Louisville Juvenile Justice Continuum

The Louisville Metro Government's Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods, collaborating with local community stakeholders and juvenile justice court officials, aims to assess existing diversion and intervention strategies within their juvenile justice system. This assessment will determine whether additional support or services are necessary to effectively reduce youth detention rates and expedite stays in the juvenile justice system. This initiative aims to establish a framework for a juvenile justice continuum of care that will be sustained post-grant and developed for a comprehensive youth development continuum of care, enhancing support systems for Louisville, Kentucky youth and families.

Project activities include a thorough mapping of the juvenile justice system's processes, both informal and formal; identifying critical intersections affecting opportunity youth and dual-status youth to enhance their outcomes; and evaluating and pinpointing service and care gaps that impede effective treatment for youth and families. The evaluation will assess the effectiveness of Louisville's prevention, intervention, and reentry services. When evaluating Louisville's efforts, fiscal mapping will be utilized to identify cost efficiencies and priority areas for support. The project will also explore opportunities for gender-specific programming and evaluate their integration into the existing framework.

This funding provides an opportunity to use expected deliverables from the project, including an Asset Map detailing available resources and services, a comprehensive Gap Analysis report highlighting areas for improvement, and the establishment of a Juvenile Justice Continuum of Care framework to serve as a blueprint for continued efforts to cultivate the Youth Development Continuum of Care. This sustained effort will be tailored to meet the needs of Louisville's young population and their families throughout the entirety of development, ensuring that a comprehensive continuum is effectively utilized.