THE OPPORTUNITY

Brooklyn Supervised Release, the largest operating project of the Center, seeks to re-engineer the experience of criminal court in Brooklyn, New York, by providing judges and attorneys meaningful alternatives to bail and detention. Operating out of community-based offices, Brooklyn Supervised Release is a team of social service providers, court liaisons, mental health practitioners, compliance specialists, and others who seek to improve the quality of justice. Supervised Release provides pretrial supervision, case management, and voluntary social services to people charged with misdemeanor and felony offenses, and in doing so, uses an arrest as a window of opportunity to change the direction of a participant’s life, avoiding the harmful effects of incarceration. Program participants are monitored to ensure their appearance at court dates and mandatory programming, and receive referrals to services like job training, drug treatment, and mental heal...