TOOLKIT: Partnering with Disability Organizations to Enhance Criminal Legal Reforms

​Despite the fact that the majority of people in prisons and jails have at least one disability, disability and Deaf organizations have not traditionally been included in efforts to advance local criminal legal reforms. Activating Change’s new toolkit offers practical guidance for shifting this trend and for forming partnerships with an essential but overlooked constituency – the disability and Deaf community.

Several toolkit pages layered on top of each other.

What’s Inside

The first page of the tip sheet Enhancing Criminal Legal Reform Initiatives Through Partnerships with Disability and Deaf Organizations.

Common Types of Disability and Deaf Organizations

This tip sheet provides an overview of common disability and Deaf organizations - including who they serve and what they do - to help reformers identify organizations they can partner with to ensure reform initiatives benefit people with disabilities and Deaf people..

Enhancing Criminal Legal Reform Initiatives Through Partnerships with Disability and Deaf Organizations

Read more about how you can ensure the criminal legal system reform initiatives you are putting in place equally benefit people with disabilities and Deaf people by partnering with disability and Deaf organizations and get practical tips for how to create equitable and effective partnerships with disability and Deaf organizations.

The first page of the tip sheet Common Types of Disability and Deaf Organizations.
The first page of the tip sheet Making Written Materials Accessible.

Making Meetings and Events Accessible to People with Disabilities and Deaf People

Engaging community members is a critical component of designing criminal legal system reform initiatives and, given the overrepresentation of people with disabilities and Deaf people in the system, engaging people with disabilities and Deaf people is essential to shrinking the system. This tip sheet provides concrete steps and tips for making meetings and events accessible for people with disabilities and Deaf people.

Making Written Materials Accessible

Written information communicates critical information about our agencies, the services we provide, and program requirements. This tip sheet provides practical information and actions you can take to make your written materials more easily understood and accessible to the widest group of people, including people with disabilities and Deaf people.

The first page of the tip sheet Making Meetings and Events Accessible to People with Disabilities and Deaf People.
The first page of the tip sheet Providing Sign Language Interpreters.

Providing Sign Language Interpreters

One critical element of effectively engaging members of Deaf communities in criminal legal system reforms is providing American Sign Language interpreters. This tip sheet provides an overview of the types of sign language interpreters, what makes interpreters qualified, how to secure them, and tips for how to work with interpreters to ensure effective communication and engagement with Deaf community members.

Learn How You Can Use the Toolkit

Watch our virtual conversation about how the toolkit can be used to form meaningful partnerships with disability and organizations to enhance criminal legal reforms. We cover, common disability and Deaf organizations that can lend their support and expertise to your initiatives; how to create accessible materials and events so that everyone can fully participate in your partnerships and reform efforts; and best-practices for forming equitable, effective, and sustainable partnerships with disability and Deaf organizations and communities.