Since 2015, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC) has worked to safely reduce the nation’s overreliance on jails, creating tangible benefits for individuals, families, and communities. America’s local jails are complex systems, holding over 660,000 people daily, with more than 7.6 million cycling through annually. Transforming these systems requires coordination and collaboration across traditionally adversarial stakeholders who each have their own priorities and professional cultures.

Our new report, “What It Takes to Change the Way America Thinks About and Uses Jails,” highlights distinguishing traits of effective leaders on the front lines of reform. Drawing on ten years of quarterly jail data across 26 SJC communities and interviews with 25 leaders, including 11 national SJC advisors and 14 local leaders, we identified seven essential knowledges, skills, and abilities (KSAs) and five key insights that drive successful system improvement.

To complement the report findings, this blog post explores the influence of individuals on system transformation, directly informed by the reflections and aspirations of impactful leaders.

Finding Common Ground in the Safety and Justice Challenge

For the changemakers, SJC offered a crucial platform to shift long-held professional practices and build trust across boundaries. It created space for stakeholders who did not always agree–including law enforcement, court actors, advocates, community representatives, and others–to find ways to collaboratively focus on reducing unnecessary jail use and improving public safety.

For some, being part of SJC became one of the most energizing and pivotal points of their careers. One interviewee indicated that she had experienced years of frustration trying to make changes within rigid systems, often finding that strategies never fully materialized. However, she found that SJC proved collaboration across systems was possible and could lead to meaningful change for people and their communities. Local reform efforts that at one point felt isolated began to feel connected to something larger–a coordinated effort within a national network of peers working together towards a shared goal.

SJC’s structure helped to make this collaboration possible. In many communities, there were no existing cross-system forums, such as Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils, to bring partners together around common goals. Participating in SJC provided a rare opportunity to help traditionally siloed agencies work together on shared objectives, building trust along the way. Some changemakers described how conversations that previously only happened in formal meetings began to occur more informally as genuine partnership developed and people became more comfortable connecting directly with each other.

Many interviewees reflected that the essence of collaboration altered the way they viewed their own work. The experiences through SJC helped people think more broadly about their role in the justice system, seeing themselves less as a representative of a single agency and more as a contributor to a larger ecosystem.

The SJC network created a supportive community where leaders exchanged strategies, learned from similar challenges in other cities and counties, and gained the validation necessary to sustain long-term reform efforts. It reminded everyone involved that lasting change depends not only on great strategies and strong data, but also on relationships that make progress possible.

Wielding the Magic Wand for Future Changemakers

When asked what they would give to emerging leaders if they had a magic wand, the changemakers revealed a powerful, aspirational vision, granting courage to individual leaders, and commitment from the systems around them.

Many changemakers wished for stronger institutional support that would eliminate the endless battle to justify reform and provide the foundation to consistently take bold action. They imagined agencies and communities that embrace change rather than resist it, making curiosity to new ideas the default setting. Some spoke to the need for institutions to demonstrate bravery by taking calculated risks, absorbing criticism well, and standing firm in the face of opposition so the individuals driving reform do not bear that burden alone.

Others focused on the practical foundations of change, envisioning justice systems with the infrastructure, staffing, and resources needed to deliver meaningful improvements. They would grant emerging leaders facilities designed to promote safety and care with the support necessary to sustain progress. They also would like to see comprehensive data systems, believing strong data infrastructure is a legacy that breaks down silos and facilitates informed decision-making.

Some leaders focused on the tools and perspectives emerging changemakers need in order to navigate complex political and social landscapes, particularly around public perception and inclusion. Many emphasized the importance of honest storytelling, making sure reform is portrayed accurately and not defined or hindered by moments of fear and misinformation.

Beyond policy and practice, changemakers wished for future leaders to hold onto empathy, resilience, and grace – for themselves and for the people they serve.

These wishes for future leaders offer reflection on their personal experiences and a collective vision about the next chapter in system transformation – a vision of courageous institutions, informed communities, strong data and infrastructure, and leaders who approach their work with compassion and conviction.

The Roadmap for Transformation

Altogether, these reflections demonstrate not only what SJC accomplished, but also what it made possible. Across counties and roles, changemakers described how the initiative changed their approach to their work and showed collaboration as not only necessary, but achievable. The relationships, shared learnings, and trust developed through SJC – both within counties and across the nation – proved that progress happens when a network of partners strive toward a common purpose. The hopes expressed for future generations of changemakers are a reminder that change does not end when a grant cycle closes or a program sunsets. It lives on in the skills, values, and connections that people carry on throughout their work.

As the Safety and Justice Challenge comes to a close, the lessons shared here and expressed in more detail in our new report serve as gratitude and guidance for the ongoing transformation supported by the people and partnerships continuing to move it forward.

Here is a link to the report.

Special thanks to the key changemakers, site coordinators, and CUNY ISLG for their participation in this project.