Most young people who get into trouble with the law do not need to be formally processed or held in custody. In fact, such measures often do serious damage by disrupting the bonds that connect youth to their families and communities. Unfortunately, the juvenile justice system often errs on the side of formal handling and incarceration. Juvenile facilities are filled with low-level youth who could be safely and effectively managed in other settings. The confinement of low-level delinquents is costly for communities, and doesn’t serve public safety.
The Models for Change initiative worked to advance the health and safety of communities and youth by pursuing approaches to hold young people accountable in the most effective, least restrictive settings of care.
Featured publications
Initiative tools, research, knowledge, and innovations to promote reform
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Probation System Review Guidebook 2nd Edition
- Aug 1, 2016, John A. Tuell and Janet K. Wiig
- The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change Initiative operated for over a decade in nearly 2/3 of the states to create successful and replicable models of juvenile…
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Juvenile Diversion Guidebook
- Mar 1, 2011, Models for Change Juvenile Diversion Workgroup
- Programs that divert youth from involvement in the juvenile justice system have become more frequent in response to the growing recognition that such involvement often is not necessary to achieve…
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Risk Assessment in Juvenile Justice: A Guidebook for Implementation
- Nov 6, 2012, Gina M. Vincent
- The primary purpose of this guide is to provide a structure for jurisdictions, juvenile probation or centralized statewide agencies striving to implement risk assessment or to improve their current…
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The Comeback States: Reducing youth incarceration in the United States
- Jun 18, 2013, National Juvenile Justice Network & Texas Public Policy Foundation
- In 2000, a record-setting 108,802 youth were held in detention centers awaiting trial or confined by the courts in juvenile facilities in the United States. In a dramatic turnaround, by late-2010,…
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