Advocacy

1Each state’s juvenile justice system process, from intake to closure, is summarized below, along with policy references and data handoff points.

1The earliest off-ramps: cite-and-release, stationhouse adjustments, informal adjustment, and school/community deflection options before a petition is filed.

1How community-based programs operate as alternatives to detention, including eligibility, capacity, performance, and outcome tracking.

1What occurs at the first appearance after intake/detention: notice, appointment of counsel, detention review, timeliness, and early case-setting outcomes.

1Ensuring youth have uninterrupted legal advocacy from initial hearing through disposition, placement reviews, reentry planning, and case closure.

1Where conferencing and victim services fit in the pipeline: participation, agreements, restitution, and post-agreement follow-up.

1How contracted community programs provide non-custodial supervision, skill-building, and restorative supports for justice-involved youth.

1Examines intensive community supervision models for higher-risk youth, including contact standards, graduated response frameworks, and dosage evaluation.

1Explains how youth supervision and service programs define, document, and verify completion or early termination, including equity and consistency checks.

1How agencies respond to youth supervision or program violations—technical and new-law—and how revocation decisions are measured for proportionality and equity.

1When and where youth are committed: thresholds, placement types (secure, staff-secure, group homes), step-down pathways, and parole/aftercare links.

1How youth transition from residential placement back to community supervision, education, and services, with emphasis on handoffs and continuity of care.

1How reentry plans are developed before release from placement or supervision, with benchmarks for education, housing, and employment readiness.

1Explains how youth outcomes are tracked after system exit—across education, employment, and recidivism measures—using linked administrative data and stable cohort design.

1The learning loop: turning data, audits, and stakeholder input into practice fixes and policy updates across detention, hearings, services, and reentry.

1How youth are connected to jobs, apprenticeships, and workforce services during probation, reentry, or after case closure—and how participation and outcomes are measured.

1How policy playbooks, talking points, and data-backed briefs drive youth justice reform.

1How prosecutors decide which youth cases move forward—and how consistency and equity define that gatekeeping power.

1Local mentoring movements showing measurable drops in recidivism and violence.

1How mentoring and reengagement programs rebuild youth connection and purpose.

1Why connecting education and juvenile-justice records is the next frontier for prevention and accountability.

1Outlines principles for ethical data integration across youth-serving systems, including governance frameworks, consent models, and accountability structures.

1Why clean, open data matters for youth justice and policy accountability.

1How interagency data trusts are redefining collaboration across child-serving systems.

1How to use visual data and evidence to make a persuasive advocacy case.

1Understanding what 'wraparound' really means when measured against real data.

1How family participation and youth input reshape juvenile justice planning, oversight, and accountability.

1How parent and caregiver participation is reshaping youth-justice reform agendas.

1Turning assessment results into tailored plans that track goals, dosage, and real outcomes.

1How hearing delays and repeated continuances affect youth outcomes and case integrity across the Mid-South.

1Tracking youth success beyond discharge—what multi-year data say about diversion’s real impact.

1Detention reform technical assistance for Mississippi jurisdictions: risk-based decisions and alternatives to detention.

1Designing fair, minimal release conditions that promote safety, appearance, and success before adjudication.

1New transparency tools revealing where disparities persist—and what’s changing.

1Explains how live data feeds, incremental updates, and version control systems maintain accuracy, transparency, and reproducibility in evolving datasets.

1Understanding reoffending, aftercare, and what helps youth stay out of the system.

1How states are opening their datasets and annual reports to rebuild trust and drive reform.

1Using proportionate, structured responses to violations that maintain accountability without harm.

1Plain-language map of key juvenile codes and reforms across detention, hearings, and reentry.

1Why teen birth rates remain high and how supports improve family outcomes.

1Covers design principles for communicating quantitative information clearly and ethically: choosing chart types, managing scale, and writing truthful narratives around data.

1The hidden populations falling between foster, shelter, and justice systems, and how states are fixing the count.