Justice system case studies

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An effective justice system case study describes how the work of the CLC:

Who to involve in writing case studies?

The essential elements of a case study describe...

PROBLEM | SOLUTION | RESULT/OUTCOME

PROBLEM

Describe the problem within the broader social context and how the problem was a threat to commonly held values e.g. access to justice, voice, security, fairness, opportunity
Situate the problem as part of a bigger social problem e.g. homelessness, violence against women, police targeting marginalised groups, mortgage stress
Describe how the justice partner was part of identifying the problem.

SOLUTION

Describe the activities that the CLC undertook and how they added value in addressing the problem
Highlight the quality and the relevance of the activities and how the activities were best suited to solving the problem.

RESULT or OUTCOME

Describe the changes or improvements that were made as a result of the CLC activities.
The end of the case study should be able finish the sentence, 'Now that the problem is solved…'

DO:

Choose individual stories that suggest they are symptomatic of a bigger problem, so that the individual is not the problem
Describe the impact of the problem on people’s lives and communities
Describe how the relationship with the particular part of the justice system was formed
Provide an overview of the activities that summarises why the CLC was best placed to help solve the problem, rather than another organisation
Emphasise how relationships with parts of the justice system contributed to the outcome
Include a testimonial from a stakeholder (justice system representative, client)
Describe the change from different perspectives such as the justice system, the client’s, the community’s, other government or non-government organisations
Refer to the major area of impact and how it was specifically achieved in this case:
- Effectively contributes to judicial policy and practice and/or
- Effectively supports the justice system.

DON'T:

Provide so much background information it dilutes the impact of the CLC work on the problem
Provide blow-by-blow description of the activities undertaken by your centre
Use a testimonial as the outcome. For example, 'the client was happy to have their legal problem solved' is not an outcome that describes the change created.

Two example case studies have been generated for you as examples to follow.