Juvenile Justice - General
Critical Elements of Juvenile Reentry in Research and Practice
The research on “what works” with youth involved in the juvenile justice system has grown substantially in the last two decades. Taking account of this new research, a number of states and jurisdictions have made significant changes to their juvenile justice policies and practices. To further this pursuit, this article offers guidance that draws from the most recent research and promising practices based on the new evidence. This article focuses primarily on juvenile justice policies and practices for youth returning...
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (JIIE)
This is the go to place for current information about juvenile justice issues. Anyone working with juvenile offenders should visit this website.
"The Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (JJIE) is the only publication covering juvenile justice and related issues nationally on a consistent, daily basis. In the past, traditional journalism organizations filled this function. Today, due to shrinking resources, there are large gaps in that coverage. The Juvenile Justice Information Exchange fills the void. Focused not just on delivering information, but...
Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators Toolkit: Reducing the Use of Isolation
A response to behavioral problems in many facilities has been reliance on isolation for acting out youths who are mentally challenged, chronically violent, or gang involved. Instead of being used as a last resort to protect youths from self-harm, hurting others or causing significant property damage that is terminated as soon as a youth regains control, isolation too often becomes the behavior management system by default. Research has made clear that isolating youths for long periods of time or as...
Easing Reentry through Employability Skills Training for Incarcerated Youth
Three distinct time periods frame the juvenile justice process: before, during, and after incarceration. This article focuses on services and supports at each of these critical stages, specifically regarding employability skills. These skills, although supportive of vocational skills, are different from them. Beyond specific trade skills, employability skills include, at a minimum: effective communication, problem-solving, taking responsibility, and teamwork. These skills are important in many areas in addition to employment, but they are perhaps most essential to obtaining and holding...
The Future of Youth Justice: A Community-Based Alternative to the Youth Prison Model (2016)
Whether the benefits and costs of youth prisons [aka training schools” or “youth centers”] are weighed on a scale of public dollars, community safety, or young people’s futures, they are damaging the very people they are supposed to help and have been for generations. It is difficult to find an area of U.S. policy where the benefits and costs are more out of balance, where the evidence of failure is clearer, or where we know with more clarity what we should be doing differently. This ill-conceived and outmoded approach is a failure, with high costs and recidivism rates and institutional...
Juvenile Justice Research-to-Practice Implementation Resources (2017)
The Juvenile Justice Research-to-Practice Implementation Resources provide juvenile justice agency managers, staff, and other practitioners with concrete strategies, tools, examples, and best-practice models to help them implement research-based policies and practices and improve outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system. Resources are available for Family Engagement and Involvement, and Evidence-Based Programs and Services.
Key Things to Know About Juveniles Who Sexually Offend (2017)
Juveniles and adults who sexually offend should be viewed as distinct populations. Tools to assess risk in juveniles are not yet validated and may serve to best inform treatment planning. Treatment can be effective in reducing their risk to reoffend, especially approaches that include group and family therapy.
Effectively Implementing Evidence Based Programs and Services for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System [Webinar] (2017)
This webinar highlights strategies, tools, examples, and best-practice models from across the country that juvenile justice agency managers, staff, and other practitioners may consider in adopting to effectively implement evidence-based programs and services and promote positive outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system.
Effectiveness of Restorative Justice Principles in Juvenile Justice: A Meta-Analysis (2017)
The objective of this study was to systematically review and statistically synthesize all available research that, at a minimum, compared participants in a restorative justice program to participants processed in a more traditional way using meta-analytic methods. Ideally, these studies would include research designs with random assignment to condition groups, as this provides the most credible evidence of program effectiveness … Overall, the results evaluating restorative justice programs and practices showed a moderate reduction in future delinquent behavior relative to more traditional juvenile court processing … Promising findings in terms of delinquency outcomes for the youth were seen for victim-offender...
Principles of Effective Juvenile Justice Policy (2017)
The issues addressed by the work group reflect the important role of state legislatures in enacting policies that avoid unnecessary involvement of youth in the justice system and support evidence-based interventions that reduce recidivism and protect public safety. While lawmakers and the group recognize that serious and violent crimes committed by the most serious young offenders may require secure confinement, a major interest of the group was how to sustain and reinforce current trends of falling juvenile crime and out-of-home placement rates. Many concepts addressed in the principles emerged from research on effective approaches in addressing juvenile delinquency to achieve...
“As real as it gets”: A Grounded Theory Study of a Reading Intervention in a Juvenile Correctional School (2017)
The well-documented statistics regarding the academic struggles of incarcerated youth are disconcerting, and efforts to improve reading performance among this population are greatly needed. There is a dearth of research that provides rich and detailed accounts of reading intervention implementation in the juvenile corrections setting … The present study attempted to address this gap in the research base by developing a grounded theory of literacy intervention implementation in one juvenile correctional school (p. 1).
Beyond Bars: Keeping Young People Safe at Home and Out of Youth Prisons (2017)
This report provides a clear blueprint for closing youth prisons and replacing them with community-based juvenile justice services. Readers will learn how this new system can hold youth accountable - without resorting to incarceration - while cultivating a young person’s strengths, interests and sense of belonging.” Sections of this publication are: introduction: a note on community; defining “continuity of care” for young people in the juvenile justice system; why a continuum is needed; developing a continuity of care—guiding principles, core components, and tying it all together; eight steps for developing a community-based continuum of care for justice involved youth; examples...
Mentoring Best Practices Research: Effectiveness of Juvenile Mentoring Programs on Recidivism: Final Report (2017)
This report presents findings from a project in which researchers examined six mentoring programs in Ohio to better understand their impact on recidivism. Youth on parole and probation who received mentoring services were matched with similar youth who did not receive mentoring services. While some reductions in recidivism were found, the differences were not statistically significant. The study looked at six Ohio mentoring programs and their impact on youth recidivism. Research questions explored whether mentoring services were effective in reducing delinquent and criminal reoffending, whether the impact of mentoring services differed based on youth characteristics, the impact of match quality...
Leveraging the Every Student Succeeds Act to Improve Educational Services in Juvenile Justice Facilities (2018)
The goal of this policy brief is to provide state and local policymakers as well as education and juvenile justice leaders with information about how they can use requirements under ESSA to improve education and workforce outcomes for youth in long-term juvenile justice facilities. The sections that follow: Summarize relevant ESSA provisions and outline its key accountability requirements; Highlight three priorities for states to focus on as they contemplate accountability for juvenile justice programs and schools; Provide key questions to help state leaders consider their current policies and identify gaps and opportunities for improvement; and Feature states that are carrying...
The Juvenile Record Myth (2018)
The proliferation of adult criminal records and their harmful impact on people with convictions has received growing attention from scholars, the media, and legislators from both sides of the political aisle. Much less attention has been given to the far-reaching impact of juvenile delinquency records, partly because many people believe that juvenile records are not public, especially after a juvenile turns eighteen. That common notion is a myth. This Article addresses that myth and adds to both the juvenile justice and collateral consequences literature in four ways.
Just Kids: When Misbehaving Is a Crime (2018)
This special report offers a primer on status offenses—misbehaviors that are only illegal because of a person’s age and that unfairly land many kids in the justice system.
Bridges to Education and Employment for Justice-Involved Youth Evaluation of the NYC Justice Corps Program (2019)
This report presents the findings of an implementation and outcome evaluation of NYC Justice Corps (Justice Corps), a cohort-based workforce development and recidivism reduction program for justice involved young adults that operated from 2008 to 2018. The evaluation examines a 2015 redesign of the Justice Corps program model, which is found to have improved core aspects of service provision while providing a more streamlined set of services. Drawing on findings from this research, the report highlights a set of considerations intended to inform current and future youth justice programming.