Federal Reports Show Path to Youth Justice Reform
Federal reports show the many opportunities to meet the needs of youth and families through a Continuum of Care model.
Related to: Youth Justice
Enacted in 1974 and last reauthorized in 2018, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act requires the creation of an interagency Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to issue recommendations to Congress and the White House to create safer communities and empower youth to lead productive lives. Listening to experts around the nation, the Coordinating Council issued two reports in 2024, one with recommendations to Congress and the White House, and one with recommendations for systems leaders to implement the continuum of care model as a framework for helping justice-involved young people.
The Continuum of Care
The Continuum of Care is a social and ecological model that identifies evidence-based interventions and supports for youth, including both those who have been victims of crime and those who are involved in delinquency.
Together, both the report to the White House and Congress and the Practitioner’s report show the many opportunities to meet the needs of youth and families through a Continuum of Care model, a vision that provides a variety of diversion strategies and community-based interventions that prevent our children and adolescents from becoming more deeply involved in the formal justice system.
These reports are available below, as well as a summary of the reports and a webinar hosted by the Coalition for Juvenile Justice and The Sentencing Project.
Report to Congress and the White House 2023-2024
The report and outlines five core priorities around the Continuum of Care Framework and includes 18 recommendations to the White House and Congress on how to support and operationalize these priorities.
Independent Practitioner Report on Youth Justice
The report identifies where opportunities may exist to meet the critical needs of youth and families in their communities.
On March 20, 2025, members of the Coordinating Council joined former staff from the Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention to discuss the reports and highlight their recommendations.
Panelists:
- Michael Mendoza; National Criminal Justice Director, LatinoJustice PRLDEF
- Mark Patterson; former Administrator, Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility
- Jill Ward; Director of the Center for Youth Policy and Law at University of Maine School of Law and Former Senior Policy Advisor at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2023-2024)
Moderators:
- Melissa Milchman, Esq.; Executive Director, Coalition for Juvenile Justice
- Josh Rovner; Director of Youth Justice, The Sentencing Project
