Juveniles

Each year, approximately 100,000 youth under the age of 18 leave secure residential facilities, including juvenile facilities, jails and prisons, following adjudication.¹ Many youth in the juvenile justice system struggle with educational deficiencies, mental illnesses, and substance abuse, and return to communities with high rates of crime and poverty and poorly performing schools. Youth who are released from institutional confinement are more likely to succeed if they have access to services that can help them thrive in a noninstitutional environment. Discharge planning, educational and vocational programs, housing assistance, substance abuse and mental health treatment, and life skills training can reduce recidivism and help youth build healthy, productive futures.

Snyder, H. 2004. An empirical portrait of the youth reentry population. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 2(1):39-55.

Key Resources

Webinar: Juvenile Reentry in Concept and Practice, National Reentry Resource Center (2010)
This webinar, held on January 26th, 2010, featured David M. Altschuler, Ph.D., principal research scientist at the Institute for Policy Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and Shay Bilchik, founder and director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University Public Policy Institute. The webinar addressed the key components of juvenile reentry, including assessing and classifying reoffending risk, needs, and strengths; balancing social control and services; and blending sanctions and incentives into a graduated response system designed to promote law abidance and prosocial behavior change. To download the PowerPoints used in this presentation, click here. To view the recording of the webinar, click here.
Supporting Youth in Transition to Adulthood: Lessons Learned from Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice, Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform / Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative (2009)
This paper discusses the successes and challenges that juvenile justice and child welfare agencies face in preparing the youth they serve for a successful adulthood. The paper describes assessment, case management, and other practices implemented in either system that have shown promise in improving outcomes for the transition-age population.
Educational Aftercare & Reintegration Toolkit for Juvenile Justice Professionals, 2nd ed., Education Law Center (2009)
This Toolkit provides the basic information and resources needed to help juvenile probation officers and other juvenile justice professionals in Pennsylvania overcome (or at least minimize) these problems. While this Toolkit is specifically directed to juvenile probation officers in Pennsylvania, it may also be useful for the youth's attorney or for other juvenile justice professionals to help them plan for and participate in the educational aftercare of their clients.
Rehabilitating and Reintegrating Youth Offenders: Are Residential and Community Aftercare Colliding Worlds and What Can Be Done About It?, Justice Policy Journal (2008)
This paper identifies evidence-based strategies and promising practices that address the divergence between residential and aftercare services for youth.
Making the Juvenile Justice – Workforce System Connection for Re-Entering Young Offenders: A Guide for Local Practice, Center for Law and Social Policy (2006)
This guidebook is designed to provide advice from the field to communities interested in pursuing more formal connections—or strengthening existing connections—between the workforce and justice systems. It focuses on specific challenges and how selected communities addressed them.

Program Examples

Alvis House

Alvis House provides residential halfway house services, substance abuse treatment, cognitive behavioral programs, employability skills training and job placement, life skills education, and family reentry programs to more than 4,000 men, women, young adults and children each year.