In the United States, the criminal justice system is one of many public institutions whose workings span multiple jurisdictions. If you’ve been arrested and served jail time, it’s not uncommon to interact with more than 10 different organizations in the process. These often include federal, state, and local government entities; nonprofits; and private institutions. Moving through this system can feel like a series of detached actions and reactions, and impede even straightforward tasks, such as contacting a public defender.

Each institution within the system is unique and dynamic. The people, processes, and political realities at different organizations don’t always work together, and differing priorities and timelines can lead to lost opportunities. When someone enters a correctional environment, for example, they go through a screening and intake process. Corrections departments see this step as an opportunity to assess whether someone may harm others or themselves. Social service providers, on the other hand, see it as a moment to determine people’s needs, goals, and aspirations, and to connect them to rehabilitative programming like therapy or substance abuse treatment. If the two entities don’t agree on an intake method that serves both—for example, conducting a comprehensive needs assessment at the moment of entry—it’s difficult to connect people to reentry services at all.

These barriers and limitations negatively affect everyone who experiences them, and like other fundamental criminal justice operations, the process needs to change. The important and widespread social movements currently demanding that the system address institutional racism are well-aligned with the vision we have for our own work on tackling this service fragmentation: to transform the system from one that is unfairly and unnecessarily punishing to one that is restorative, by inviting those with lived experience help chart the course.

Read the full article about the criminal justice system by Emily Herrick and Caroline Bauer at Stanford Social Innovation Review.