OVERVIEW

Bringing a diverse group of responsible and impacted stakeholders together to envision a new system for youth justice may have its challenges. The group may not have worked together before, and some members may carry mistrust of others based on their roles and experiences with the system. Members will bring different experiences and understandings of the system, its effects, harms and challenges.

The preliminary work of gathering stakeholders to one table to develop a shared vision may therefore involve trust building, acknowledgment of harm and past exclusion, before all parties can work together to develop and implement a new vision. Investing in the cohesion of this group as a reform body with common goals and values is a worthy effort, as this group is essential to shaping and moving forward transformation. Both to develop the most informed vision possible, and for legitimacy and broad buy-in for the vision, it is critical that all stakeholders begin together with a voice in developing the vision, not leaving some to be consulted after the fact for approval. This effort will build the highest, most thorough vision, and support broad political will for its implementation.

Justice Parade for Incarcerated Youth organized by Performing Statistics and RISE For Youth. Photo by Mark Strandquist. For more artwork by youth, visit the digital gallery.

SELF-ASSESSMENT INDICATORS

Indicators
THAT PROGRESS
HAS BEEN MADE

Indicators that system leaders have made progress in developing a shared vision for youth justice transformation.

SELF-ASSESSMENT INDICATORS

INDICATORS THAT
PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE

Indicators that system leaders have made progress in developing a shared vision for youth justice transformation include:

System leaders have reached out to existing reform groups in the system and community to learn from their work, align efforts and build a coalition for transformation.

Leaders have joined with an existing group with a broad and authoritative mandate for change, or have organized a new, diverse and inclusive group of stakeholders impacted by the youth justice system to plan for transformation.

Leaders have centered racial justice and equity in transformation conversations, and have engaged impacted communities of color as key partners in reform.

Leaders have reached out and begun to develop working relationships with young people impacted by the youth justice system and their family members and/or organizations advocating for or representing these groups.

Leaders have developed a staff team to support the group planning for transformation, and/or have hired outside help to staff the effort; leaders have engaged facilitators to build trust and shepherd conversations among the reform group.

Leaders have worked with staff to generate data on current system operations and have demonstrated a willingness to share information about the system with their partners in transformation.

Leaders have engaged young people, families and community members to share stories of their experiences with the system, its challenges and harms with the reform group. Leaders and partners have reviewed values, principles and mission and vision statements from other jurisdictions and aligned groups as examples for a new system.

Leaders have worked with partners to draft a new vision statement, and have looked across the system to ensure that the new vision will be meaningful to daily practice.

Leaders are communicating a new vision to broad audiences for buy-in and support.

SELF-ASSESSMENT INDICATORS

Indicators
THAT ACTION
IS NEEDED

Indicators that more work is needed to develop a shared vision for youth justice transformation.

SELF-ASSESSMENT INDICATORS

INDICATORS THAT
ACTION IS NEEDED

Indicators that more work is needed to plan a shared vision for transformation include:

System leaders have remained fairly isolated in their work; they have not connected with other reform groups to understand or align transformation efforts.

Leaders have not explored the possibility of joining up with an existing youth justice transformation group, or made any effort to create a new one.

Leaders have not discussed or centered racial justice and equity in transformation conversations, or made efforts to engage impacted communities as partners in reform.

Leaders have not reached out to young people impacted by the youth justice system, their family members or organizations advocating for or representing these groups.

Leaders have developed no infrastructure for planning and implementing transformation, such as a diverse and skilled internal staff team or outside consultant group.

Leaders have not generated data on current system operations or demonstrated transparency with information about the existing system; leaders have not engaged impacted young people, families and communities to share their stories about the system.

Leaders and partners have not yet approached the development of new values, principles and mission and vision statements for the system; leaders have not considered how a new vision will translate into practice across the system.

Leaders have not reached out broadly to discuss and share a new vision for youth justice.

TAKE
ACTION.

These steps provide specific guidance for how to develop a shared vision for transformation, together with all of the stakeholders needed to inform and articulate that vision. All of these steps are central in youth justice system reform, and can be implemented concurrently.

DRAG | SWIPE

ACTION STEP

CREATE OR JOIN
A WORKGROUP OR TASKFORCE To
BUILD a SHARED vision.

Click to
flip card

CREATE OR JOIN
A WORKING GROUP OR TASKFORCE To
BUILD a SHARED vision.

Establishing a working group or task force, or joining an existing collaborative partnership, provides an organized forum to build shared understanding, develop a new vision, and work through different perspectives and interests in building a shared vision for transformation.

Click to
flip card

ACTION STEP

FOSTER a Shared Understanding
of THE NEED FOR
TRANSFORMATION.

Click to
flip card

FOSTER a Shared Understanding
of THE NEED FOR
TRANSFORMATION.

Share findings from recent assessments and invite members of the working group with direct system experience to share their experiences directly. This can be a useful and impactful way of highlighting how the system is or is not living up to the values and vision stated and how it can be transformed to do better.

Click to
flip card

ACTION STEP

build consensus on the values
& principles OF THE new vision.

Click to
flip card

Build consensus on the values & principles OF THE new vision.

To build consensus for a transformed system, review existing values, principles, mission and vision of the youth justice system. Review values, principles, and statements from advocates, youth, and families and communities and narrow the list down to the most essential values and principles.

Click to
flip card

ACTION STEP

ensure mission statements translate into meaningful action.

Click to
flip card

ensure mission statements translate into meaningful action.

Too often, vision and mission statements fail to translate into day-to-day practice as experienced by youth, families and communities across the system. Translate the vision into action steps and quantitative goals. Monitor implementation to hold the system accountable to its new vision.

Click to
flip card

ACTION STEP

Communicate
the Shared Vision to Audiences that are Needed to Support It.

Click to
flip card

Communicate
the Shared Vision to Audiences that are Needed to Support It.

It is necessary to spread this new vision, and gain buy-in for it, among a broader coalition of stakeholders. Share the new vision developed, communicate it to relevant audiences, and gain support.

Click to
flip card

TIPS & Case
Studies

Take a look at some notable examples of places working to develop a shared vision with all of the key stakeholders, and tips for who those stakeholders might be for your own system.

DRAG | SWIPE

Tip

Checklist: Stakeholders Relevant to Developing a New Vision for Youth Justice

Explore

Tip

Stakeholders Relevant to Developing a New Vision for Youth Justice

At a minimum, leaders should proactively engage the following individuals and groups in joining a new collaborative for youth justice transformation and developing a shared vision. A number of additional related groups and allies will be further relevant when building support for that vision.

Stakeholders to be included in a collaborative to develop a shared vision for youth justice include:

Young people who have been impacted by the system and their families, including victims of harm;

Leaders and residents of communities of color with high rates of system-involved young people;

Policy makers in the executive and legislative branches.

Law enforcement agencies.

Judges and other court personnel.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Probation officers.

Correctional administrators and staff.

Other public system agencies that intervene in the lives of young people and their families, including schools, child welfare agencies and mental health agencies.

Nongovernmental health and human service provider agencies and community-based organizations that accept referrals and provide services to youth.

Advocates, including organizations representing the interests of communities, diverse racial and ethnic groups, survivors of crime, youth and families.

Case Study

Examples of Mission and Vision Statements for a New Youth Justice System

Explore

Case Study

Examples of Mission and Vision Statements for a New Youth Justice System

Albuquerque Justice for Youth Community Collaborative

‍We aim to honor and strengthen community self-determination; reduce (and eventually eliminate) dependence on the juvenile justice system; and keep youth safe at home and supported by the capable hands of their own communities.

‍

‍
ImpactJustice‍

We are rooted in our cultural differences and seek diverse perspectives. We recognize that both historically and presently, certain communities are targeted and harmed by systemic oppression, discrimination, and prejudice. We work to ensure our strategies and actions promote diversity, equity, and justice, based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, religion, language, national origin, immigration status, system involvement, socioeconomic status, and the multitude of intersections thereof. ‍

‍

‍
Center for Children’s Law and Policy

We envision a world where the response to youth who get in trouble with the law is developmentally appropriate, free of racial and ethnic bias, and focused on building strengths that help youth avoid further involvement with the justice system.

‍

‍
No Kids in Prison

‍We seek to end youth imprisonment entirely by establishing a new national consensus against imprisonment of kids in favor of investments in community programs that can put kids on track to success. To achieve a tipping point, we are working to build a critical mass of states to make this shift away from incarceration and towards investing in youth in their communities.

Creating a Shared Vision
for Youth Justice

This discussion covers the importance of establishing a foundation for working together toward a new shared vision of youth justice.

Learn More about this Webinar →

WEBINAR

CENTERING YOUTH & FAMILIES

AIRED MARCH 23, 2022 @ 3PM EDT

This discussion covered both the why and the how of having the most impacted youth and families leading transformation.

PANELISTS

HERNAN CARVENTE MARTINEZ

National Youth Partnership Strategist,
Youth First Initiative

MODERATOR

XIUHTECUTLI SOTO

New Mexico Youth Justice Coalition

KATHY WRIGHT

Executive Director,
New Jersey Parents Caucus

TJ BOHL

Administrator,
Pierce County Juvenile Court

HIGHLIGHTS

Kathy Wright, Executive Director of New Jersey Parents Caucus, talks about the need to learn about the impact of the system directly from young people who experienced it and to trust them to lead if we are to create change.

Xiuhtecutli (Xiuy) Soto of the New Mexico Youth Justice Coalition speaks about how transforming youth justice begins with having patience with, providing support for, and relating to young people like him.

TJ Bohl, Administrator at Pierce County Juvenile Court, on some of the cultural obstacles inside the system to collaborating with communities, and the need for system leaders to overcome defensiveness to building a path forward together.

EXPLORE OTHER PANELS

WATCH WEBINAR

ALL WEBINARS

BROWSE
RESOURCES

Explore some useful resources for developing a shared vision of youth justice transformation.

EXPLORE MORE RESOURCEs

DRAG | SWIPE

Report

Annie E. Casey Foundation

Race equity and inclusion action guide

Report

Coalition for Juvenile Justice

Positive youth justice: Framing justice interventions using the concepts of positive youth development.

Report

Maine Center for Juvenile Policy and Law

Place Matters: Aligning Investments in a Community-Based Continuum of Care for Maine Youth Transitioning to Adulthood.

Journal Article

Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJDP)

Guide for implementing the balanced and restorative justice model

Report

Urban Institute

Promoting a new direction for youth justice: Strategies to fund a community-based continuum of care and opportunity

Journal Article

National Institute of Justice

Racial Justice & Equity

Racial Justice & Equity

Choose a journey to explore.

I'm a SYSTEMleader

SYSTEM LEADER

Creating a Shared Vision for Transformation

RACIAL JUSTICE & EQUITY

Centering Youth & Families

"Dream Boldly. Prioritize the Mission."

"Disruptive Leadership"

System Transformation through Community Leadership

Ted Talk: No Place for Kids

I'm a YOUTHleader

YOUTH LEADER

Centering Youth & Families

CREATING A SHARED VISION FOR TRANSFORMATION

Building Partnerships

"NO KIDS IN PRISON" DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

JUSTICE AMBASSADORS YOUTH COUNCIL: A CASE STUDY

I'm aN ADVOCATE

Advocate

Community Support for Youth & Families

Creating a Shared Vision for Transformation

CENTERING YOUTH & FAMILIES

"THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ALLIES & CO-CONSPIRATORS"

"THE INGREDIENTS OF SOCIAL COURAGE"

"BREAKING DOWN THE WALLS: LESSONS ON CLOSING YOUTH PRISONS"

I'm aN ELECTED OFFICIAL

ELECTED OFFICIAL

TRANSFORMING YOUTH JUSTICE

COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR YOUTH & FAMILIES

CREATING A SHARED VISION FOR TRANSFORMATION

The Future of Youth Justice: A Community-Based Alternative

Youth Incarceration in the United States

Aligning Investments in a Community-Based Continuum of Care

Can we eliminate the youth prison? What should replace it?

I'm a JOURNALIST

JOURNALIST

Transforming Youth Justice

Racial Justice & Equity

Why Youth Incarceration Failed

Breaking Down the Walls

Youth Incarceration in the United States

I'm FAMILY OR COMMUNITY

FAMILY & COMMUNITY OF IMPACTED YOUTH

Centering Youth & Families

Building Partnerships

Creating a Shared Vision

Just Shut It Down

Closing Youth Prisons

Creating a Shared Vision

Creating a Shared Vision

CREATING A SHARED VISION

OVERVIEW

KEY TAKEAWAYS

IMPACTED PEOPLE MUST BE EQUAL PARTNERS at the visioning and planning table.

Youth, families, & communities have valuable insight into developing a vision.

EngagE stakeholders To CLARIFY TENSIONS & DIFFERENCES AROUND PRIORITIES & VALUES.

Reach out TO GROUPS & UNLIKELY ALLIES SHARE & SPREAD THE NEW VISION.

Indicators THAT PROGRESSHAS BEEN MADE

INDICATORS THAT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE

Indicators that system leaders have made progress in developing a shared vision for youth justice transformation include:

System leaders have reached out to existing reform groups in the system and community to learn from their work, align efforts and build a coalition for transformation.

Leaders have joined with an existing group with a broad and authoritative mandate for change, or have organized a new, diverse and inclusive group of stakeholders impacted by the youth justice system to plan for transformation.

Leaders have centered racial justice and equity in transformation conversations, and have engaged impacted communities of color as key partners in reform.

Leaders have reached out and begun to develop working relationships with young people impacted by the youth justice system and their family members and/or organizations advocating for or representing these groups.

Leaders have developed a staff team to support the group planning for transformation, and/or have hired outside help to staff the effort; leaders have engaged facilitators to build trust and shepherd conversations among the reform group.

Leaders have worked with staff to generate data on current system operations and have demonstrated a willingness to share information about the system with their partners in transformation.

Leaders have worked with partners to draft a new vision statement, and have looked across the system to ensure that the new vision will be meaningful to daily practice.

Leaders are communicating a new vision to broad audiences for buy-in and support.

Indicators THAT ACTIONIS NEEDED

INDICATORS THAT ACTION IS NEEDED

Indicators that more work is needed to plan a shared vision for transformation include:

System leaders have remained fairly isolated in their work; they have not connected with other reform groups to understand or align transformation efforts.

Leaders have not explored the possibility of joining up with an existing youth justice transformation group, or made any effort to create a new one.

Leaders have not discussed or centered racial justice and equity in transformation conversations, or made efforts to engage impacted communities as partners in reform.

Leaders have not reached out to young people impacted by the youth justice system, their family members or organizations advocating for or representing these groups.

Leaders have developed no infrastructure for planning and implementing transformation, such as a diverse and skilled internal staff team or outside consultant group.

Leaders have not generated data on current system operations or demonstrated transparency with information about the existing system; leaders have not engaged impacted young people, families and communities to share their stories about the system.

Leaders and partners have not yet approached the development of new values, principles and mission and vision statements for the system; leaders have not considered how a new vision will translate into practice across the system.

I'm a
SYSTEM
leader

I'm a
YOUTH
leader

I'm aN
ADVOCATE

I'm aN
ELECTED
OFFICIAL

I'm a
JOURNALIST

I'm
FAMILY OR
COMMUNITY

CREATING
A SHARED VISION

Youth, families,
& communities have valuable insight into developing a vision.

EngagE stakeholders
To CLARIFY TENSIONS
& DIFFERENCES AROUND
PRIORITIES & VALUES.

Reach out TO GROUPS & UNLIKELY ALLIES SHARE
& SPREAD THE NEW VISION.

Indicators
THAT PROGRESS
HAS BEEN MADE

INDICATORS THAT
PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE

Indicators
THAT ACTION
IS NEEDED

INDICATORS THAT
ACTION IS NEEDED

TAKE
ACTION.

CREATE OR JOIN
A WORKGROUP OR TASKFORCE To
BUILD a SHARED vision.

CREATE OR JOIN
A WORKING GROUP OR TASKFORCE To
BUILD a SHARED vision.

FOSTER a Shared Understanding
of THE NEED FOR
TRANSFORMATION.

FOSTER a Shared Understanding
of THE NEED FOR
TRANSFORMATION.

build consensus on the values
& principles OF THE new vision.

Communicate
the Shared Vision to Audiences that are Needed to Support It.

Communicate
the Shared Vision to Audiences that are Needed to Support It.

TIPS & Case
Studies

‍
ImpactJustice‍

‍
Center for Children’s Law and Policy

‍
No Kids in Prison

WATCH
WEBINAR

Creating a Shared Vision
for Youth Justice

BROWSE
RESOURCES

HOW MUCH DO
YOU KNOW?

TAKE ON
THE CHALLENGE.