Developing a Positive Youth Justice System

This report from National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform offers six principles of a positive youth justice system (‘PYJS’) including: 1) Minimize contact with the juvenile justice system, 2) partner with youth and families to develop and share ownership of case plans, 3) community-based organizations should take the lead, 4) build on youth assets and provide services to address needs, 5) provide exceptional care to those who do need system involvement, and 6) reinvest cost savings into the communities in which youth live. Additionally, the report provides examples of programs and jurisdictions that have implemented some of the principles outlined in the report.

From the Conclusion:

“The six principles laid out in this report provide a roadmap for a national effort to Reduce the size of the juvenile justice system, Improve the services it provides, and Reinvest cost savings into neighborhoods and communities that experience a disproportionate burden of poverty and crime.

In this model, the delinquency system is a last resort, and juvenile justice agencies focus their resources only on the small number of youth who pose a true threat to public safety. Whenever possible, effective diversion and alternatives are utilized to minimize contact with youth. For those youth who do come into the system, the PYJS partners with them and their families to develop and share ownership of case plans. CBOs rooted in the communities where youth live are responsible for providing services, supports, and opportunities to young people, working directly with them and their families to address needs and build upon their assets, rather than focusing on their deficiencies and punishment. For the small number of youth who need time out of the community when all other interventions have failed, a PYJS provides exceptional care and development.

All of these principles and practices are supported by a sizeable body of data and research across the fields of criminology, psychology, public health, social work, and more. When these reforms are implemented, the size of the system will be smaller, producing significant cost savings; those funds should be invested back into the communities with the highest rates of poverty, crime, and incarceration. Such a system will make our communities safer and greatly improve outcomes for our youth.”