Navigating Concerns on Youth Crime, Violence, and Behavioral Health: 3 Steps to Take Series

Hosted by The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center and the Prudential Foundation 

Youth across the country are grappling with myriad challenges that include increases in mental health issues, school absenteeism, community violence, and victimization. At the same time, many policymakers and system leaders are struggling with how best to respond, including whether greater reliance on the juvenile justice system and more sanctions-oriented approaches are warranted. The Council of State Governments Justice Center analyzed the most recent behavioral health, arrest, and juvenile justice system data available to help policymakers better understand current national trends, place them in historical context, and identify key implications.   

Our unique three-part webinar series will feature roundtable discussions with a variety of stakeholders, all of whom play a critical role in shaping improved outcomes for youth. We asked stakeholders from the field and impacted communities to identify three critical steps that their counterparts nationwide can take to do the following:  

• Shrink the footprint of the juvenile justice system and court-based responses and develop an alternative statewide, cross-systems early intervention network for youth and their families;  

• Adopt and implement a statewide research-based violence prevention and recidivism reduction strategy for higher-risk youth; and 
• Build statewide service provider capacity, transform and expand the workforce for adolescent services, and create long-term workforce pipelines. 

Webinar 1: 3 Steps to Take: Communications and Media Strategies (November 7, 2024)
Webinar 2: 3 Steps to Take for Youth Service Agency Leaders and Community Providers (February 11, 2025)
Webinar 3: 3 Steps to Take: Impacted Youth and Families Share their Recommendations (Date TBA)

Stay tuned for the date and details for Webinar 3.

Webinar 2: 3 Steps to Take—Agency Leaders and Community Providers

Hosted by The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center and the Prudential Foundation 

📅 Tuesday, February 11, 2025 |  2:00–3:00 p.m. ET

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Adolescents are increasingly experiencing mental health, school, and community violence challenges that can impact their well-being and, ultimately, their risk to themselves or others. Policymakers should leverage and coordinate existing funding and initiatives across youth and family service systems to create a statewide structure of adolescent prevention services and supports. This webinar will highlight jurisdictions that are doing this in a variety of ways and present three steps they took that helped them begin developing their own creative collaborative strategies or initiatives. 

Speakers 

• Christina Gilbert, Project Manager, Corrections and Reentry, CSG Justice Center (moderator) 
• Brett Peterson, Director, Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services, Utah  
• Morissa Henn, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Health and Human Services, New Hampshire 
• Betsy Fox-Tolentino, Managing Director, Juvenile and Young Adult Justice Initiatives, Roca Impact Institute 
• James Timpson, Managing Director, Community Violence Initiatives, Roca Impact Institute

Webinar 1: 3 Steps to Take—Communications and Media

📅  Thursday, November 7, 2024 |  11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET

Rising concerns on youth crime and violence have challenged policymakers to remain committed to research-based approaches to improving public safety and youth outcomes. These concerns are often driven by media coverage of the most extreme cases, giving them an outsized importance in driving negative impressions of the juvenile justice system and vulnerable youth more generally, and leading to an increased call for “tough on crime” responses. The most recent data available shows that while arrests for youth homicides and weapons offenses did spike post-pandemic, these cases represent approximately 5 percent of all youth arrests. And despite the recent spike, overall rates of youth arrests for violent offenses are half of what they were 20 years ago. Given these challenges, what steps can jurisdictions take to address this tough-on-crime narrative? What communications, media, and public education strategies are needed to promote buy-in for research-based public safety solutions? This webinar features national experts highlighting 3 steps that jurisdictions can take to advance communication strategies that promote improved public safety and youth outcomes.

Speakers: 

• Christina Gilbert, Project Manager, Corrections and Reentry, CSG Justice Center (moderator) 
• Carroll Bogert, President, The Marshall Project 
• Jinnie Horan, Public Information Specialist, Pierce County Juvenile Court 
• Courtney McSwain, Director of Communications, National Youth Justice Network