Future Leaders Network
Future Leaders Network
Supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC) Future Leaders Network aims to assemble a leadership pipeline of underrepresented criminal justice talent by targeting each stage of the employee life cycle—from entry level to mid-management to leadership.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC) is reimagining and rebuilding local criminal justice systems—reducing jail incarceration and increasing equity for all. To solidify the impact of this initiative, the Foundation is investing in the future of the criminal justice workforce.
Nationwide, over the past five years, the number of criminal justice job openings has nearly doubled while the number of applications has fallen by half, with an even higher drop in applications at leadership levels. Further, the people with authority to influence state and local criminal justice policy are racially homogenous. Black applicants are hired at substantially lower rates than White applicants; once referred to an interview, Black women are half as likely to be hired than White men. It proves equally, if not more difficult, to retain rising leaders of color.
Supported by the MacArthur Foundation, the SJC Future Leaders Network comprises a range of cutting-edge leadership development programs focused on criminal justice administration and advancing racial equity.
Principles
The SJC Future Leaders Network is grounded in six core principles:
1. For government to deliver effectively, its leaders must be representative of the people and communities they serve;
2. Individuals who hold lived-experienced in the criminal justice system are pivotal leaders who understand the system and its impacts in a way that no one else does—and we must work with an intention to include them;
3. The lessons, resources, and communities developed through the SJC have enduring value for developing the workforce and catalyzing progress in the field;
4. When it comes to professional development, networks are invaluable;
5. Training and skill-building can take many shapes and forms; and
6. People are powerful conduits of change.
Early Partners in the SJC Future Leaders Network
