Center for Health Program Management Announces Implementation of $4.5 Million Initiative to Transform California’s Juvenile Justice Systems

The Center for Health Program Management, and funding partners Sierra Health Foundation, The California Endowment and The California Wellness Foundation, announced that $1.6 million in grant funding has been awarded to four counties to implement an innovative approach to juvenile justice reform known as the Positive Youth Justice Initiative. 

Alameda County Probation Department, San Diego County Probation Department, San Joaquin County Probation Department and Vallejo City Unified School District in Solano County were each awarded $400,000 for a two-year period to test a series of reforms designed to transform juvenile justice into a more just, effective system and drastically improve the lives of the youth they engage across California.  To date, $4.5 million has been invested in the Positive Youth Justice Initiative.

…..The Positive Youth Justice Initiative provides funding and technical support to counties to integrate and implement the initiative’s approach made up of four elements:

•         Investment in Youth:  To ensure that youth can make a healthy transition to adulthood, PYJI counties are investing in youth health, social and educational development, including providing them with mentorship and career development opportunities.

•         Treatment of Trauma:  The initiative also supports the training of key county staff to identify and treat the root causes that have led a young person astray, including childhood exposure to violence, neglect and abuse.

•         Systems Changes: With technical support from national experts, counties are changing local juvenile justice policies and practices, to help sustain long-term improvements.

•         Wraparound Services:  Grantees are forming unprecedented partnerships among the many agencies and people who touch the lives of juvenile justice-involved youth, such as probation, child welfare and other public departments, local nonprofits and school districts, which help provide young people and their families with individualized and comprehensive care.

http://www.shfcenter.org/positive-youth-justice-initiative