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
Join a national network of professionals sharing information, tools and approaches to provide the highest quality of life and services.
Publications
Get the latest news on the data
Research Brief: Family visitation, behavioral incidents, and staff safety: What changed in the COVID-19 era?
This brief looks at family visitation, staff safety, and behavioral incidents before (April 2019) and after (April 2021) the start of the pandemic. There are two aims: 1) to assess if facility-level family visits, staff perceptions of safety, and behavioral incidents post-pandemic significantly differ from pre-pandemic expected levels, and 2) to assess the relationship between family visits and behavioral incidents as well as the relationship between behavioral incidents and staff safety.
Data Snapshot: What Young People Say Matters
Contributing to the national vision of reentry success, PbS analyzed the survey responses of more than 1,100 young people exiting secure facilities, community residential programs and community supervision between November 2021 and April 2022. This snapshot shares the perceptions of young people regarding their preparedness and readiness for reentry.
Data Snapshot: What We Know about Length of Stay in Secure Facilities
To add to nationwide efforts to reduce confinement, PbS looked at more than 2,000 records of young people exiting secure correction and detention facilities between November 2021 and April 2022. In this PbS Data Snapshot, we share Youth Record data to describe the characteristics of young people and committing offenses according to length of stay.
Strategies for Staff Recruitment and Retention
More than 70 juvenile justice professionals from across the country gathered for a session at the 2022 PbS Agency Coordinators Training and described their challenges like the strain of having too few staff and employee burnout. They talked about the demanding jobs, inadequate pay, lack of respect, and difficulties recruiting and retaining individuals who want to help young people. They share their strategies and welcome additional creative and innovative solutions to the current staff shortages.