Probation leadership aligns training, budgeting and planning with continuous improvement in transforming juvenile probation, repeatedly asking “how are we doing?” and “could we do it better?”
This tool is a starting point with deliberate questions that convey the depth and breadth of transforming juvenile probation. The tool also prompts frank discussions that should precede any formal efforts.
Take this free online course to learn how a department’s values and other aspects of organizational culture — including the broader system in which the department operates — can support probation transformation.
Watch videos and download tools that describe Results Count, the Annie E. Casey Foundation's approach to leadership development.
Training programs for new probation staff include the essentials of probation transformation: expanding the use of diversion, minimizing out-of-home placements, limiting probation supervision time, regarding probation officers as coaches not as referees, focusing probation on promoting youth well-being, expanding opportunities for all, basing decisions on disaggregated data, and relying on community-based organizations, youth and families as true partners.
Enroll in this free, online training series to learn what probation transformation is, the urgency behind it and its implications for day-to-day practice. The American Probation and Parole Association has approved this series for 12 contact hours.
Access courses designed by School & Main Institute
This two-pager from the Urban Institute offers guidance on developing staff able to individualize responses and plans for youth. Successfully applying this approach requires staff who understand how to respond to needs, problem-solve across circumstances and tailor their approach to different cultural contexts.
System leaders approach annual budget processes as opportunities to support probation transformation and increase funding for positive youth development services.
Take this free online course to learn how a department’s values and other aspects of organizational culture — including the broader system in which the department operates — can support probation transformation.
This two-pager from the Urban Institute helps jurisdictions identify strategies for investing in community-based solutions. For more information and examples of how other jurisdictions have leveraged these strategies, see Promoting a New Direction for Youth Justice: Strategies to Fund a Community-Based Continuum of Care and Opportunity (https://www.urban.org/research...).
Probation leaders continually seek and respond to feedback from young people, families, staff and other stakeholders.
Use the Casey Foundation's free Juvenile Probation Practice Survey and secure dashboard to gather information from probation officers, supervisors and leadership in 10 domains, including staff engagement, court conditions and family-centered practice. To date, more than 1,000 probation practitioners have taken the survey.
Take this free online course to explore the core principles and practices of Positive Youth Justice, a strengths-based, relationship-focused approach to working with youth in the justice system.
Learn the value of connecting family members to peer mentors (sometimes called family advocates or family navigators) as a way to engage families as partners.
Probation leaders hold annual convenings to evaluate and plan for probation transformation that include participation by staff, community members, family members and young people with lived experience.
Read about a convening hosted by the Santa Cruz, California, Juvenile Probation Division in 2024 titled, Transformations in Juvenile Justice: Reflecting on the Past and Shaping the Future. The event included system and community leaders, as well as young people and families.
We hope you'll find value in this report. We’d love to get a little information from you, which we'll use to notify you about relevant new resources.
