Put Data to Work for You
PbS is a data-driven continuous improvement process for juvenile justice facilities, community residential programs and reentry services to improve conditions and quality of life in our nation’s juvenile facilities. We offer research-based standards and performance measures that focus on:
Making Facilities Safe
Public safety and the safety of the youths, staff and visitors is the primary responsibility of confinement facilities. PbS standards and performance data focus on management practices that promote safety and wellbeing and minimize the risks of harm.
Monitoring Program Effectiveness
The challenge for youth facility leaders is to provide programming and services that both keep youths engaged and out of trouble and puts them on the path to becoming productive, purposeful citizens. PbS standards and performance measures focus on education and employment opportunities, health and behavioral health services and building life skills and competencies.
Achieving Positive Outcomes
Time in custody can and should be a catchment opportunity to help youths prepare to return to living with their families and community. PbS standards and performance measures focus on what research has shown are the most likely outcomes to prevent reoffending and give youths a meaningful second chance when they leave.
See it in action
Success Stories
Watch to see how facilities nationwide use PbS to measure and drive continuous improvement in their operations each day.
REDUCE REOFFENDING
Making Reentry Successful
Young people leaving the care and supervision of juvenile justice agencies need to be prepared and ready to become purposeful, productive citizens. PbS offers a framework and tools that jurisdictions can use to develop research-based reentry systems and measure positive youth outcomes.
It is truly amazing the culture change that PbS has fostered at our facility. As you know, PbS is a big endeavor but oh my is it ever worth it!
Connecting Juvenile Justice Professionals
Growing Community
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Publications
Get the latest news on the data
Data Snapshot - Perspectives on Reentry During the Pandemic
PbS looked at more than 6,000 surveys between April 2020 and October 2021 to understand the impact of COVID-19 on young people leaving residential care and rejoining communities. In this PbS Data Snapshot, we share Youth Reentry Survey responses to some of the questions and issues posed by the pandemic.
Data Snapshot: Responding to the Pandemic - Testing Prevalence and Outcomes in 2021
The pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus and its variants continues to dominate public discussions and exacerbate already difficult situations in neighborhoods, schools, places of work and of worship and in homes and institutions. Because of the nature of the virus and the reality of asymptomatic infections, it is impossible to know the exact number of positive cases that occur within these various contexts. Widespread testing, however, has proven to be the most useful tool for shedding light on the prevalence of the virus and the effectiveness of interventions.
Data Snapshot - Use of Restraints and Staff-Youth Relationships
There were some positive changes during the pandemic that we want to learn more about: There were fewer uses of restraints in facilities and more youths reported positively about their relationships with the staff.
Data Snapshot - Responding to the Pandemic: Fewer Youths in Custody
In April 2021, the average daily population in detention centers and correction facilities continued to decline slightly and remained below pre-pandemic numbers. Policy changes to admission, transfers and releasing youths may have contributed to fewer youths in custody.