Positive Youth Justice Initiative Reveals First Year of Success [Center for Health Program Management]

Sierra Health Foundation announced the results of the first year evaluation of the Positive Youth Justice Initiative (PYJI). In 2013, Alameda County Probation Department, San Diego County Probation Department, San Joaquin County Probation Department and Vallejo City Unified School District in Solano County each received $400,000 to test a series of reforms designed to transform juvenile justice into a more just, effective system and improve the lives of the youth they engage.

Leading the way in a national movement toward more developmentally appropriate juvenile
justice systems, PYJI is spurring a major shift in California’s juvenile justice practice and policy.
The initiative focuses initially on crossover youth, those with histories of neglect, abuse, trauma
and involvement in the child welfare system and who currently are involved with their county’s
juvenile justice system. According to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s 2011 report, Young
Adult Outcomes of Youth Exiting Dependent or Delinquent Care in Los Angeles County,
crossover youth are more likely to be heavy users of public services, to experience a jail stay and
91% less likely to have high educational attainment.

“The Positive Youth Justice Initiative integrates an approach that invests in youth, treats trauma,
provides wraparound service delivery and codifies this method through systems changes,” said
Chet Hewitt, Sierra Health Foundation’s President and CEO. “PYJI is built on the premise that
when young people engaged in juvenile justice systems return to a healthy developmental path,
our communities gain productive citizens and as a result are far safer. As a foundation that
launched this initiative three years ago for a specific population, we are encouraged to see the
broader acceptance and nationwide discussion to advance developmentally appropriate juvenile
justice practice for all system-engaged youth.”

The evaluation, conducted by Resource Development Associates, indicates that PYJI county
leaders and their partners are supporting the kinds of changes in policies and practices needed to
improve the efficacy of juvenile justice systems. At the same time, the evaluation notes that
ongoing work will be needed to bring about the vision of the initiative. Specific findings
include:

 All counties have made improvements in their ability to collect data on crossover youth

 All counties have planned or implemented training to educators, probation and other
providers to foster healthy development rather than punitive sanctions and confinement

 All counties have modified referral processes and some have increased “warm handoffs”
between the multiple agencies involved in these young people’s lives

 Some counties have expanded access to wraparound services for crossover youth

PYJI is a Sierra Health Foundation initiative managed by the Center for Health Program
Management, with additional funding from The California Endowment and The California
Wellness Foundation. The full first year evaluation report can be found here. More information
about PYJI can be found here.