Women’s Justice Institute

Name

Women’s Justice Institute

Legal name

Women's Justice Institute

Website

https://womensjusticeinstitute.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Criminal Justice Reform Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (62431)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Reentry, Rehabilitation & Reintegration Programs (Education, Vocational, Case Management) (BPAKANAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Reentry & Justice-Involved Support Services (BPAGAEAN), Corrections & Reentry Adult Literacy (Justice-Involved Learners) (EDAAAAAL), Workforce Reentry Programs (Justice-Involved) (EDAAAOAG), Racial & Ethnic Justice Organizations (BPAGAFAC)

Keywords

• Criminal justice reform
• Gender-responsive services
• Women's reentry support
• Policy advocacy training
• Correctional systems change

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: The organization accepts donations through PayPal and other channels. The website includes a donation button for supporting programs like the Reunification Ride and W.I.S.E. education program.
2. Training and Technical Assistance Services: WJI offers cutting-edge technical assistance, training and assessment tools to support development of data-driven, action-oriented plans for gender responsive, trauma-informed policies and practices. This is offered to cross-sector partners and agencies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Women's Justice Institute operates a national 'think and do' tank delivering gender-responsive direct services, training and technical assistance, policy advocacy, and research to end women's mass incarceration. Its flagship offering is the WJI Reclamation Center in Chicago — a peer-led mutual support, arts, advocacy, healing and training center — paired with national programs such as the WJP Model©, W.I.S.E. education, Reunification Ride, Criminalized Survivors Initiative, and contracted training/technical assistance services to justice agencies.

Product overview

The Women's Justice Institute (WJI) is a national nonprofit 'think and do' tank that operates as a platform of interconnected programs and services focused on ending women's mass incarceration. The core offering centers on the WJI Reclamation Center (Chicago's first women's reentry hub), which provides peer-led support, systems navigation, and advocacy services. Key programs include the Reclamation Project for leadership development, the Criminalized Survivors Initiative for policy and advocacy, the WJP Model© for gender-responsive systems transformation, the W.I.S.E. education program, the Reunification Ride for family support, and Training & Technical Assistance services. The organization also produces research reports including 'Redefining the Narrative' and 'Expecting Justice.' These programs work together to provide a continuum of support from before, during, and after incarceration, serving both direct service delivery and national training/technical assistance functions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WJI Reclamation Project: A sisterhood of women leaders whose lives have been impacted by the criminal legal system, working together to reclaim justice through mutual support and transformative advocacy.
• WJI Reclamation Center
• Women Incarcerated Seeking Education (W.I.S.E.)
• WJI Criminalized Survivors Initiative
• Women's Justice Pathways (WJP) Model
• Expecting Justice Initiative

Products and services

• WJI Reclamation Center Chicago's first women's reentry hub and the nation's first mutual support, arts/advocacy, healing and training center led by/for system-impacted women, providing peer-led healing circles, systems navigation, advocacy, service referrals, individualized care coordination, and basic-needs support for women and gender expansive individuals before, during, and after incarceration. It also serves as a national training center for cross-sector partners.
• WJI Reclamation Project Leadership development, training, and coalition-building program led by/for system-impacted women seeking to reclaim their narratives and lives; developed from the Statewide Women's Justice Task Force of Illinois 'Redefining the Narrative' initiative that unified over 500 women.
• Criminalized Survivors Initiative Initiative that transforms the criminal-legal system from the inside/out through policy and advocacy work, coalition-building, arts, and freedom campaigns engaging women on both sides of the wall, including the WJI Alliance for Criminalized Survivors (150+ cross-sector stakeholders).
• Women's Justice Pathways (WJP) Model© Proprietary community engagement framework for informing development and implementation of gender-responsive policies, practices, procedures, and programs, identifying 5 Fundamental Rights & Needs: Relationship Safety, Health & Well-being, Supported Families, Safe & Stable Housing, and Economic Security & Empowerment.
• Women Incarcerated Seeking Education (W.I.S.E.) Program providing equitable and inclusive pathways to accredited higher-education degree programs for incarcerated women via correspondence courses.
• Reunification Ride Coalition housed at WJI that facilitates visits between incarcerated mothers and their children through monthly bus rides, protecting mother-child bonds for economically marginalized families located over 300 miles from Downstate prisons.
• Expecting Justice Initiative Research and technical assistance initiative examining pregnancy and reproductive health care policies in Illinois county jails, produced in partnership with ACLU Illinois and covering all 102 Illinois counties.
• Training & Technical Assistance Services National technical assistance, training, and assessment services for justice agencies, correctional departments, policymakers, and cross-sector stakeholders seeking to develop data-driven, action-oriented plans to improve gender-responsive, trauma-informed, and family-centered policies, practices, and procedures — including strategic planning, public policy development, and stakeholder engagement strategies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Selected to design and lead Chicago's first Women's Reentry Hub (January 2026)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• City of ChicagoflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 January 2026The WJI was selected to design and lead Chicago's historic new Women's Reentry Hub. The WJI serves as the lead service provider and collaborates with the City to architect a new gender responsive services and trauma-informed delivery system. The Reclamation Center will scale its innovative peer-led programs citywide.
• ACLU of IllinoiscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2024Historic partnership between WJI and ACLU-IL that began in 2021 to launch the most comprehensive study in Illinois history examining pregnancy and reproductive health care policies in all 102 counties. Resulted in the 'Expecting Justice' report launched March 26, 2024.
• Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Multi-year Gender Responsive Strategies partnership that began with implementation of the most comprehensive assessment of a women's correctional system in the nation at Logan Correctional Center. Partnership resulted in landmark Women's Correctional Services Act and ongoing systems change work.
• National Resource Center on Justice-Involved Women (NRCJIW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with NRCJIW and National Institute of Corrections (NIC) to fund implementation of the Gender Informed Practices Assessment (GIPA) protocol at Logan Correctional Center.
• National Institute of Corrections (NIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with WJI and NRCJIW to fund implementation of the Gender Informed Practices Assessment (GIPA) protocol at Logan Correctional Center.
• Moms United Against Violence & Incarceration (MUAVI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in the Reunification Ride, a program that facilitates monthly bus rides between incarcerated mothers and their children, now in its 10th year.
• Nehemiah Trinity RisingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in the Reunification Ride program.
• CGLAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in the Reunification Ride program.
• Ascend JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in the Reunification Ride program.
• YWCAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with WJI and League of Women Voters to convene the first regional listening session of the Statewide Women's Justice Task Force in Bloomington, IL.
• League of Women VotersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with WJI and YWCA to convene the first regional listening session of the Statewide Women's Justice Task Force in Bloomington, IL.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Resource Center on Justice-Involved Women (NRCJIW): NRCJIW is the most direct peer, focused on justice-involved women and gender-responsive practices. WJI explicitly partnered with NRCJIW and NIC to fund the GIPA protocol at Logan Correctional Center, demonstrating overlapping mission and methodology.
• JustLeadershipUSA: A national organization led by directly impacted people working to cut the U.S. correctional population in half. Directly comparable to WJI's Reclamation Project in centering formerly incarcerated leaders and pursuing population-reduction advocacy.

Broad incumbents

• Vera Institute of Justice: Vera is a long-established criminal justice reform organization that conducts research, pilots programs, and advocates for policy change. While broader in scope than WJI, Vera addresses overlapping themes including incarceration reform, gender-responsive practices, and reentry support.
• CLASP (Center for Law and Social Policy): CLASP is a national policy organization working on anti-poverty and justice issues affecting women and families. Comparable to WJI in advocacy and policy research orientation, though broader in mission across economic security, healthcare, and child welfare.
• Brennan Center for Justice: A major nonpartisan law and policy institute focused on criminal justice reform, voting rights, and democracy. Comparable to WJI in its research-and-advocacy model and policy reform focus, though at a much larger scale.
• Council on Criminal Justice: A nonpartisan policy think tank that conducts research and develops evidence-based recommendations on criminal justice issues. Comparable to WJI's research and policy reform orientation, with broader focus across adult and juvenile justice.
• National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD): A research and advocacy organization focused on advancing justice reform and equity. Comparable to WJI in research orientation and criminal justice reform focus, with broader geographic and demographic scope.
• Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM): A national advocacy organization working to reform sentencing laws, including for criminalized survivors. Comparable to WJI's advocacy orientation and policy reform work, particularly around sentencing reform for criminalized survivors.
• National Institute of Corrections (NIC): A federal agency providing training, technical assistance, and resources to correctional professionals. WJI partnered with NIC on the GIPA implementation; comparable in its training/technical assistance role serving correctional systems.

Regional players

• Chicago Beyond: A Chicago-based philanthropic organization that invests in systems-change efforts for young people impacted by violence and criminalization. Comparable to WJI in Chicago focus and commitment to system-impacted leadership, with overlapping potential donor/funding ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-women-s-justice-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Women’s Justice Institute