CJJ Today

By Elizabeth Seigle, Policy Analyst, Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center There has been significant progress in juvenile justice reform, with youth confinement rates decreasing by nearly 50 percent from 1997 to 2011, and juvenile arrest rates in 2011 at their lowest level in more than 30 years. While much progress has been made diverting youth from involvement in the juvenile justice system, there is still a great need to measure, and ultimately improve, the recidivism rates and other outcomes for youth under system supervision. With over 60,000 youth still in confinement on any given day and hundreds of thousands more on probation, policymakers and juvenile justice professionals are seeking guidance on how to ensure that system interventions and limited resources are used most effectively to promote youth’s transition from involvement with the juvenile justice system to a crime-free and productive adulthood.