Transforming Juvenile Justice Systems to Improve Public Safety and Youth Outcomes

This publication from the CSG Justice Center and the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy provides a roadmap of six innovative strategies that states and localities can follow to make sweeping changes to their juvenile justice systems. Facing stubbornly high recidivism rates and limited resources, juvenile justice systems need to reconsider foundational questions regarding who is supervised and served by the system; how those youth are supervised and served; and to what extent agencies and individuals are held accountable for system performance. To begin tackling these questions, the CSG Justice Center and CJJR conducted interviews and focus groups with nearly 50 researchers, national experts, and system leaders to identify innovative ideas for building upon recent system improvements by reorienting juvenile justice systems to improve public safety and outcomes for youth.