Social scientist Robert Martinson famously concluded in 1974 that “nothing works” to change the behavior of people encountering the justice system. Fortunately, we’ve come a long way since then.
Policymakers and system stakeholders now have an ever-growing set of policies, practices and programs that help youth in trouble with the law change their behavior and make communities safer. And far-sighted policymakers have invested heavily in evidence-based practices in a number of states. Examples include Connecticut and Nebraska (where advocates like the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance and Voices for Children in Nebraska, along with their allies, played a role in the adoption of evidence-based practices). That sort of success is something to celebrate.
But there’s a lot more to do to advance the spread of evidence-based practices. For this reason, next week, the Juvenile Justice Resource Hub will publish a new section devoted to evidence-based practices, drafted and curated by the National Juvenile Justice Network.
[For more of this story, written by Benjamin Chambers, go to http://jjie.org/the-skinny-on-...ed-practices/107405/]
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