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Family Justice taps the natural resources of families, the collective wisdom of communities
, and the expertise of government to make families healthier and neighborhoods safer.
Since its founding in 1996, Family Justice has emerged as a leading national nonprofit
institution dedicated to developing innovative, cost-effective solutions that benefit
people at greatest risk of cycling in and out of the criminal justice system.
"Family Justice's approach—
drawing on the unique strengths of the family—provides parole and probation
officers with a powerful resource and insight into the experience of those under community justice
supervision and of their families."
—Carl Wicklund
Executive Director, American Probation and Parole Association
Through advocacy, education, and research, Family Justice offers a range of systemic interventions that address
complex issues of people living in poverty, such as substance abuse, mental illness, and HIV/AIDS. By providing
extensive training and support to government agencies and community-based organizations, Family Justice helps
families unlock their potential to lead healthier and more productive lives.
Click here to sign up for Family Justice's newsletter,
Family Matters.
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A Guide for Health Care Providers:
Read
Family Justice's new publication, Understanding the Intersection of Health Care and Involvement in the Justice System.
Staff of community-based organizations are introducing the booklet to health professionals and discussing these
critical issues. The booklet was developed with support from the Ittleson Foundation as part of Family Justice's
HIV/AIDS and Mental Health Service Provider Initiative. To request multiple copies, please write to
jverdone@familyjustice.org.
July 17, 2008: Click here to read a letter from Family Justice founder and president Carol Shapiro
to the editor of The Wall Street Journal. Carol writes about tapping the resources provided by families and social
networks when a loved one is incarcerated or returning to the community.
July 2008: Jobs Available At Family Justice
- Program Manager - Family Bodega in Brownsville/East New York
- Family Case Manager - Brooklyn
- Family Case Manager - Manhattan/Lower East Side
- Senior Family Case Manager - Manhattan/Lower East Side
Summer 2008: Spending bills for the Second Chance Act are still under consideration.
In the meantime, Families Against Mandatory Minimums has published
this article, which includes frequently
asked questions about the law.
The spring issue of our newsletter, Family Matters, is out.
Click here to download it.
Thanks to all of our supporters who made Family Justice's annual fund-raiser on May 13 such
a great success. We would like to give special thanks to this year's honorees, Michigan Department of Corrections
Director Patricia Caruso and CB Richard Ellis Project Management's Senior Managing Director Thomas R. Nelson,
as well as members of the host committee.
Get a free copy of our Rural CD-ROM. Family Justice's new CD-ROM, Tapping Families
and Social Networks in Small, Rural, and Indigenous Communities, is out. The curriculum will soon be available
in a downloadable format on this site. It builds on our one-day training about challenges and resources for families
involved with the justice system in small, rural, and indigenous communities. If your organization works in such
a community, you are eligible to receive a free copy of the CD-ROM. We developed the curriculum through numerous
collaborations across the country, with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration. For more information, please contact Nicole Martin at
nmartin@familyjustice.org;
to receive a copy of the curriculum, e-mail rural@familyjustice.org.
April 9, 2008: President Bush signs the Second Chance Act.
The same evening, Family Justice was one of 26 organizations that sponsored a reception in Washington
to celebrate the enactment of the law, which authorizes $330 million for reentry-related programs.
Competitive grants will fund innovative programs and research to support people who are returning to their
communities from prison or jail, as well as their families. The reception took place in the Lyndon B. Johnson Room of the
Capitol Building. Click here to see a photo.
Our International Women's Day event with Bushwick IMPACT was a great success!
Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes spoke to Bushwick residents and
presented certificates to seven women who were honored for their contributions to the community.
Read the release here. See photographs from the March 15th event here.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR VOTE! The Family Justice initiative "Boys to Men: Tapping Family Strengths to
End Cycles of Involvement in the Justice System" was a finalist in a collaborative competition sponsored by Ashoka,
in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In June, all competition finalists will attend the Young Men
at Risk Change Summit hosted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Please click here to read more about the initiative.
February 12, 2008: Click here
to read founder and president Carol Shapiro's letter to the editor of USA Today
about mental health and cycles of involvement in the criminal justice system.
February 4, 2008: Carol Shapiro spent two weeks in Australia,
where she was the guest of the Social Inclusion Board, learning about the group's work and discussing Family Justice's
strength-based, family-focused approach.
Click here to read an article published in Adelaide's Advertiser.
January 28, 2008: The Times Union in Albany published a letter from Family Justice's Carol Shapiro about
Governor Eliot Spitzer's proposal to close a prison and low-security "camps" in New York State.
Click here to read
Carol's letter.
December 12, 2007: Family Justice's Carol Shapiro was quoted in
USA Today, in an article about the impact on families as a result of the U.S. Sentencing
Commission's decision to retroactively reduce crack-related sentences. The story is by Deepti Hajela of
the Associated Press;
click here to read.
December 2007: The December issue of Corrections Today
focuses on the subject of
Correctional Research & Evidence-Based Practices—and features an article about our Relational Inquiry Tool by Carol Shapiro and
Margaret diZerega.
Click here to read it.
December 2007: Jeremy Travis, president of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, writes that Family
Justice's family-focused approach is a "big idea" in criminal justice reform. To read Jeremy's article,
"Reflections on the Reentry Movement," from the December issue of Federal Sentencing Reporter,
click here.
December 2007: Carnegie Mellon University has published a Q&A with Family Justice's Carol Shapiro. Click hear to read "Alum Offers Innovative Solutions."
November 2007: Read the new, redesigned issue of our Family Matters newsletter.
For our cover story, we asked colleagues what the most recent numbers from the Bureau of Justice Statistics mean for
families. Click here to read a longer version of the article, "Beyond the Numbers." Among the people weighing in are
the APPA's Carl Wicklund and Gary Hinzman, former Assistant Attorney General Regina B. Schofield, University of
California-Irvine Professor of Criminology Joan Petersilia, Officer Luis Torrales of the New York State Division of
Parole, and Morgan Stanley's Salvatore Mazzeo.
Click here to download the Fall issue of Family Matters.
Tuesday, August 7: Read Carol Shapiro's letter to The New York Times from Tuesday, August 7, 2007.
See the July 31 front-page article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/us/31prisons.html
Monday, June 11: "Family Bodega Grand Opening Celebration Day in Brooklyn, USA!"
A festive gathering of 150 neighbors, colleagues, and friends joined Family Justice in Brooklyn to celebrate
the grand opening of Family Bodega, a support center for families in Brownsville and East New York. The New York City
Housing Authority's vice chairman Earl Andrews, Jr. and general manager Doug Apple spoke at the opening ceremony,
along with Family Justice founder and executive director Carol Shapiro and Family Bodega program manager
Jenn Batterton. Family Bodega received a proclamation from Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz,
declaring June 11, 2007 "Family Bodega Grand Opening Celebration Day in Brooklyn, USA!" The Divaz Squad from PS/IS 328
performed a routine created for the occasion, followed by the quartet Drumadics.
Thursday, May 17: Authors Donald Braman and Todd Clear talked about their latest writing and thinking
in a lively discussion at our national headquarters in New York. Clear is a professor of criminal justice at
John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York and founding editor of the journal Criminology
and Public Policy. In June, Oxford University Press is publishing his book Imprisoning Communities: How Mass
Incarceration Makes Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Worse. Donald Braman is an associate professor of law at George
Washington University Law School and an anthropologist. His latest book, Doing Time on the Outside: Incarceration
and Family Life in Urban America, will be available soon in paperback from University of Michigan Press.
April 25, 2007: Fund-raising event
Family Justice honored Sal Mazzeo, vice president and director of
construction for Morgan Stanley, and Carl Wicklund, executive director of the American Probation and
Parole Association, at our annual fund-raising event at SOB's (Sounds of Brazil) in downtown Manhattan.
We sincerely thank everyone who helped make the evening such a fun and successful occasion.
March 2007: The Center for Mental Health Services' National GAINS Center
published an article about Family Justice on its website. The CMHS is an agency within the U.S.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
National GAINS Center Article
January 26, 2007: Volunteers of America's new issue of Gazette features an article about Carol Shapiro,
who received the VOA's 2006 Maud Booth Correctional Services Award.
Gazette Article
January 10, 2007: The (NY) Daily News ran a letter to the editor by Carol Shapiro
Getting the message
Manhattan: Errol Louis' column about Gov. Spitzer's move to abolish astronomical collect-call rates in state
correctional facilities ("Finally, the right call," Jan. 9) hit the nail on the head. There's no way
we'll solve the cyclical problems of crime, victimization, addiction and poverty if we don't pay attention to families.
Spitzer's policy will let loved ones stay connected, affordably—a crucial step in keeping families intact during
difficult and often lengthy separations.
December 17, 2006: The Sunday Paper (of Atlanta) quotes Carol Shapiro
on the impact of criminal justice involvement on children in "A Different Christmas" by Dolores Bundy.
December 15, 2006: Carol Shapiro was awarded one of ten 2006 Women to
Watch Awards by Jewish Women International.
http://www.jwi.org
November 9–12, 2006: Family Justice, cosponsor
of 6th National Harm Reduction Conference
"Drug User Health: The Politics and the Personal"
Oakland Marriott City Center, Oakland, California
For more information, visit
www.harmreduction.org/6national
August 14, 2006: Volunteers of America presents Carol Shapiro with its 2006
Maud Booth Correctional Services Award for her leadership and innovative approach to improving
public safety and family well-being in the field of criminal justice.
Press Release
July 9, 2006: The New York Times publishes a response to a William C. Moyers Article "An Anti-Addiction Pill"
written by Carol Shapiro
Response to article
May 10, 2006: Family Justice hosted a screening of DISLOCATION, a documentary film by board member Sudhir Venkatesh that takes on the difficult topics of housing and urban poverty.
For additional information, visit www.dislocationfilm.com
2005 accomplishments
For additional past accomplishments, click here.
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