Embracing Informed Approaches
Young people respond best to approaches that build on their strengths, make space for their voices and offer incentives and choices.
This issue brief identifies eight principles that every juvenile justice system should embrace to transform care for youth in custody. These principles are designed to help all youth realize their potential — regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, neighborhood or personal history.
States, counties or cities must dramatically reduce youth confinement and build stronger community-centered responses. Yet, such a transformation will take time, and the 43,000 young people who are in custody today — and are disproportionately and overwhelmingly youth of color — can’t wait. These eight principles from the Casey Foundation can immediately and effectively elevate the standard of care for youth in custody while the push to close all youth prisons continues.