Juvenile justice practice in California at a crossroads
With the decline in the use of state youth prisons, California counties must develop and implement evidence-based strategies that address the needs of youth with special needs who once were committed to the state. This position is supported by findings contained in Renewing Juvenile Justice, a 2011 report commissioned by Sierra Health Foundation and written by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.
In the report, the researchers provide a comprehensive historical account of California’s juvenile justice system that illustrates the origins of the current system’s most concerning challenges. More importantly, it provides a direction for establishing a model 21st century juvenile justice system designed to improve outcomes for youth, their families and caregivers.
Designed to be a helpful tool for local jurisdictions to renew juvenile justice practice, the report offers policy recommendations to return practice to a restorative, rehabilitative approach and expand culturally responsive, community-based services for high-risk youthful offenders.
New OJJDP report provides latest data and trends in juvenile court cases
The National Center for Juvenile Justice has published a new report, "Juvenile Court Statistics 2008," developed with funding from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
Drawing on data from the National Juvenile Court Data Archive (the myriad data sets include age, gender, race, entry and detention rates, etc.), the report profiles more than 1.6 million delinquency cases that U.S. courts with juvenile jurisdiction handled in 2008. It also describes the trends in delinquency cases processed by juvenile courts between 1985 and 2008 and the status offense cases they handled between 1995 and 2008.
