Email us at holisticdefense@bronxdefenders.org
Data: Telling the Story of our Work
Our data only represents a small portion of our clients that we serve. But we do see positive changes on a micro level, in individual cases we’re seeing little wins we’re engaging in. Our goal is to get those micro-level wins to macro-level wins in Westchester County.
In 2022 and 2023, BxD’s Center for Holistic Defense (CHD) examined the impact of social workers on holistic defense teams by convening more than 20 advocates from 16 defender offices nationwide. Across jurisdictions, participants focused on how social work improves outcomes for clients and stressed the need to demonstrate that impact to funders and policymakers. CHD also shared BxD’s Client Experience Survey as an example of how offices can measure impact directly from the most important source—clients themselves.
Because every defender office operates within different structures, resources, and community needs, we do not offer a single template for data collection. Instead, we provide key questions and considerations to guide offices in designing their own tools and methodologies. The goals and approach to measuring social work impact will evolve over time, and offices should feel free to start small and build as their capacity grows.
Data: Factors to Measure Case information (charges, detention, judge, disposition)
- Client demographics
- Client referrals
- Impact of Social Work (connection to services)
Data: Questions and Considerations for Developing Data Points
- How do we determine what data points are the most meaningful?
- What’s the story we want to tell?
- What data do we want to collect and why?
- How do we track outcomes?
- What will limit our ability to collect and analyze that data?
If we are limited in what we can collect or how, which data points are the most versatile?
- How do we determine what data points are the most meaningful?
- Is there a best system for social work data collection?
- If not, what does a case management system need to have to effectively collect this data?
- What does training and support look like for data entry?
- Who needs to be included in those conversations?
- How does data collection differ in different contexts and court systems?
- What is the context of the data we are collecting and the story it tells?
- How does the context limit our ability to effectively collect or analyze data?
Do those limitations impact the reliability of our conclusions? If so, how do we address them?
- How can we use qualitative data to complement the quantitative data?
- Keeping a lot of stories of success
Consider the Social Work Data Points Manual, published by the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission.