Center for Improving Youth Justice

Most young people who come into contact with the juvenile justice system are there as a result of the disadvantages they’ve experienced -- poverty, trauma, homelessness and abuse. The majority are in trouble for common non-violent adolescent behavior. PbS believes in treating every young person as one of our own. We envision a world where all young people have the education, skills, opportunities and connections they need to succeed. We work with youth facilities, residential programs and reentry services to create better outcomes for the youths, their families and the staff, because every young person deserves the chance to succeed. PbS’ goal is to integrate best and research-based practices into daily operations to create safe and healthy facilities and programs that effectively improve the lives of delinquent and at-risk youths, families and communities and prevent future crime. PbS provides support to participants through a variety of training and technical assistance, online resources and the PbS HelpDesk. Additionally, participants work with a PbS coach, a field expert who provides guidance and support to successfully implement PbS.

PbS asks participants to collect information from records, reports and interviews of youths, staff and families. The data undergoes a rigorous quality assurance process and is reported back to the participants as outcome measures that show change over time and individual participants’ performance compared to the average of the field of all participants. Working with PbS coaches, participants use the data to identify areas that need improvement and develop a detailed improvement plan. The plan is monitored in future data collections, adjusted as needed, until the desired improvement is achieved and sustained.