W. Haywood Burns Institute

180 Howard St. Suite 320

San Francisco, CA 94105

• Phone (415) 321-4100
• http://www.burnsinstitute.org
• info@burnsinstitute.org

The W. Haywood Burns Institute is a non-profit organization devoted to addressing the needs of poor youth and young people of color, their families, and communities by targeting over-representation in the juvenile justice system. The Burns Institute fulfills its mission by employing two core strategies:

1. Using a data-driven, consensus-based approach that involves working with traditional and non-traditional stake-holders to change policies, procedures, and practices that impact youth of color and poor children.
2. Building the capacity of local organizations to hold the juvenile justice system accountable to communities of color and to improve and strengthen their programs and organizations.

Areas of focus

Racial and Ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system, disproportionate minority contact

Partners and clients

The Burns Institute works intensively with local jurisdictions all over the country to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in juvenile justice systems by improving decision-making, court processes, and alternatives to incarceration.

Strategies and services

The Burns Institute is a national leader in addressing racial and ethnic disparities in local juvenile justice systems. Its measurable success in a variety of jurisdictions serves to dispel the myth that such disparities are an intractable problem. The Burns Institute offers three levels of service:

1. Intensive Site Engagement (ISE): The ISE is a two- to three-year strategic consultation that requires the full commitment and active participation of key traditional and non-traditional stakeholders, including judges, prosecutors, public defenders, police, probation, school officials, political leaders, service providers and community groups. Burns Institute staff leads these diverse stakeholders through a data-driven, consensus-based process to reduce racial and ethnic disparities.  The ISE requires that Burns Institute staff attend monthly meetings at the site, provide the jurisdiction with a work plan that utilizes core strategies to achieve measurable results, and provide support with ongoing data analysis in order to ensure that sites stay focused and maintain fidelity and intentionality toward disparities reduction. The jurisdiction must also provide its own coordinator to work with Burns Institute staff to coordinate the overall effort.
   
   
2. Readiness Assessment Consultation (RAC): The RAC is a thorough evaluation of a local jurisdiction’s overall will and capacity to effectively address racial and ethnic disparities. The RAC takes into account a number of internal and external factors affecting that will and capacity, including:
   
   
   • purpose of detention and detention utilization;
   • community engagement and collaboration;
   • system stakeholders’ engagement and collaboration;
   • data collection and analysis capacity; and
   • current juvenile justice policies and practices.
   
   Upon completion of an RAC assessment, the Burns Institute provides the jurisdiction with a report containing findings and recommendations, and facilitates an on-site debriefing session during which the report and potential future engagement are discussed.
   
   
3. Consultations: The Burns Institute also provides consultation services tailored specifically to the unique needs of local jurisdictions. Consultations include strategic planning, training, workforce development, assistance with data collection and analysis, the development of community engagement strategies, and coaching that helps jurisdictions move forward in efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities.