that information-sharing leads to action. The CJCC's meetings are open to the public and time is available on the agenda for members and guests to speak, which is consistent with national standards. Two relatively simple adjustments would further strengthen public accessibility. First, the agenda could explicitly label the time set aside for public comment so attendees know it is available. Second, the council's website could be updated to include the date, time, location, and virtual link for upcoming meetings, which national standards require for public- facing communication. Areas for Improvement: • List action items on the agenda to reinforce the decision-making nature of the CJCC. • Add meeting information to the CJCC website. Page 21 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 14 | P a g e Committees & Workgroups The CJCC has standing committees and workgroups that advance the strategic initiatives and work of the council. Key Factors Fully Compliant Mostly Compliant Somewhat Compliant Not Compliant Survey Mean Score The CJCC uses committees and workgroups to advance the work of the council. x 7.5 The committees and workgroups have chairpersons appointed by the CJCC. x The committees and workgroups include CJCC members and nonmembers with subject matter expertise, include community members. x Committees and workgroups routinely update the CJCC and the Executive Committee on their progress. x 8.5 CJCC staff support the committees and workgroups. x Committees and workgroups produce meeting documentation that is made available to the public. x Overall Rating x Commentary: The St. Croix County CJCC uses committees to advance its work, and the level of participation reflected in the survey is encouraging. Committees meet regularly, provide verbal updates to the full CJCC, and include CJCC members, non-members, and community members, which are consistent with national standards. The central challenge is that some committees currently operate without clear direction or defined goals. This is evident from the minimal reporting and updates provided to the full CJCC. Interviewees described that committees meet out of habit rather than purpose, sometimes reporting the same information meeting after meeting without demonstrating progress. National standards are clear that when forming a standing committee, the CJCC must define its goals and objectives in writing and align them with the council's strategic plan. Without a strategic plan in place, committees have no shared framework for setting priorities or measuring their work. A related issue is that committee leadership and membership are largely informal in practice. The bylaws do assign the CJCC chair authority to appoint committee chairpersons, which aligns with national standards. However, this process has not been consistently followed, and committee leadership has largely developed through informal self-nomination and agreement rather than formal appointments. National standards also require that committee chairs have their duties outlined in the bylaws, which is currently not the case. Similarly, clear membership rosters are not available for all committees, and national standards require that members be formally nominated and approved by the CJCC. Formalizing these processes in practice would strengthen accountability and address what interviewees identified as an ongoing challenge in recruiting committed committee leaders. Oversight of committees is another area that needs attention. Because the executive committee meets infrequently, it is not fulfilling its responsibility to monitor the work of all committees, creating a direct Page 22 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 15 | P a g e accountability gap. Beyond that, interviewees noted that committees are not consistently given feedback and guidance in return for the updates they provide. National standards call for a two-way relationship between the CJCC and its committees, with the council actively providing direction and support rather than simply receiving status reports. National standards also recommend that the CJCC review all standing committees annually to determine whether they remain necessary and whether changes are needed. As part of that review, the CJCC may also want to consider whether some of its current committees would be better structured as time-limited workgroups. National standards distinguish between standing committees, which are designed for complex, ongoing priorities tied to the strategic plan, and workgroups, which are task-specific and time- bound. For issues that do not require a permanent structure, a focused workgroup with a defined charge and end date may be a more effective and efficient approach than maintaining an ongoing committee. Areas for Improvement: • Develop foundational documents (charter, goals, objectives, membership rosters) for the subcommittees that currently lack them. • Establish clear, measurable goals and objectives for each subcommittee aligned to the council's forthcoming strategic plan. Page 23 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 16 | P a g e Strategic Planning The CJCC has a strategic plan that guides the work of the council and produces desired outcomes.4 Key Factors Fully Compliant Mostly Compliant Somewhat Compliant Not Compliant The CJCC creates and adopts a data-informed strategic plan every three to five years. x The strategic plan is produced collaboratively by CJCC members and community. x The strategic plan is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound. x The strategic plan includes short-, medium-, and long-term initiatives. x The strategic plan and related deliverables are reviewed annually and updated as needed by CJCC. x The strategic plan is shared with the public, and progress reports are provided at least annually. x Overall Rating x Commentary: The St. Croix County CJCC does not currently have a strategic plan. National standards require every CJCC to create and adopt a strategic plan every three to five years, and the absence of a current plan is one of the most foundational gaps identified in this assessment. The strong consensus among members that strategic planning is urgently needed is itself an encouraging sign, and the council has the motivation to move forward. There is broad recognition that without a clear plan, the CJCC risks losing members and momentum. Over the years, the CJCC has channeled considerable energy into major initiatives, including treatment court, pretrial assessment and release work, and the Sequential Intercept Mapping Model. A strategic plan would give committees clear charges, help right-size the committee structure, and provide a framework for measuring progress and demonstrating the council's value to local government and the community. National standards call for the plan to be created collaboratively by council members and to contain three to five major goals with short-, medium-, and long-term objectives, as well as an action plan that details specific tasks, responsible parties, resources needed, and expected outcomes. Once adopted by a formal vote of the council, the plan should be treated as a living document, reviewed at least annually, and updated as needed. Making the plan and yearly progress reports publicly available will strengthen the council's transparency and accountability. National standards also require bylaws to include formal expectations for producing a strategic plan and an annual report. Adding this language to the bylaws would establish a standing institutional expectation for both, helping ensure that strategic planning and public reporting do not depend on the priorities of any individual leader at any given time. 4 Questions on strategic planning were omitted from the survey because the CJCC does not have a strategic plan. Page 24 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 17 | P a g e Data and Research The CJCC produces quantitative and qualitative data on the criminal justice system and uses the data to inform decision-making. Key Factors Fully Compliant Mostly Compliant Somewhat Compliant Not Compliant Survey Mean Score The CJCC uses data and research to inform decision- making and pursue evidence-based solutions. x 6.5 The CJCC collects and analyzes local data to monitor trends and proactively manage the criminal justice system. x 6.4 The CJCC members and their agencies share pertinent system data with the council. x The CJCC tracks specific data metrics to determine progress toward strategic goals and objectives. x The CJCC produces an annual systems data report that informs the council and community. x The CJCC engages independent outside partners to assist with research efforts. x Overall Rating x Commentary: The data findings in this assessment stand out, and it is worth acknowledging upfront that the challenges here are not unique to St. Croix County. Many CJCCs across the country struggle with data access, capacity, and culture, and the barriers are real. What is notable in St. Croix County is that the interest in doing better is genuine and widespread. Members want objective indicators and trend data to understand how the system is operating and how the CJCC's work is making a difference. That motivation is a real asset, reinforced by the council's own history. The CJCC has long understood the value of data: the studies and analyses that shaped previous initiatives are a clear example of what the council can accomplish when data informs its decisions. At the same time, the gaps are significant. Members reported that justice system data is rarely presented or discussed at council meetings, and interviewees described data limitations as a systemwide problem. Requests for data were often unmet due to capacity and funding constraints, or fulfilled with no clear purpose or use, and survey comments from multiple respondents flagged data access as a consistent frustration. National standards treat data-informed decision-making and local data collection as core CJCC functions rather than optional enhancements. The good news is that a practical starting point is available without building new infrastructure. National standards recommend beginning by identifying data elements that member agencies already generate internally for their own operations or for state and federal reporting, and compiling elements of interest into a regular report for the CJCC. Interviewees echoed this approach directly, suggesting an inventory of what data is already collected across agencies and identifying existing staff who collect or report it. This kind of audit would clarify what is already available. National standards call for a CJCC to identify a set of key performance indicators tracked consistently year over year, such as violent crime rates, pretrial Page 25 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 18 | P a g e release rates, jail population trends, and recidivism rates, with targets aligned to the strategic plan. This helps the CJCC track progress on their goals, but also to see trends over time rather than seeing only point-in-time data. At a minimum, an annual system performance report should be produced for the community, covering volume, emerging trends, and progress toward goals. Quarterly or mid-year check- ins are also recommended to enable more proactive decision-making rather than relying on a single annual review. The executive director is a natural point of coordination for this work, well-positioned to reach out to member agencies, compile available data, and bring it forward in a usable format. Investing in that capacity and giving the executive director the tools and time needed to support data collection and dissemination would meaningfully strengthen the council’s ability to become more data-informed over time. Data collection efforts also need to be purposeful and recognized across the council. It is worth acknowledging that some members are already collecting and sharing data, and that those contributions are not always visible to the broader membership. When data are being gathered, but members are unaware of it, or when it is collected without a clear connection to the council's goals, the effort can feel wasted. The CJCC would benefit from an open conversation about which data are currently being collected, who is providing them, and how they are being used. Establishing that shared understanding would surface unrecognized contributions, ensure that data collected going forward is tied to a clear purpose, and go a long way toward making data sharing a routine part of how the council operates rather than something that happens only when asked. Areas for Improvement: • Develop and publish an annual system performance report for community and stakeholder consumption. • Establish data-sharing agreements or MOUs between member agencies to enable consistent, system-wide data collection. • Transition data use from a reactive, grant-driven model to a proactive performance management function. Page 26 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 19 | P a g e Community Engagement The CJCC engages the community by sharing information and by involving the community in the work of the council. Key Factors Fully Compliant Mostly Compliant Somewhat Compliant Not Compliant Survey Mean Score The CJCC purposefully engages the community. x 5.6 The CJCC purposefully includes the community in decision-making. x 5 The CJCC purposefully informs the community about the work of the council. x 5 The CJCC has created a communications plan for conveying information to the public and the media. x The CJCC uses knowledgeable, experienced council spokespersons for community outreach. x The CJCC maintains a website to provide information about, and resources related to, the council and the criminal justice system. x Overall Rating x Commentary: The St. Croix County CJCC has made genuine efforts to engage the community, and those efforts deserve recognition. The council includes, as voting members, two citizen members and a member who represents the faith-based community. There are also several additional community members from various areas included as advisory members of the CJCC. The CJCC has a webpage with some limited information and meetings, including subcommittee meetings, are public. Survey respondents, however, gave low marks across all three community engagement statements, and interviews pointed to areas where that commitment could be more consistently expressed and more strategically directed. A recurring theme in interviews was that the broader community likely does not know what the CJCC is or does. While this is not unusual, it is in the CJCC's best interest to improve communication with the community. The council was described as not particularly public-facing, and there is currently no annual report or proactive communication strategy to share the council's work and value with the public. National standards establish community engagement and outreach as a required, strategic function of the CJCC. The standards identify several objectives of community outreach, including heightening awareness, increasing engagement, providing access, enhancing transparency, reinforcing credibility, educating the public, and fostering trust. Strengthening the council's public presence and communication would help advance all of these objectives and build broader support for the CJCC's work. The standards also call for the CJCC to create mechanisms not just for informing the community but for hearing from it, and for communicating back how that feedback is being considered and acted upon. That kind of two-way engagement is what moves community outreach from checking a box to genuine dialogue. Page 27 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 20 | P a g e While the CJCC has historically included community members in its membership and committees, interviewees questioned whether those members have a meaningful role beyond attending meetings. National standards are clear that community inclusion must be authentic rather than symbolic, and that community members should be part of a true collaboration, included equally in all phases of decision- making, and provided with the support they need to contribute meaningfully. Survey comments echoed this, with respondents advocating for genuine representation from people with lived experience in the justice system, such as returning citizens, and encouraging the council to bring community voices into real leadership roles over time. The CJCC does not currently have a communications plan, which national standards explicitly require. That plan should outline communication goals, core messaging principles, outreach methods, target audiences, and a crisis communication strategy. The CJCC may want to consider creating a community engagement committee or a time-limited workgroup with a clear charter and defined tasks, including the development of a communications plan. Areas for Improvement: • Develop and adopt a formal community engagement and communications plan. • Create accessible, plain-language summaries of council initiatives and outcomes for public distribution. • Establish structured pathways for community members — particularly those with lived experience — to meaningfully participate in council processes. • Consider forming a dedicated community engagement subcommittee to own and advance outreach activities. Page 28 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 21 | P a g e Director and Staff The CJCC has a director and support staff who coordinate the council and advance the council’s strategies and initiatives. Key Factors Fully Compliant Mostly Compliant Somewhat Compliant Not Compliant Survey Mean Score The CJCC is properly staffed to support and advance the council’s strategic initiatives. x 7 The CJCC has a dedicated director who is accountable to the council’s Executive Committee. x The CJCC director role is a professional, executive-level position in the organization. x The CJCC director and staff have job descriptions that clearly articulate the roles and responsibilities of the positions. x The CJCC director and staff have performance reviews commensurate with their job duties; the Executive Committee contributes to the director's performance. x Overall Rating x Commentary: The St. Croix County CJCC is fortunate to have a dedicated executive director who provides essential coordination across all aspects of the council's work, including organizing meetings, following up on council matters, and supporting officers and committees. Interviewees consistently praised the position for organization, dedication, and commitment to improvement, and survey comments reflected genuine appreciation for the breadth of what the role takes on. National standards describe a successful director as someone whose impact is felt through the council's accomplishments, even when individual contributions go unacknowledged, and that characterization resonates strongly with the feedback received. The executive director role is currently a less-than-half-time position, which may pose challenges for the suggested action items in this assessment. The county and CJCC should consider making the executive director’s position at least part-time to ensure he has the time commitment needed to meet the CJCC's needs. The return on investment from a well-supported director position, in terms of reduced long-term justice system costs, improved coordination, and stronger public safety outcomes, is significant and worth communicating clearly to local government decision-makers. The executive director position should also receive a formal performance review from the executive committee. National standards call for annual written performance reviews conducted face-to-face by the executive committee, especially given the director’s multi-stakeholder role. This kind of structured feedback process would benefit both the position and the council, providing a regular opportunity to assess workload, clarify expectations, and identify where additional support might be needed. Areas for Improvement: • Establish annual performance review processes for the director position, with appropriate executive committee consultation. Page 29 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 22 | P a g e • Assess whether additional time is needed by the executive director to execute the council's strategic plan and expand the subcommittee workload and/or seek additional support staff, as needed. Page 30 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 23 | P a g e III. CJCC Member Priorities As part of the survey, respondents were asked to weigh in on eight priority areas identified through CJCC member interviews. These areas were drawn from interview themes and presented to survey respondents to help inform potential future direction for the CJCC and its strategic planning efforts. For each area, respondents first rated their agreement that the area should be an important focus for the council on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 indicates strong disagreement and 10 indicates strong agreement. Respondents then ranked all eight areas from most to least important, with a rank of 1 indicating the highest priority. The table below presents the mean scores for the importance of the priority and rank. As a reminder, a higher score for level of agreement means a higher level of importance and a lower rank order indicates a higher priority score. CJCC Members – Mean Survey Scores Priority Area Agreement of Importance (1 = strongly disagree / 10 = strongly agree) Rank Order (1= most important) Behavioral Health 8.3 1 CJCC Sustainability 7.3 2 Reentry Services 7.9 3 Data Utilization 7.4 4 Community Engagement 6.6 5 Preventative Work 6.9 6 System Analysis 7.3 7 National and Regional Engagement and Learning 6.1 8 Top Five Priority Areas Looking at the survey scores, the agreement of importance and the rank order do not align completely. System analysis, for example, ranked number seven, but its mean score was 7.3. Community engagement ranked fifth, but had a mean score of 6.6. Further discussion at a full CJCC meeting may be helpful to confirm the rank scoring versus the agreement of importance scores. The following, however, are the top five priorities based on rank order. They are Behavioral Health, CJCC Sustainability, Reentry Services, Data Utilization, and Community Engagement. These priorities are reflected in the recommendations that follow and will inform the council's strategic planning process. The survey statements that defined each priority area are listed below (in ranked order of importance). 1. Behavioral Health: Behavioral health is an important priority, and the CJCC should focus more energy on developing strategies to address mental health and substance abuse issues in the justice system. 2. CJCC Sustainability: The long-term sustainability and organizational health of the CJCC is important, and the CJCC should focus on strengthening its structure and planning. Page 31 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 24 | P a g e 3. Reentry Services. When someone is released from jail, it is important that there is a warm handoff to help ensure that the individual has the services needed to support recovery and a stable environment. The CJCC should work on coordinated efforts to ensure that this regularly occurring and supportive of those who are released. 4. Data Utilization: Data collection and utilization across the justice system should be important to the work of the CJCC, and we should focus more energy on building our data capacity and sharing information. 5. Community Engagement. The CJCC should increase opportunities to engage with the community and to provide the public with information about the CJCC's work. Page 32 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 25 | P a g e IV. Summary and Recommendations Assessment Findings & Recommendations In applying the CJCC Essential Elements framework to evaluate the St. Croix County CJCC, JMI found it to be mostly and somewhat compliant, with one element of full compliance and one of non-compliance. The council has a strong history of collaboration and has achieved tangible outcomes for the local criminal justice system, but it has also identified structural and operational gaps that limit its effectiveness and raise concerns about its long-term sustainability. The table below summarizes the full ratings across each essential element. CJCC Essential Elements Ratings for St. Croix County CJCC Essential Element Overall Rating Systemic Focus Mostly Compliant Participation Mostly Compliant Leadership Mostly Compliant Consensus Building Mostly Compliant Organized Meetings Fully Compliant Committees and Workgroups Mostly Compliant Strategic Planning Not Compliant Data and Research Somewhat Compliant Community Engagement Somewhat Compliant Director and Staff Mostly Compliant Based on the assessment results and guidance from the national standards, JMI proposes the following five recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of the St. Croix County CJCC. The St. Croix County CJCC has a great deal to be proud of. It was built on a strong systemic foundation, has a genuine culture of collaboration and consensus, and has delivered meaningful results for the community over many years. The assessment also reflects that the council is at a crossroads, a period of renewed focus, and the natural challenges that come after a sustained run of accomplishments. The ten essential elements reviewed in this assessment point to a consistent set of themes that, taken together, offer a clear and practical path forward. 1. Develop a Strategic Plan (Highest Priority) • Initiate a facilitated strategic planning process within the next 12 months. • Adopt a three-to-five-year plan with S.M.A.R.T. goals, measurable outcomes, and defined accountability. • Engage both community stakeholders and council members in the development process. 2. Strengthen Data Infrastructure • Formalize inter-agency data-sharing through MOUs or data governance agreements. • Produce an annual system performance report for public and stakeholder distribution. • Shift data culture from grant-reporting to proactive system management. Page 33 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 26 | P a g e 3. Build a Community Engagement Plan • Adopt a formal communications and community engagement plan. • Create structured opportunities for lived-experience voices in council deliberations. • Consider a dedicated community engagement subcommittee with a defined charter. 4. Formalize Governance Documents • Update bylaws to include a conflict-of-interest policy and defined member responsibilities. • Draft foundational documents (charter, goals) for all subcommittees lacking them. • Formalize officer nomination/election procedures and restructure the executive committee. 5. Expand Membership Diversity • Identify and recruit members with lived criminal justice experience. • Develop a formal onboarding process to accelerate new-member integration. • Conduct periodic membership gap analyses to ensure representation reflects community demographics. Recommendation 1: Develop a Strategic Plan The national standards call for every CJCC to collaborate on developing a three-to-five-year strategic plan that specifies the council’s priorities and core initiatives. The plan should contain a reasonable number of goals, and each goal should have a subset of short-, medium-, and long-term objectives. Additionally, the plan should follow the S.M.A.R.T. paradigm, meaning the plan should be Specific (well-defined outcomes), Measurable (quantifiable outcomes), Achievable (doable outcomes), Realistic (practical outcomes), and Time-Bound (outcomes with a clearly defined timeline). When developing the strategic plan, the CJCC should include input from stakeholders beyond council membership, including the community. Stakeholder inclusion is essential for creating a comprehensive plan that will be widely supported. Additionally, the plan should use both qualitative and quantitative data to inform strategy development. Data help inform decision-making, crystallize priorities, and reveal resource needs. Data also provide a baseline for determining whether the council’s goals are being achieved. Once the strategic plan is adopted, it should serve as the council's foundational work. The council and the executive committee must be intentional about executing the plan to ensure it comes to fruition. This includes regularly monitoring progress on the strategic plan, and at least once a year, the council should dedicate a meeting to review the plan in its entirety. This annual review should provide an opportunity to assess progress in implementation and determine whether modifications are needed. Ultimately, the strategic plan should be viewed as a working document that can be revisited and revised to avoid becoming obsolete. Many CJCCs assign initiatives from the strategic plan to committees or workgroups under the council. The committees and workgroups then develop and implement the initiatives under the guidance and direction of the CJCC. For example, if an initiative is to integrate record management systems, this project would be assigned to a dedicated information technology committee. Finally, according to the national standards, the CJCC should be intentional about sharing the strategic plan, along with any yearly updates, with the community. Providing access to the plan informs the Page 34 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 27 | P a g e community about the CJCC’s vision and signifies the council’s commitment to improving the local justice system. It also heightens transparency and accountability between the justice system and the community. Priority Actions: • Initiate a facilitated strategic planning process within the next 12 months, engaging a neutral facilitator experienced with criminal justice coordinating bodies to guide the council through the process. • Develop a three-to-five-year strategic plan structured around S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound), with clearly assigned accountabilities for each objective across member agencies and subcommittees. • Use the planning process to formally audit current subcommittee work against council-level priorities, ensuring grant-funded activity is integrated into rather than substituted for a broader strategic agenda. • Establish baseline performance metrics during the planning process so the council can measure progress from a defined starting point; use existing TAD and pretrial data as initial anchors. • Engage both community stakeholders and member agency leaders in the development process, ensuring the plan reflects justice system realities from both practitioner and community perspectives. • Make a plan to review the strategic plan yearly and make adjustments. • Update the bylaws to include the regular review and creation of future strategic plans. Recommendation 2: Strengthen Data Infrastructure A key responsibility of the council and the steering committee should be to gather and analyze system data. As standard practice, the CJCC should generate statistical reports from agency data (e.g., calls for service, arrests, cases filed, cases disposed) and use this information to monitor the system and identify trends early. The CJCC should consider adopting performance indicators beyond those it already tracks. Specifically, they should track measures that capture progress toward the vision and mission and serve as alerts to potential issues. Performance indicators reflect key data metrics that assess how the criminal justice system is performing in critical areas. The table below shows sample criminal justice performance indicators. Page 35 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 28 | P a g e Example: Key Performance Indicators for a CJCC to Track Performance Indicator Calculation Methodology Violent Crime Clearance Rate Number of violent offenses cleared divided by the total number of violent offenses reported Violent Crime Prevention Rate5 Number of violent cases filed by the prosecution divided by the number of violent crimes referred for prosecution Pretrial Release Rate6 Number of defendants who are booked into jail and released within 24 hours of initial appearance, divided by the total number of defendants booked into jail with initial appearance Time to Disposition- Misdemeanor7 Number of misdemeanor cases disposed of within 180 days divided by the total number of misdemeanor cases disposed Time to Disposition- Felony8 Number of felony cases disposed of within 365 days divided by the total number of felony cases disposed Case Clearance Rate9 Number of criminal cases disposed divided by the number of criminal cases filed Serious Offenders Incarceration Rate Number of incarceration sentences issued for first- or second- degree felonies divided by the total number of first- and second-degree felony sentences Jail Population Safety Rate Number of days jail population is at or below 80% of design capacity divided by the total number of days in the month Probation Revocation Rate Number of probation revocations divided by the number of active probationers Recidivism Rate- Misdemeanor and Felony Number of individuals with one or more new charges within two years of discharge from jail divided by the total number of individuals discharged from jail Producing data reports for the council is typically the responsibility of CJCC staff, but requires agencies' willingness to share high-level data with the council. Many CJCCs adopt a memorandum of understanding drafted by a workgroup that outlines expectations for providing and using the data. Priority Actions: • Execute a formal inter-agency data-sharing MOU or data governance agreement that defines which agencies share what data, on what schedule, in what format, and subject to what privacy and security standards, establishing data contribution as an institutional obligation rather than a discretionary act. • Conduct a technology and interoperability assessment across member agencies to identify proprietary system constraints and explore cost-effective pathways to data standardization, whether through shared platforms, data translation protocols, or a centralized council-managed dashboard. 5 Source: www.prosecutorialperformanceindicators.org 6 Source: www.nicic.gov 7 Source:www.courtools.org 8 Source: ibid. 9 Source: ibid. Page 36 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 29 | P a g e • Develop and publish an annual system performance report covering the full St. Croix County justice system, presenting key indicators on arrests, charges, dispositions, diversion, recidivism, and behavioral health contacts in an accessible, plain-language format for the council, its member agencies, and the public. • Expand the data scope beyond current grant-anchored reporting. The CJCC should define system- wide performance indicators during the strategic planning process and build a data collection infrastructure to support them. • Designate a data stewardship function to own the annual reporting cycle, manage agency data relationships, and ensure data quality and consistency over time. This could be part of the director's role, as an assigned responsibility within a subcommittee, or as an assigned role to a data analyst. Recommendation 3: Build a Community Engagement Plan The national standards require a high-performing CJCC to go beyond internal coordination and actively cultivate a two-way relationship with the broader public. This means the council is not only accountable to its member agencies but also to the community it serves. For the St. Croix County CJCC, with a community engagement interview score of 5.0 out of 10, the lowest in this assessment, this gap carries real consequences. When community members feel excluded from the council's primary decision-making process, the CJCC risks losing legitimacy as a system-level reform body and forfeits the insights that only those closest to the justice system's impact can provide. A formal community engagement plan should be grounded in the CJCC's core coordination mandate, and the council should translate complex system performance data into accessible public information and create deliberate on-ramps for community participation. This is not a peripheral communications function. It is foundational to the council's legitimacy and to the quality of its decisions. Councils that engage communities effectively benefit from richer problem framing, broader stakeholder buy-in for system changes, and stronger alignment between policy decisions and the lived realities of those most affected by the justice system. Priority Actions: • Develop and adopt a formal written communications and community engagement plan, identifying target audiences, key messages, dissemination channels, and measurable engagement goals on an annual cycle. • Create structured and recurring opportunities for community members — particularly those with lived criminal justice experience — to inform council deliberations, whether through advisory panels, public comment periods, or designated community liaison roles within subcommittees. • Establish a dedicated community engagement committee with a formal charter, defined membership criteria, and direct reporting authority to the full council, tasked with owning and executing the engagement plan. Page 37 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 30 | P a g e • Publish plain-language summaries of council activities, committee progress, and annual system performance data through channels that reach residents beyond the professional stakeholder community. Recommendation 4: Formalize Governance Documents Governance is the foundation on which everything else rests, and strengthening it is a high priority. Sound governance documentation is not a bureaucratic formality. Rather, it is the structural foundation that enables a CJCC to function consistently, transparently, and with credibility across member and leadership changes. National standards explicitly require that CJCCs maintain bylaws that include a conflict-of- interest policy, clearly defined member responsibilities, transparent officer selection procedures, and defined roles for standing committees, including the executive committee. These documents protect the council from mission drift, guard against real or perceived self-dealing in decision-making, and ensure that institutional knowledge embedded in current leadership is codified rather than dependent on any individual. Restructuring and reinvigorating the executive committee is the single most important governance step the St. Croix County CJCC can take right now. A functioning executive committee is the steering body that makes everything else possible: oversight of committees and workgroups, direction and support for the executive director, agenda-setting for full CJCC meetings, strategic planning, and leadership succession. JMI recommends that the executive committee's membership include the chair, vice-chair, district attorney, public defender, sheriff, and a police chief. The director of Health and Human Services is also worth considering, given the significant overlap between behavioral health and justice system priorities and the CJCC’s choice to rank behavioral health as its highest priority. The bylaws should be updated to reflect this expanded composition, and the executive director's attendance in a staff capacity should be explicitly noted. The executive committee should be formally convened with a set, recurring meeting schedule. A frequent practice among high-functioning CJCCs is for the full council and the executive committee to alternate meeting months. The executive committee's role and membership should be clearly communicated to the full council, and any CJCC member should be permitted to attend executive committee meetings. Most of the CJCC’s committees lack foundational documents, meaning their scope, authority, membership criteria, and success metrics exist only in informal practice. This creates inconsistency across committees and makes it difficult to hold them accountable to the council's broader priorities. Priority Actions: • Conduct a comprehensive bylaws review and update to include a conflict-of-interest policy, review the mission statement, add vision and purpose statements, clearly define member roles and responsibilities, review and update the chair and vice chair roles and selection, and add the creation and maintenance of a strategic plan. • Develop and ratify a formal, written nomination and election process for council officers that establishes transparent criteria, timelines, and voting procedures directly addressing current perceptions that officer selection lacks sufficient transparency. Page 38 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 31 | P a g e • Restructure the executive committee by defining its composition, meeting schedule, decision- making authority, and responsibilities including oversight of the director position and between- session governance functions. • Draft foundational documents for the committees, including scope of work, membership criteria, meeting cadence, reporting obligations, and measurable goals. Recommendation 5: Expand Membership Diversity National standards hold that effective CJCC participation requires not only the presence of executive-level agency leaders, but also representation from the full range of stakeholders who are materially affected by and invested in the justice system. For a council to achieve systemic rather than merely interagency coordination, its membership must reflect both the criminal justice system's professional ecosystem and the community it governs. Survey results for the St. Croix County CJCC identified a meaningful gap: the council's current composition does not sufficiently include individuals with lived experience of the criminal justice system or members from communities that bear a disproportionate share of the justice- related impacts. This matters for both principled and practical reasons. A body that makes decisions about the justice system has an obligation to include the voices of those most affected by it. Functionally, councils without lived-experience representation make decisions based on incomplete information, missing the ground- level realities of how policies translate into practice for individuals moving through the system. Separately, the absence of a formal onboarding process means new members, regardless of background, risk disengaging before they become fully integrated contributors, undermining the council's long-term investment in building a diverse and effective membership. Priority Actions: • Identify, recruit, and formally seat members with direct lived experience of the criminal justice system in roles with genuine deliberative authority, not merely advisory or observer status, including those with histories of incarceration, supervision, or behavioral health system involvement. • Develop a structured, written onboarding process for new members that includes an orientation to the council's mission and bylaws, an introduction to active committees and their work, and a mentorship pairing with an experienced member during the first year of service. • Review and revise the membership structure and bylaws as needed to create a formal pathway for community members with lived-experience representatives, ensuring these roles are protected and not displaced as institutional representation expands. Page 39 of 40 The Justice Management Institute Assessment of the St. Croix County CJCC 32 | P a g e Appendix A: CJCC Member Survey Results Page 40 of 40