The Center for Social Justice is dedicated to examining how public systems impact the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Our work focuses on understanding how experiences with child and family serving systems influence outcomes across the lifespan.

Through evidence-informed research and analysis, the Center explores the historical development and contemporary functioning of youth- and family-serving systems to better assess their effects on all populations. experiencing adverse social and economic conditions. We study the relationships between structural factors and health outcomes, with attention to improving access and efficiency in government-supported services for all.

Staff at the Center engage in initiatives that promote public health through a focus on prevention, early intervention, and successful reintegration for individuals and families impacted by justice system involvement. Our efforts support system improvement by using data, community and youth voice, and cross-sector collaboration to develop strategies that enhance well-being, reduce disparities, and strengthen outcomes.

We Help Our Partners

Explore

Social justice strategies through a public health lens and their impact on individuals, families, and communities.

Investigate

Systemic oppression and discrimination fuels system-involvement and its impacts on public health.

Examine

The collateral consequences of policy at local, state, and federal levels and their impact on community health and well-being.

Study

The cumulative effects of police violence on community trauma as a social determinant of health.

Analyze

Formulate, and advocate for policies aimed to improve the health of populations impacted by governmental systems.

Apply

Evaluation and design of policy initiatives on public health and racial and social justice.

Project Highlights

Child Welfare Improvement

Children of color are more likely to be placed in institutional settings, stay there for long periods of time, and age out of the foster care system without a family. As a result of these experiences, black and brown children and their families are at greater risk for negative health, social, and economic effects that can last a lifetime. CARSJ serves as a consultant and subject matter expert to the Capacity Building Center for the States, supports resource development and provides direct assistance to states in the areas of primary prevention and racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. In these roles, helps jurisdictions build capacity for collaboration between child welfare agencies and the communities they serve.

Learn more at the Child Welfare Improvement Task Force Website

Juvenile Reentry

CRSJ has been retained by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services as a care coordination agency to improve the success of youth transitioning from residential centers to stable community living using the Michigan Youth Reentry Model.  CRSJ assists in identifying and connecting youth to various services, supports and organizations to meet their individual housing, physical and mental health, substance abuse, employment and education, and social support and family engagement needs.

Learn more at Michigan Juvenile Justice Re-Entry Website

Equality Impact Assessments

We provide training and tools to build awareness, increase knowledge, and strengthen the capacity of sites to use data-driven decision-making (3D) to develop and implement practices, policies, and procedures that contribute to the evidence base outcomes.

Advance Peace

CRSJ is partnering with the Department of Justice, the Ingham County Health Department, and the City of Lansing to implement the Advance Peace Peacemaker Fellowship. Advance Peace is dedicated to ending cyclical and retaliatory gun violence in American urban neighborhoods by investing in the development, health, and well-being of those at the center of this crisis. The approach uses the evidence-based practices of street outreach, mentoring, intensive case management, life skills training, cognitive behavioral therapy, and subsidized employment to engage those at the center of gun violence. The centerpiece of Advance Peace is a high-touch and personalized 18-month Peacemaker Fellowship. The Peacemaker Fellowship is grounded in evidence-based practice and includes seven intensive daily touch points between program staff, volunteers, and participating fellows.

Learn more at the Advance Peace Lansing website

Racial and Ethnic Disparities

As a consultant and subject matter expert, CRSJ serves as the lead consultant for the Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice for connecting with peers and sharing innovative ideas, information, and resources for implementing policy, practice, and system improvement strategies at the state and local level to identify and reduce racial and ethnic disparities among youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system. The Racial and Ethnic Disparities Coordination team provides bias training and diversity, equity and inclusion training for systems leaders in child protection and juvenile justice.

Learn more at the Michigan Committee for Juvenile Justice Website

Juvenile Justice

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services retained CRSJ to develop and conduct a process to monitor compliance with the four core requirements of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA): Deinstitutionalization of status offenders (DSO); Removal of juveniles from adult jails and lock-ups (JRI); Separation of juveniles from adult detainees (separation); Address the disproportionate processing or confinement of minorities (DMC). CRSJ responsibility in this work is to monitor and collect data from Michigan’s county jails and juvenile detention facilities, manage and support compliance data reporting, and provide technical assistance to county jails, juvenile detention homes, and locked state and private institutions relative to compliance with the core requirements of the JJDPA and provide frequent updates and support to the Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice regarding the project.

Learn more at the Michigan Committee for Juvenile Justice Website

Quality Improvement

CRSJ is working with Spaulding for Children and MDHHS to coordinate the implementation of the Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency (QIC-EY) in the state of Michigan. The QIC-EY is charged with advancing child welfare programs and practice to ensure that they are authentically engaging and empowering children and youth in foster care throughout Michigan, especially in relation to permanency decisions.

Learn more at the Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency website

Funded by the United States Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families, Children’s Bureau, it is expected that the components and impact of the QIC-EY will bring about systemic changes in how children and youth are authentically engaged as reflected in intentional policy, practice, and culture shifts in 6-8 pilot sites.

Project Completed: February 2025

Contact Information

Center for Social Justice

2436 Woodlake Circle, Suite 300
Okemos, MI
48864

Phone: 517-648-6650
Email: CRSJ@mphi.org