NCJ Number
250801
Date Published
May 2017
Length
46 pages
Annotation
This report presents an overview of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP's) Juvenile Justice Reform and Reinvestment Initiative (JJRRI) and its implementation components at the three JJRRI demonstration sites, including progress, challenges, and the sustainability of reforms.
Abstract
OJJDP launched the JJRRI at the end of 2012 in three demonstration sites in Delaware, Iowa, and Milwaukee County, WI. JJRRI's goal was to bring evidence-based and best practices to bear on juvenile justice operations. This was done through empirically based risk and needs assessment, the development of dispositional matrices that provide evidence-based recommendations concerning dispositional options, and the implementation of the Standardized Program Evaluation Protocol (SPEP) rating system to assess and guide improvements in the programs delivered to juvenile justice youth. Overall, these tools are intended to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of juvenile justice resources. This report reviews the implementation of JJRRI in each of the three demonstration sites. The report's general conclusion is that although the JJRRI has taken longer to implement than anticipated, the use of the mandated tools apparently has potential to harness the research evidence needed to improve juvenile justice practice and effectiveness, to identify deficiencies and guide improvements, and to use evaluation evidence in maintaining stakeholder support. 6 references and appended draft dispositional matrices for each demonstration site