Issues

Probation is the most common intervention in juvenile court when youth are adjudicated delinquent. And while probation agencies are charged with achieving positive youth development and accountability, probation orders often make it difficult for young people to succeed and thrive in their communities.

When youth are placed on probation, they must comply with boilerplate “conditions of probation.” These conditions rarely align with a young person’s strengths, interests, and needs—nor do they vary by the young person’s age and developmental status. In some places, youth are required to manage more than 30 conditions of probation. That is a near impossible number of rules for them to recall, especially given that youth are often left to navigate these conditions on their own, receiving little guidance or support from probation officers and other system actors. This sets children up to fail, leading to costly and unnecessary placement in detention. This insidious system disproportionately impacts youth of color, who are far more likely than their white peers to face confinement or other severe consequences for violating probation.

In short, though intended to lead youth toward success, probation only exacerbates a cycle of system-involvement that is nearly impossible for young people to escape. Unwieldy and unfair conditions of probation further entrench racial disparities and cause lasting harm in the lives of children, including removal from their homes, families, and communities.