Reentry

Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Very little has changed for young people when they leave juvenile justice facilities. They return to their communities to face the same disadvantages, discrimination and barriers that they struggled with previously, and which likely resulted in their system involvement: unstable living situations, difficulties with school, poverty and lack of access to the basic necessities needed for healthy adolescent development. Their situation becomes more challenging when they leave because their involvement with juvenile justice makes it even harder for them to get back into school, get hired for a job, enlist in the military or be eligible for public housing.

In Performance-based Standards’ (PbS) latest brief, Understanding What Makes Justice-Involved Youths Prepared and Ready for Reentry, Executive Director Kim Godfrey describes the significance of collecting perception data from youths about their preparedness for reentry in addition to existing administrative data about services offered. The brief also describes the recently laun ...