Smart Justice in Alaska

Smart justice initiatives seek to reform criminal justice systems by reducing correctional populations and recidivism while lowering costs, maintaining offender accountability, and ensuring public safety. This article describes two smart justice initiatives underway in Alaska, “Results First” and “Justice Reinvestment.

Editor's Goodbye

Barbara Armstrong, editor of the Alaska Justice Forum since 2008, is leaving the Justice Center at the end of December 2016

Justice Reinvestment Report

This article summarizes the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission's recommendations for criminal justice reform in Alaska included in the Commission's Justice Reinvestment Report released in December 2015.[Introduction] / CONSENSUS RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION / Implement evidence-based pretrial practices / Focus prison beds on serious and violent offenders / Strengthen supervision and interventions to reduce recidivism / Ensure oversight and accountability / Reinvestment / ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS / [SIDEBAR:] Resource

Therapeutic Courts in the Alaska Court System

Therapeutic courts — often called “problem-solving courts” or “wellness courts” — have been a growing component of the U.S. court system since the 1990s. This article provides an overview of the development of Alaska Court System therapeutic courts, and describes the 12 therapeutic courts currently operating in Alaska as well as proposed pilot project courts. Includes a bibliography.[Introduction] / The Rise and Expansion of Therapeutic Courts / Effectiveness of Problem-Solving Courts / Alaska Court System Therapeutic Courts / Behavioral Health Data and Court Case Filings / Conclusion / Resource

Informed Alaskans Initiative: Public Health Data in Alaska

This article describes the national and state public health data made available online through the Alaska Division of Public Health's Informed Alaskans Initiative.[Introduction] / AK-IBIS / Health Indicators / Indicator Reports / Interactive Health Maps / Help for Website Users / What’s Next / Conclusion / [SIDEBAR:] Public Health Data Resource

Old-Age Security Abroad: The Background of Titles II and VIII of the Social Security Act

This research is an attempt to create a comprehensive assessment framework for identifying and assessing potential improvement options of cement production systems. From an environmental systems analysis perspective, this study provides both an empirical account and a methodological approach for quantifying the CO2 footprint of a cement production system. An attributional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is performed to analyze the CO2 footprint of several products of a cement production system in Germany which consists of three dierent plants. Based on the results of the LCA study, six key performance indicators are dened as the basis for a simplied LCA model. This model is used to quantify the CO2 footprint of dierent versions of the cement production system. In order to identify potential improvement options, a framework for Multi-Criteria Assessment (MCA) is developed. The search and classication guideline of this framework is based on the concepts of Cleaner Production, Industrial Ecology, and Industrial Symbiosis. It allows systematic identication and classication of potential improvement options. In addition, it can be used for feasibility and applicability evaluation of dierent options. This MCA is applied both on a generic level, reecting the future landscape of the industry, and on a production organization level re ecting the most applicable possibilities for change. Based on this assessment a few appropriate futureoriented scenarios for the studied cement production system are constructed. The simplied LCA model is used to quantify the CO2 footprint of the production system for each scenario. By integrating Life Cycle Assessment and Multi-Criteria Assessment approaches, this study provides a comprehensive assessment method for identifying suitable industrial developments and quantifying the CO2 footprint improvements that might be achieved by their implementation. The results of this study emphasis, although by utilizing alternative fuels and more ecient production facility, it is possible to improve the CO2 footprint of clinker, radical improvements can be achieved on the portfolio level. Compared to Portland cement, very high reduction of CO2 footprint can be achieved if clinker is replaced with low carbon alternatives, such as Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GBFS) which are the by-products of other  industrial production. Benchmarking a cement production system by its portfolio product is therefore a more reasonable approach, compared to focusing on the performance of its clinker production. This study showed that Industrial Symbiosis, that is, over the fence initiatives for material and energy exchanges and collaboration with nontraditional partners, are relevant to cement industry. However, the contingent nature of these strategies should always be noted, because the mere exercise of such activities may not lead to a more resource ecient production system. Therefore, in search for potential improvements, it is important to keep the search horizon as wide as possible, however, assess the potential improvements in each particular case. The comprehensive framework developed and applied in this research is an attempt in this direction

The Homeless: Who and How Many?

Note: The PDF of this article includes web supplements which did not appear in the original print version of the article.Across the nation in both rural and urban areas, public and private agencies work to provide services for homeless people. One of the biggest challenges is collecting data about homeless individuals: how many people are homeless, who they are, what services they need most, and how long they have been homeless. This article looks at reports from 2012, 2013, and 2014 on estimates of homelessness in the U.S. and Alaska, the subpopulations of homeless individuals, and the various definitions of homelessness.[Introduction] / Definitions of Homelessness / Who Counts the Homeless? / How Data are Reported / How Many People are Homeless? / The Homeless in Prisons and Jails / HUD Counts / Who Are the Homeless? / PIT Counts in Alaska / Project Homeless Connect in Alaska / Homeless Veterans / Homeless Students-K-12 / Homeless Unaccompanied Youth / Homeless Households in Anchorage / Conclusion / SIDEBARS / Definitions of Homelessness / Homelessness References / WEB SUPPLEMENTS / The Homeless: Who and How Many? - Web Supplement (Tables) / Resources on Homelessness — Web SupplementYe

Expungement and Limiting Public Access to Alaska Criminal Case Records in the Digital Age

A criminal record results in a number of different barriers to reentry into the community for former offenders. These barriers — also called collateral consequences — can be mitigated by reducing the extent to which criminal records are visible to employers, landlords, and others. This article provides an overview of the complexity involved in limiting public access to criminal records, processes adopted in other states, and recent legislative proposals and current options in Alaska.[Introduction] / Background / Criminal Records in the Digital Age: National Overview / Expungement and Criminal Records in Alaska / Going Forward // SIDEBARS / The Model Penal Code / Federal REDEEM Act of 2015 / Recent Legislative Proposals on Criminal Records in Alaska / Data on CourtView / Alaska Court Rules of Administration—Case Information / Expungement Resource

Criminal Justice Reform and Recidivism Reduction

This article briefly examines evidence-based approach to policymaking in criminal justice and the two conceptual pillars that serve as the foundation of this strategy: effectiveness and efficiency. The article also describes the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative, a “smart justice” approach to reducing recidivism under the auspices of The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, that is being led in Alaska by the Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC), housed in the UAA Justice Center.[Introduction] / Pillars of Effective Recidivism Reduction / Focusing on Effectiveness: The RNR Model / Effectiveness and Efficiency: The Results First Cost-Benefit Model / Return on Investment: Alaska’s Adult Criminal Justice Programs / Conclusion // SIDEBARS / Defining Effectiveness: Levels of Evidence / AJiC's Mission / Resources on Criminal Justice ReformYe