Resource centers
The Resource Center Partnership was created to support the growing national juvenile justice reform movement. Based on nearly twenty years of research, practice, and reform efforts, it tapped experts in the field to provide system administrators, practitioners and policymakers with technical assistance, training, and proven tools and resources.
The Partnership consisted of four Resource Centers that focused on areas critical to continued advancements in juvenile justice: mental health needs, public defense for indigent youth, status offenses, and care for dual status youth. Resource Center partners were:
- The Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Collaborative for Change, led by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice at Policy Research Inc., provided training, technical assistance, and education to help the field better respond to youth with mental health needs in the juvenile justice system (link to mental health reform page).
- The National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) worked to improve access to counsel and the quality of representation for children in the justice system (link to juvenile indigent defense reform page).
- The Status Offense Reform Center (SORC) of the Vera Institute for Justice served as a clearinghouse of information and assistance for practitioners and policymakers in juvenile justice, with a focus on encouraging and showcasing strategies to safely and effectively divert non-delinquent youth from the formal juvenile justice system (link to status offense reform reform page).
- The Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps led the RFK National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice to help leaders and practitioners build capacity for addressing the unique needs of dual status youth, coordinate and integrate child-serving systems, and improve juvenile probation systems (link to dual system youth reform page).
The Partnership also included a strategic alliance of national experts and organizations representing state leaders, mayors, judges court personnel, prosecutors, defense counsel, law enforcement, corrections professionals, and justice reform advocates.
These sponsoring organizations are listed on each reform area page as resources so that site visitors can access the latest resources directly from these organizations
