Reducing Juvenile Recidivism

Overview

In many states, up to 80 percent of the youth who are incarcerated are rearrested within 3 years of release, and outcomes for youth on community supervision are often not much better. In response to these challenges, the CSG Justice Center offers tools, resources, and technical assistance to help state and local officials develop and implement plans to improve outcomes for youth and use resources more efficiently.

Intensive Technical Assistance for State and Local Officials

The CSG Justice Center offers states and locales intensive technical assistance to develop system-wide plans, based on the research for “what works” to improve outcomes for youth in their juvenile justice systems. We engage in this effort through the following activities:

Conduct a comprehensive assessment of juvenile justice policy and practice;
Present key findings and recommendations to agency leaders and policymakers; and
Guide state officials to translate the recommendations into a statewide plan to improve youth outcomes, which may include legislative, appropriation, and/or agency policy and practice changes.

Examples of State Technical Assistance

If you are interested in learning more about this intensive technical assistance, please contact Nina Salomon at nsalomon@csg.org.

Tools and Resources

Reducing Juvenile Recidivism Checklists
The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center has designed a set of tools to help juvenile justice leaders and other key stakeholders assess whether policy, practice, and resource allocation decisions are aligned with research on what is effective and identify opportunities to make changes that will improve outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system.

Technical Assistance through the National Reentry Resource Center

The CSG Justice Center provides ongoing training and technical assistance through the National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) to state and local juvenile justice systems that receive grant funding through the Second Chance Act (SCA) and the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP), as well as the broader field.

To learn more about these federal grant opportunities and the NRRC, visit the Second Chance Act page.

This work in the area of youth is supported by key partners including the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change Initiative, Georgetown University’s Center on Juvenile Justice Reform, the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators, the American Probation and Parole Association, the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Atlantic Philanthropies, and others.

Improving Outcomes for Youth

These infographics detail critical challenges faced by states in improving outcomes for youth; identifying key questions policymakers should ask; and offering strategies for protecting public safety and using resources more efficiently.