The United States incarcerates an alarming number of children and adolescents every year. Disproportionately, they are youth of color. Given the short- and long-term damages stemming from youth out of home placement, it is vital to understand its true scope. In 2019, there were more than 240,000 instances of a young person detained, committed, or both in the juvenile justice system. However, youth incarceration is typically measured via a one-day count taken in late October. This metric...

Looking to epidemiology, the study is driven in part by two basic facts: (1) diseases do not occur by chance — there are always determinants for the disease to occur — and (2) diseases are not distributed at random — distribution is related to risk factors that need to be studied for the population in order to identify solutions. The state of homelessness of course is not a disease, but it behaves like diseases. Homelessness does not occur by chance nor is it randomly distributed, which...

“Smart, Safe, and Fair: Strategies to Prevent Youth Violence, Heal Victims of Crimes, and Reduce Racial Inequality,” published through a collaboration between the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) and the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) addresses how to help youth involved in violent crime — both offenders and victims. Confinement of youth convicted of crimes has decreased; however, violent crime convictions have not. The report shows that confinement of youth is more expensive and...

Youth involved in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems—a specific high-needs population—often experience a host of negative outcomes beyond those experienced by their peers involved in only one (or neither) system. These outcomes include higher rates of homelessness, mental health problems, and joblessness. These “dually involved” youth are also more likely to engage in both nonviolent (such as stealing) and violent (such as fighting) delinquent or criminal behaviors in...

This MessageMemo presents the Strategic Frame Analysis® that the FrameWorks Institute and the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice conducted on behalf of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Tis analysis synthesizes existing research generously sponsored by the Ford Foundation and the Rosenberg Foundation. It also draws upon FrameWorks’ decade-long investigation of children’s issues conducted largely in partnership with the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University,...

A collection of framing research, recommendations, and sample communications. This toolkit is designed to help reformers and advocates in the juvenile justice field increase public understanding of: * the science of adolescent development and the need to incorporate a developmental perspective into criminal justice policies designed for youth; * why the current approaches to juvenile crime aren’t working; * age-appropriate treatments and interventions that improve outcomes for those already...