EDORA • Learn

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

This section identifies major youth service providers or programs in each state, especially those covering juvenile justice and related domains.

Arkansas Building Futures (ABF) Diversion – Domain: Juvenile Justice diversion; Target: first-time nonviolent offenders statewide.

Serious offender diversion for rural West Texas youth at risk of state commitment (TJJD).

Domain: Juvenile Justice; Target: youth 13–17 with serious offenses, alternative to secure placement.

In-home family therapy for youth at risk of placement or returning from custody; strong crossover relevance (child welfare & justice).

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

Using our composite Youth At-Risk Index (YARI+) which weights all the above domain metrics, we identify the five “most troubled” counties in Arkansas (out of 75) for recent years (with a recency bias to 2019–2025 data).

Entry point for EDORA’s dashboards — detention trends, diversion outcomes, reentry success, and the pipelines index.

• Links to all interactive dashboards
• Notes on data vintage and refresh cadence

Admissions, average length of stay (ALOS), 24–48 hour timeliness, and equity views since 2015.

• Admissions & ALOS over time
• Timeliness of initial hearings (24–48 hr)
• Equity cuts by race/ethnicity & rurality

Access, initiation, completion, improvement, and short follow-up (30/90/180/365 days).

• Eligibility & access by group
• Initiation, completion, improvement
• Recurrence at 30/90/180/365 days

School persistence, MH/SUD follow-through, and housing proxies after release.

• Re-enrollment timing & persistence
• MH/SUD service starts & completion
• Housing stability proxies (e.g., McKinney–Vento)

Composite comparisons across pipeline stages, with YARI+ overlays and state-by-state contrasts.

• Stage-by-stage pipeline comparison
• Justice Index composite & YARI+ overlay
• State and regional benchmarking

Field-tested interventions with short outcome reads and implementation notes: community diversion, reentry coaching, and therapeutic group homes.

• Clear logic models and referral flows
• Cohort snapshots and short follow-up outcomes
• Implementation fidelity & equity checks

Community-based diversion models for first-time or low–moderate-risk youth; rapid engagement and short-course programming.

Coach-style aftercare supporting youth returning from placement; school continuity, MH/SUD follow-through, and short-term stabilization.

Small, therapeutic residential settings as alternatives to larger facilities—with step-down and aftercare planning.

Juvenile Justice (2015–2025)

Suspensions & Expulsions: Arkansas public schools historically reported high rates of exclusionary discipline, but these have trended downward.

Arkansas historically has one of the highest teen birth rates in the nation.

Prevalence of Need: Arkansas youth report relatively high rates of substance use and mental health challenges.

Foster Care Entries & Population (Ages 12–17): Arkansas’ foster care system has had high entry rates.

30/60/90-day permanency: The state’s Permanency Roundtables and older-youth permanency units focus on finding permanent family connections for teens in care.

Gang Involvement: Reliable data on youth gang involvement in Arkansas is limited.

Arkansas and its neighbors have implemented supplemental support programs to re-engage at-risk youth.

Juvenile Justice (2015–2025)

State secure facilities (TJJD) – high security for serious offenders (5 facilities, including specialized units for capital offenders, girls, etc.).

• TJJD state secure facilities
• County post-adjudication placements
• Contracted residential programs
• Parole/aftercare typically ~6–9 months

Suspensions/Expulsions: Texas, being large, has varied practices.

Teen Birth Rates: Texas’s teen birth rate (15–19) was 34 per 1,000 in 2015 and dropped to 22.4 per 1,000 by 2020 (KFF, CDC data).

Prevalence: In Texas, about 9.1% of adolescents (2019) used illicit drugs monthly (close to AR’s 9.3%).

Foster Care: Texas has the largest foster care system among these states.

Gangs: Texas has a significant gang presence (estimated 100,000 gang members statewide).

Texas has numerous programs across its 254 counties.

Missouri DYS Therapeutic Model – Domain: Juvenile Incarceration; Target: all committed youth.

Youth Villages Intercept® – Domain: Child Welfare & Justice (in-home family therapy); Target: youth at risk of placement or coming home from custody (many crossover cases).

Louisiana Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) – Domain: Detention; Target: multiple parishes.

Structured data tables (TSV) for: (1) County-Year Panel, (2) State JJ Pipeline fields, (3) Provider Directory, (4) Program Outcomes.

Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) plus selected evaluations/audits and policy materials.

How cases are resolved and dispositions are set across the region: due process, timelines, counsel, and disposition options.

• Hearing timelines, right to counsel, and continuances
• Plea vs. trial patterns and use of advisement/colloquy
• Disposition options: probation, restitution, treatment, commitment
• Data handoffs to placement/aftercare and education re-entry
• Equity checks: race, disability, rural vs. urban differences

Policy playbooks, talk tracks, and data-backed briefs to support youth justice reform across the 7-state region.

• One-pager briefs with citations
• Talking points by audience (legislators, media, community)
• Policy timelines and bill trackers
• Downloadable charts and quick facts
• Testimony & media templates

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

• Commitment thresholds & judicial discretion
• Placement types: state secure, county post-adjudication, contracted residential
• Length of stay & step-down planning
• Education continuity & healthcare handoffs
• Parole/aftercare structures and timelines

Canonical schemas and field conventions for EDORA’s data: county-year panel, pipelines, providers, and outcome snapshots.

• Stable field names and types
• Normalization and pooling rules
• Small-n handling and flags
• Versioning and provenance
• Links to TSV appendix and samples

Decision points, screening practices, alternatives to detention, hearing timelines, length of stay, and equity/compliance checks across the region.

• Risk screening at intake (criteria vs. overrides)
• 24–48 hour hearings & right to counsel
• Alternatives portfolio: ERC/day/electronic monitoring/respite
• Length of stay (ALOS), case processing bottlenecks
• Equity: race/disability/rural disparities and compliance

Alternatives to formal processing that resolve presenting issues early: eligibility, screening, program models, outcomes, and equity checks.

• Eligibility & risk/needs screening at intake
• Rapid engagement and short-course programming
• Models: community diversion, credible-messenger mentoring, restorative practices
• Outcome tracking at 30/90/180/365 days
• Equity: access and results by race/disability/rurality

Keeping school on track through court involvement, placement, and return: exclusionary discipline, re-enrollment, credit transfer, alternative education, and McKinney–Vento supports.

• School exclusion patterns and disparities (suspensions/expulsions)
• Re-enrollment timelines and credit transfer after placement
• IEP/504 continuity and records handoffs
• McKinney–Vento identification and supports at reentry
• Short-run outcomes: attendance, credits, persistence at 30/90/180 days

Family health context shaping youth trajectories: teen pregnancy & parenting supports, Medicaid/EPSDT access, home visiting, and childcare.

• Teen pregnancy & parenting trends (15–19) and supports
• EPSDT/Medicaid continuity during supervision and aftercare
• Home visiting, case management, and maternal–child health linkages
• Childcare access, transportation, and benefit coordination (WIC/SNAP)
• School re-engagement options for young parents (alt-ed, credit recovery)

Screening, referral, crisis response, and continuity of behavioral health care for justice-involved youth across the 7-state region.

• Intake screening and triage (validated tools; documentation of overrides)
• Referral → access → completion (wait times, provider availability, telehealth)
• Crisis response (mobile crisis, short-stay stabilization, ER diversion)
• Continuity across detention/placement and reentry (meds, therapy, records)
• Equity checks by race/ethnicity, disability, rural vs. urban

How EDORA builds its numbers: data vintages, normalization, small-n pooling, equity disaggregation, series breaks, index construction (YARI+), and outcome measurement.

• Data vintages & provenance (2015–2025)
• Normalization & denominators
• Small-n pooling and flags
• Disaggregation & equity checks
• Series breaks & comparability

Mentoring, re-engagement, CTE, work-based learning, apprenticeships, and first-job pipelines that reconnect at-risk youth.

• Re-engagement in school (alt-ed, GED/HiSET, credit recovery)
• CTE pathways, industry credentials, and WBL internships
• Pre-apprenticeship → Registered Apprenticeship ladders
• Employer partnerships and supportive first-job programs
• Short-run outcomes (30/90/180 days): enrollment, credentials, employment

Measuring and reducing racial/ethnic disparities across the juvenile pipeline: referrals, detention, diversion access, adjudication, placement, and reentry outcomes.

• RED/DMC diagnostics: rate ratios, risk differences, and equity flags
• Access & completion gaps for diversion, MH/SUD, and alternatives
• Detention & ALOS differences; case-processing timeliness
• Placement type mix and step-down disparities
• Reentry stability: school persistence and service follow-through

From facility door to full return: education re-enrollment, MH/SUD continuity, housing stability, IDs/benefits, supervision (parole/aftercare), and short-run outcomes.

• Pre-release planning and packets (education, MH/SUD, meds, IDs)
• First 72 hours: school, appointments, transportation, safety plan
• Supervision models: parole vs. coaching/case management
• Housing stability and McKinney–Vento coordination
• Outcome checks at 30/90/180/365 days

How geography shapes youth justice: access to diversion and services, detention use and ALOS, provider availability, transportation, telehealth, and school re-engagement.

• Access gaps for diversion, MH/SUD, and alternatives by rurality
• Detention admissions & ALOS patterns; case processing timeliness
• Provider availability (MH/SUD, mentoring) and travel time
• Telehealth coverage, broadband constraints, and workarounds
• School re-enrollment timelines and McKinney–Vento supports

How youth are screened and triaged at intake: risk/needs, behavioral health (MH/SUD), trafficking risk, suicide risk, and referral pathways—with documentation of overrides and equity audits.

• Validated intake screens and workflows
• Risk/needs vs. service-need triage (don’t mix the two)
• Override rules and audit trails
• Referral completion and feedback loops
• Equity checks and false positive/negative monitoring

Citations and document collections behind EDORA Learn: state reports, court admin data, OJJDP, HUD AHAR, CDC/KFF, SAMHSA, provider evaluations, and audits.

• State agency annual reports and court administrative data
• Federal portals: OJJDP, HUD AHAR, CDC/KFF, SAMHSA
• Education discipline and re-enrollment materials
• Child welfare and housing datasets (AFCARS, NLIHC proxies)
• Program evaluations, audits, and legislative records

Juvenile Justice (2015–2025)

Juvenile Justice (2015–2025)

Juvenile Justice (2015–2025)

A practical map of juvenile codes and policies across the 7-state region—detention criteria, screening rules, counsel/timeliness, disposition options, sealing/expungement, and reentry provisions.

• Detention decision standards, risk screening rules, and override documentation
• Right to counsel and hearing timelines (24–48 hr) at critical stages
• Disposition menus, commitment thresholds, and least-restrictive standard
• Sealing/expungement and fines/fees reforms
• Room confinement limits, education continuity, and reentry planning requirements

7-state juvenile justice briefs with pipeline snapshots, policy notes, and data handoffs.

• Pipeline overview (intake → reentry)
• Key policies & decision rules
• Data handoff points and gaps
• Related providers/programs