Article Highlights Juvenile Justice Reform in Several States

A new article posted on The Pew Charitable Trusts website highlights seven states taking the lead in systemwide, multicomponent, juvenile justice reform as part of Pew's Public Safety Performance Project. In the article, Project Director Jake Horowitz describes his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about policy reform in the first six states to join the project-Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, South Dakota, and West Virginia. Utah also recently passed comprehensive reform under this initiative. The states' reforms aim to lower juvenile incarceration, protect public safety, reduce recidivism, control costs, and reinvest savings into evidence-based programs. With funding from OJJDP, the Crime and Justice Institute at Community Resources for Justice is currently helping these seven states implement their recently enacted reforms. The states have already reduced the number of youth sent to state custody, closed juvenile correctional facilities, and reinvested nearly $50 million in community-based services.

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Learn more about OJJDP's Smart on Juvenile Justice initiative.