Juvenile Justice
You are in the Juvenile Justice section of the Casey Foundation Knowledge Center, which offers resources that are either published or funded by the Casey Foundation.
See also Our Work: Juvenile Justice, an overview of Casey's investment in this issue.
Learn about the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative.
Featured Slideshow
Our juvenile justice system is badly in need of repair. This slideshow goes inside the juvenile detention systems in Laredo, Texas and Portland, Oregon and points to the need for urgent national reforms. See Casey's related resources on juvenile justice reform.
Photographs by Steve Liss. See his website for more information.
A Guide to Juvenile Justice Reform: Making Detention Reform Work for Girls
2013
Serving as a practical, how-to guide for jurisdictions involved in Casey’s Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative and others, this report follows up on previous JDAI reports documenting the scope and nature of the different challenges and needs facing girls in the detention system. This guide offers clear and specific instructions for JDAI leaders on how to put that information into practice. After reviewing the characteristics and disparities in the system’s treatment of girls, the guide describes organizational steps necessary to create gender work groups, develop work plans, conduct gender-focused data analysis and put the information gained to practical use. Appendices provide a variety of tools and templates to support the work.
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View the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative Practice Guides Series >>
Infographic: Youth Incarceration in the United States
2013
This infographic provides information on youth incarceration in the United States, visualizing the national and state drop in youth confinement, racial disparities within the juvenile justice system and they type of offenses committed by youth. In addition, the piece highlights five responses communities can take to support better services for these youth. To access a printer-friendly version of this infographic, click on "View Multimedia."
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Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative 2011 Results Report Summary
2013
This summary provides information on the progress of sites in the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) and the impact of efforts on detention utilization, commitments of youth to state custody and public safety. JDAI sites continue to report significant gains in curbing the unnecessary use of detention, while reducing commitments, improving public safety and securing millions of dollars from public and private sources to support detention reform.
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Demonstrating that Jurisdictions Can Respond to Delinquent Behavior in Ways that are More Effective, Fairer, Safer, and Less Costly
2012
Each year in the United States, thousands of children are placed inappropriately and unnecessarily into youth corrections facilities and various forms of congregate residential placements. This paper offers the rationale for a focus on reducing post-dispositional out-of-home placements, followed by a summary of the multiple facets of JDAI’s expanded deep end focus.
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Resolution, Reinvestment, and Realignment: Three Strategies for Changing Juvenile Justice
2011
This report reviews the history and development of policies to reduce the demand for expensive state confinement and to supervise as many young offenders as possible in their own communities. It analyzes the impact of these strategies on policy, practice, and public safety.
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