North Dakota Juvenile Justice System Enhancement Project

The Juvenile Justice System Enhancements program will support efforts to enhance systems that address public safety by holding offenders accountable and supporting child victims. This includes the juvenile justice system as well as those agencies responsible for investigating and prosecuting online child exploitation.

North Dakota has made significant improvements to its juvenile justice system over the last decade, but continues to experience high recidivism rates among youth who come into contact with the system. To reduce reoffending rates, the North Dakota Division of Juvenile Services (DJS) proposes to conduct a data-driven assessment of the juvenile justice system. This data analysis will help DJS and other agencies statewide to identify barriers and gaps in system functioning, policy, practice, and resource allocation with the goal of developing, implementing, testing, and ultimately sustaining innovative and research-based responses to enhance public safety and improve outcomes for youth. DJS will solicit feedback from youth, families, and crime victims who have experienced the juvenile justice system on how to improve the system. CA/NCF