Courting Judicial Excellence: How We Empower Juvenile Judges to Improve Youth Outcomes

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Every day, juvenile court judges make decisions that shape the lives of young people and the safety of our communities. From deciding which services a young person receives to determining whether they remain in their homes, the weight of these choices is immense. Yet many judges navigate complex delinquency cases without specialized support or consistent training on adolescence, the latest research, or evidence-based practices.

To bridge this gap, the CSG Justice Center partnered with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) to launch Courting Judicial Excellence. Together, we work with state and local leaders to improve how juvenile courts are structured and supported. Our goal is to ensure that judges have the judicial training, tools, and systems they need to make research‑informed rulings and decisions that improve outcomes for youth, families, and communities.

The initiative began 5 years ago with a first-of-its-kind 50-state analysis of how juvenile courts are organized, how judges are selected and trained, and whether court systems are positioned to support effective decision‑making.

Building on those findings, Courting Judicial Excellence translates research into action to help courts implement critical recommendations in real‑world settings.

Courting Judicial Excellence’s Impact

Supported by the State Justice Institute, we’ve worked across jurisdictions to provide hundreds of state and local courts with statewide court assessments, judicial training institutes, intensive technical assistance, and practical decision-making to develop and implement concrete policy, practice, and structural changes.

Statewide Court Assessments

In 4 states (Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, and Oregon), we conducted intensive assessments of delinquency court policies, practices, and structures through case-level data analysis, statutory and court policy review, and stakeholder listening sessions.

We worked with statewide steering committees to come to consensus on priority recommendations and build comprehensive action plans to implement changes including the following:

• Adopting court policies and practices to improve the use of Risk-Needs-Responsivity screening tools
• Building dedicated, sustainable juvenile justice trainings for judges and probation officers
• Creating and supporting delinquency improvement oversight programs
• Improving cross-systems collaboration at a case and systems reform level
• Rethinking how to handle status offense cases
• Developing improved evidence-based services in local communities

Judicial Training Institutes

Because foundational knowledge of adolescent development is critical—yet rarely legally required for judges hearing delinquency cases—we’ve hosted targeted state training institutes in Georgia, Montana, and Oregon.

What participants have said:

• “It was great to have the time to look at this topic through a different lens, as well as outside of the time pressure of the courtroom.”
• “Best Part: Collaborating with colleagues from across the country and borrowing ideas and strategies.”
• “The best part was learning the different resources/tools available for different courts and challenging myself to discover similar programs.”

Technical Assistance for Judges

Judges who attended our most recent national training institutes had the opportunity to apply for local technical assistance. Through a competitive process, 4 jurisdictions (Weld County, CO; Newport News, VA; Boone County, WV; and Suquamish Tribal Court, WA) were selected to receive support with the following:

• Convening a local multi-stakeholder steering committee
• 4 hours of virtual youth court best practices training
• Guidance for completing a self-assessment of their court systems
• A facilitated virtual listening session
• Documented findings and recommendations
• Facilitating a consensus process for deciding which recommendations to include in an implementation action plan

Tools and Resources for High‑Risk and Hard‑to‑Reach Youth

Rather than leaving courts to navigate escalating complexities alone, we developed the following practical resources judges can use:

• Bench Card: Judicial Decision-Making for High-Risk Youth: Research-based guidance along a delinquency case continuum to reduce recidivism and promote positive outcomes.
• Bench Card: How Courts Can Best Support Post-Dispositional Success for Challenging Delinquency Cases: Research-based guidance on appropriately measuring and incentivizing youth’s progress post-disposition and holding youth, families, and public systems accountable for results.
• Cheat Sheet: Research and Resource Companion for High-Risk Youth and Challenging Cases Bench Cards: Brief summaries with references and additional resources to help judges and other court stakeholders apply proven practices, supported by training and implementation tools.

What’s Next?

Together with courts, judges, and justice partners nationwide, Courting Judicial Excellence remains focused on ensuring juvenile courts are equipped to deliver fair, effective, and developmentally appropriate justice.

On June 15, 2026, we hosted a national webinar on lessons from the field and practical strategies for judicial decision‑making in high‑risk youth cases. Featured panelists included:

• Gayl Branum Carr (Ret.) (Fairfax, VA)
• Gina Vincent (UMass Chan Medical School)
• Josh Weber (CSG Justice Center)

We’re also expanding our technical assistance opportunities to support additional states, court systems, and judges seeking to make communities safer and improve outcomes for high-risk youth through judicial decision-making, training, and court policies and practices.

Partner With Us

If you’re interested in bringing a training institute to your state, exploring technical assistance opportunities, or implementing our research-based tools, contact Christina Gilbert, cgilbert@csg.org.