In January 2017, the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice began implementation of its Regional Service Coordinator Model. The state closed several state-run correctional centers and invested the savings in developing a statewide continuum of evidence-based services and alternatives to out-of-home placements. The goal of the service coordinator model is to reduce disparities in services in rural communities and ensure that court-involved youth get the services they need, when and where they need them. Researchers from Child Trends are evaluating the Regional Service Coordinator Model to better understand how it was implemented and whether its implementation is associated with any changes in youth outcomes.

OJJDP is funding this evaluation under its Field Initiated Research and Evaluation Program, which supports innovative and methodologically rigorous research and evaluation efforts that inform policy and practice to advance effective delinquency prevention and juvenile justice system interventions.

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