On July 1, 2014, Schiff took over as president of the Council on Crime and Justice (CCJ), a Minneapolis nonprofit organization established in 1957 to "create a criminal justice system that is equitable and just." The CCJ dismissed Schiff in 2015 and closed suddenly in 2016 after almost 60 years of operation. A federal audit conducted on a grant program that was frozen while Schiff led the CCJ identified a misuse of funds at the organization. Schiff stated that he believed that the CCJ's board of directors and its previous leadership were responsible for the council's shutdown, although two consultants with the CCJ said they believed Schiff's inaction and unresponsiveness during his tenure with the organization led to the freezing of the grant, one of the organization's largest sources of revenue.
