Taking on Transformation is a project of Catalyze Justice and the Columbia Justice Lab’s Youth Justice Initiatives. It is a hub for system leaders, and anyone making decisions about youth justice, who are pushing for real transformation of the youth justice system.
This topic explores why transformational change must begin with acknowledgement of institutional racism and past and current racial disparities, and a concerted effort to rectify.
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Explore the introduction of the Taking on Transformation project and Transforming Youth Justice Desk Guide.
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Here you will find the vision of the project, an overview of the desk guide content, key values and principles, and why it is crucial to transform youth justice.
The Taking on Transformation project presents the major components of a plan to fundamentally transform the youth justice system in any jurisdiction.
The Taking on Transformation project, including a 13-chapter Desk Guide, this website, and related media and resources, presents the major components of a plan to fundamentally transform the youth justice system in any jurisdiction:
The Taking on Transformation project is designed to be explored through these different entry points and in any order that makes sense to you. We hope that interest in a particular topic will lead you to related resources, and spark connections to the other elements of system transformation, starting you on a journey through multiple areas of the Guide, and multiple aspects of transformation.
The Guide shares the experiences, strategies and lessons offered by current and former senior leaders of youth justice systems and community partners who have worked to transform their systems’ approach to youth justice, as a Guide for transformation in any jurisdiction with the leadership, will and motivation to do so. While each youth justice system has unique characteristics, they share common purposes, similar challenges and potential solutions. The Guide is neither a cookbook nor a roadmap. No one set of recipes will deliver the precise mix of strategies and tactics for transforming every system, and no one route will be right for every change effort. However, a number of key strategies and steps are useful and common to jurisdictions that have undergone successful transformation, and can be applied across different sites. The Guide can help system leaders and their partners understand the ingredients needed for change, and select those that fit the needs of their state or county, based on the posture of the system and existing reform efforts, leadership and will to change, political opportunities and other unique scenarios.
We hope that the Guide and its steps can serve as a compass to orient your work toward fundamental youth justice transformation, and provide concrete guidance on how to achieve it. As you come across topics and resources that are particularly helpful in your context, we hope that you will share them with colleagues and partners, and let us know what has been useful.
We include a wide range of actors in referring to senior leaders of youth justice systems. This is because the youth justice “system” is more accurately described as a network of loosely coordinated public and private organizations, each playing different roles and each responsible for different functions. Youth justice system leaders therefore may include senior leaders in local government agencies, law enforcement, judges, prosecutors, public defenders and other defense attorneys, probation officers, corrections officials and leaders of service providing organizations, among others.
We hope this Guide will also be helpful to others who are working to transform youth justice, including legislators, advocacy organizations, organizations representing young people and their families who have been impacted by the youth justice system, and organizations representing other community groups. Finally, we hope this Guide will be helpful to the multi-sector workgroups and task forces that many jurisdictions have formed to study their approach to youth justice and recommend changes. More detail on who the guide is for and the groups listed above can be found in the introductory chapter, as well as throughout the written Guide.
Taking on Transformation is a project which comprises a 13-chapter Desk Guide, 7 video panel discussions, and related materials, resources, and media that we have both created or linked to from others, all within the topics and pages of this website. The entire project begins with a vision, that we can transform the current youth justice systems in the United States, to center the needs of the young people, families, and communities that are most impacted by them. This transformation will necessarily begin with a focus on racial justice and equity, and centering the voices of those people first and foremost, and will shift authority and resources from within those systems into the communities themselves.
This introduction lays the groundwork for that type of transformation. It includes a Desk Guide introduction which explains the audience and methodology for the project, lays out our vision in detail, and creates a fundamental case for the need to push for transformation. Our introductory video panel brings together experts in the field who can explain in real terms and through their own experience the why and the how of transforming youth justice. And the other materials and resources in this introduction round out our background for this work and give you the building blocks you need to start thinking about change in your own system or jurisdiction.
The following core values should form the basis of working with young people in the justice system:
Youth justice systems must recognize and respect the common humanity of all people, and the critical developmental needs of youth who are moving toward but have not yet fully attained adulthood.
Youth justice systems must help all youth, including those who have run afoul of the law, connect to opportunities to discover and realize their full potential, and successfully transition to adulthood as productive citizens and good neighbors.
All youth should have the individualized supports they need to access the opportunities, networks, and resources they need to survive and thrive. Youth justice systems must also recognize and respond to the differing circumstances, experiences and challenges of each young person.
Youth behavior should be viewed in the context of a young person’s development, needs, and unique situation. Youth are experts on what solutions they need to heal and thrive, and must meaningfully participate in decisions and debates that directly impact their well-being.
Parental, sibling, and other family and family-like relationships are critical influences on youth development. Decisions and interventions should be designed to strengthen families’ ability to support and guide their children rather than displacing their role.
The well-being of young people
and their families is profoundly affected by the availability or lack of resources in their communities. Services and supports for young people must be co-designed and co-owned by the communities most affected by the youth justice system.
The youth justice system should promote well-being and safety for youth, their families, and their communities. This means all youth should be able to be their authentic selves without risk of increased physical or emotional harm, and they should be supported to develop to their full
potential.
Fair and just systems should provide a calibrated response that strengthens community bonds, responds to the needs of those who have experienced harm, and helps young people repair harm and not repeat harmful behaviors.
Over the last 15 years, a growing number of places have demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of a new vision for youth justice, a vision that is community-based, family-focused, and evidence-informed. This vision includes closing youth prisons and ending institutional incarceration of young people, while investing in community resources that support healthy development and opportunities for all children and youth.
Browse and explore the step-by-step list of topics below to take the first step toward transformation.
Explore the how and why of putting racial justice and equity at the heart of any movement to transform youth justice.
Explore why impacted youth and families must lead transformation and how to include them in change efforts.
Explore how to shift roles, responsibilities, and resources to communities as partners in youth justice.
Explore how to work with coalitions and across stakeholder groups to move transformation forward and create a shared vision for the future together.
Explore how leaders from within as well as outside the system can foster collective buy-in, and inform public discourse to build, sustain, and harness public to drive meaningful change.
Explore why data is so crucial to efforts to transform youth justice systems, how data has been used in past transformation efforts, and key ways that other leaders can use it.
Explore the importance of reducing the number of young people in the system and how to replace youth prisons with community-owned, family-focused, and youth-centered services and supports.
Explore ways that youth justice systems can shift resources, especially financial, to community-led and -owned supports for young people.
Explore the how and why of putting racial justice and equity at the heart of any movement to transform youth justice.
Explore why impacted youth and families must lead transformation and how to include them in change efforts.
Explore how to shift roles, responsibilities, and resources to communities as partners in youth justice.
Explore how to work with coalitions and across stakeholder groups to move transformation forward and create a shared vision for the future together.
Explore how leaders from within as well as outside the system can foster collective buy-in, and inform public discourse to build, sustain, and harness the public will necessary to drive meaningful change.
Explore why data is so crucial to efforts to transform youth justice systems, how data has been used in past transformation efforts, and key ways that other leaders can use data (and how to do it).
Explore the importance of reducing the number of young people in the system and how to replace youth prisons with community-owned, family-focused, and youth-centered services and supports.
Explore ways that youth justice systems can shift resources, especially financial, to community-led and -owned supports for young people.
Kicking off our series of panel events, “Setting the Stage” explores the role of system leaders in shifting away from punitive policies and incarceration and toward a more community-oriented vision of justice.
This discussion covered both the why and the how of having the most impacted youth and families leading transformation.
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National Youth Partnership Strategist,
Youth First Initiative
New Mexico Youth Justice Coalition
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Executive Director,
New Jersey Parents Caucus
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Administrator,
Pierce County Juvenile Court
Kathy Wright, Executive Director of New Jersey Parents Caucus, talks about the need to learn about the impact of the system directly from young people who experienced it and to trust them to lead if we are to create change.
Xiuhtecutli (Xiuy) Soto of the New Mexico Youth Justice Coalition speaks about how transforming youth justice begins with having patience with, providing support for, and relating to young people like him.
TJ Bohl, Administrator at Pierce County Juvenile Court, on some of the cultural obstacles inside the system to collaborating with communities, and the need for system leaders to overcome defensiveness to building a path forward together.
Explore some useful introductory resources as you take on transformation.
