NCJ Number
242947
Date Published
2012
Length
50 pages
Annotation
This report from the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University describes juvenile justice reform efforts in Ohio.
Abstract
In December 2010, two members of Ohio's State Supreme Court convened a group of stakeholders interested in developing and implementing effective juvenile justice reform efforts in the State. These meetings led to the development of policies that were included in the State's next legislative session. This report describes those meetings, the model developed as a result of the meetings, and key elements of the reform efforts. Participants at the meetings included a broad coalition of organizations: the Center for Innovative Practices, the Children's Law Center, Inc., the George Gund Foundation, the Juvenile Justice Coalition, and the Office of the Ohio Public Defender. Through these meetings, a policy change model was developed that involves several key elements: leveraging the current policy window to create an opportunity for reform, defining juvenile justice as a compelling social problem, setting a research-informed policy agenda and framing solutions, strategically aligning existing areas of influence with a core campaign team, and adopting policy change through legislation. In addition to detailed descriptions of the elements of the policy change model, this report presents 10 principles and implications for future policy reform efforts. These include assessing political feasibility and leveraging the policy window in the current political landscape; capitalizing on prior achievements and activities of policy entrepreneurs to build on available resources, relationships and lessons learned from related work; assembling and maximizing the use of credible research and data to both illustrate the social problem a policy seeks to address and to present potential policy solutions; ensuring a shared commitment to child well-being and public policy informed by accepted principles of child and adolescent development; and crafting a clear policy agenda consistent with an organizing framework that speaks to the concerns of policymakers, stakeholders and the public. Endnotes, sources, and appendixes