Newly Released: Desktop Guide to Good Juvenile Probation Practice

Facebook Twitter More...

Last month the Annie E. Casey Foundation, in collaboration with the National Center for Juvenile Justice, debuted an updated and electronic version of the Desktop Guide to Good Juvenile Probation Practice. The online Guide includes a new vision for the future of juvenile probation; a timeline of the history of juvenile probation; a resource library on transformed juvenile probation practices; and a set of modules on topics including Equity in practice, Limiting system involvement, Case management, Effective responses, Role of detention, and Organizational culture and development. The Desktop Guide to Good Probation is comprehensive and can provide juvenile probation departments with information on everything from cultivating ideal office culture to response suggestions for realistic model scenarios.

Probation practices affect thousands of youths in America each year. In 2018, more than 260,000 delinquency cases resulted in probation. As with all steps in the juvenile justice system, Black and other youths of color are disproportionately represented in this data. The magnitude of the reach of probation programs necessitates effective, appropriate, and research-based practices to ensure the best results for our youth. Additionally, probation departments have a duty to reduce the racial and ethnic disparities present in their systems. As we work toward making probation a universally-successful alternative to juvenile detention, we will be able to divert more youths away from harmful incarceration in juvenile facilities.

Sources:

"Desktop Guide to Good Juvenile Probation Practice.” GJPP, NCJFCJ & NCJJ, June 2020, www.goodjuvenileprobationpractice.org/.

Holman, Barry, and Jason Ziedenberg. “The Dangers of Detention: The Impact of Incarcerating Youth in Detention and Other Secure Facilities.” Justice Policy Institute, http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/06-11_rep_dangersofdetention_jj.pdf.