W. Haywood Burns Institute

The W. Haywood Burns Institute (BI) is a Black-led national nonprofit working to transform justice by challenging racial hierarchy and the social control of communities of color by the justice sector and other public systems. BI employs strategies and tactics to establish a community-centered approach to structural well-being, a reimagined system of public policies, institutional and inclusive practices, cultural representations, and other norms that work to strengthen family, community, and individual well-being for positive life outcomes. This renewal award supports BI to continue providing technical assistance to select local jurisdictions as well as to develop and deliver customized trainings and resources to support the Safety and Justice Challenge Network to address and advance reforms that lead to equitable outcomes for people disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system. BI delivers targeted training, consultation, and support on strategies to address racial and ethnic disparities, including helping sites build capacity to analyze race and ethnicity data; facilitating conversations among system stakeholders about race and ethnicity, historical and systematic racism, and the role of implicit bias; and assisting sites in the development and implementation of strategies that authentically engage the community in the process of addressing disparities.

The W. Haywood Burns Institute (BI) is a Black-led national nonprofit working to transform justice by challenging racial hierarchy and the social control of communities of color by the justice sector and other public systems. BI employs strategies and tactics to establish a community-centered approach to structural well-being, a reimagined system of public policies, institutional and inclusive practices, cultural representations, and other norms that work to strengthen family, community, and individual well-being for positive life outcomes. This award supports BI to continue in its role of lead technical assistance provider, advising the Foundation and others working with sites on reducing disparities in the Safety and Justice Challenge Network. BI delivers targeted training, consultation, and support on strategies to address racial and ethnic disparities, including helping sites build capacity to analyze race and ethnicity data; facilitating conversations among system stakeholders about race and ethnicity, historical and systematic racism, and the role of implicit bias; and assisting sites in the development and implementation of strategies that authentically engage the community in the process of addressing disparities.

The W. Haywood Burns Institute (the Institute) was founded in 2001 with a mission to protect and improve the lives of youth of color and of poor youth. Today it is a national think tank and technical assistance provider, working to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities. The Institute works by facilitating collaboration between system stakeholders and community members as they apply a racial equity lens to data-driven justice reform efforts. Previous awards enabled the Institute to serve as a critical resource on addressing racial and ethnic disparities to the site coordinators working with Safety and Justice Challenge Network sites and to work directly with selected sites receiving direct technical assistance. This award supports the Institute to continue in its role of lead technical assistance provider on reducing disparities to Challenge Network sites. The Institute delivers targeted training, consultation, and support on strategies to address racial and ethnic disparities, including helping sites build capacity to analyze race and ethnicity data; facilitating conversations among system stakeholders about race and ethnicity, historical and systematic racism, and the role of implicit bias; and assisting sites in the development and implementation of strategies that authentically engage the community in the process of addressing disparities.

The W. Haywood Burns Institute (the Institute) was founded in 2001 with a mission to protect and improve the lives of youth of color and of poor youth, and to improve their communities by ensuring fairness and equity in the administration of the justice system. Previous awards enabled the Institute to serve as a critical resource on addressing racial and ethnic disparities to the site coordinators working with the competitively selected jurisdictions that are part of the Safety and Justice Challenge Network and to work directly with those sites selected to receive full implementation grants. This award supports the Institute to continue in its role of lead technical assistance provider on reducing disparities to Challenge Network sites. The Institute is delivering targeted training, consultation, and support on strategies to address racial and ethnic disparities, including helping sites build capacity to analyze race and ethnicity data; facilitating conversations among system stakeholders about race and ethnicity, implicit bias, and racial disparities; and assisting sites in the development and implementation of strategies and engage the community and to reduce disparities. 

The W. Haywood Burns Institute (the Institute) was founded in 2001 with a mission to protect and improve the lives of youth of color and of poor youth, and to improve their communities by ensuring fairness and equity in the administration of the juvenile justice system. During the initial six-month planning phase of the Safety and Justice Challenge, the Institute served as a critical resource on addressing racial and ethnic disparities to the site coordinators working with the competitively selected jurisdictions that are part of the Safety and Justice Challenge Network. This award enables the Institute to deliver training and technical assistance directly to the ten jurisdictions selected to receive implementation support. The Institute’s approach includes helping jurisdictions collect and analyze race and ethnicity data at key decision points, engage the community in collaboration with the system stakeholders to use the information to address disparities, and support their work to develop and implement solutions to reduce disparities among target populations.