Our Work

The Center for Youth Justice currently works with jurisdictions nationwide to help them better translate knowledge on “what works” into everyday practice and policy. The Center provides on-and off-site training, networking opportunities, webinars and more to help state and local agencies develop and implement system improvement efforts.

Learn more about our current and past initiatives.

Data & Evaluation Services

At the Center for Youth Justice at Georgetown University, we bring a rigorous, data-driven approach to improving outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Our team has experience in program evaluation, data analysis, and research that informs policy and practice.

Through our expertise, we help jurisdictions and organizations harness the power of data to drive decision-making and enhance service delivery. Whether it’s conducting process evaluations, assessing program effectiveness, or developing data-driven solutions, we collaborate with partners to generate meaningful insights that lead to real-world impact.

The TTA Center for State Compliance with the R/ED Core Requirement

We are delighted to announce that, with the support of OJJDP, the Center for Youth Justice and our partners at the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ), have launched the The TTA Center for State Compliance with the R/ED Core Requirement.  This collaboration leverages the collective strengths of each partner. This includes strengthening state and territory level compliance, developing and implementing comprehensive technical assistance, increasing the knowledge base of practitioners, and meaningfully partnering with youth and families. 

Addressing Commercial Sexual Exploitation

The Center for Youth Justice is hosting a new webinar series titled “Addressing Commercial Sexual Exploitation: A Framework for the Youth Legal System.” Youth experiencing commercial sexual exploitation, or sex trafficking, continue to interface with our public systems – youth justice, child welfare, and beyond. Led by an expert team of researchers, practitioners, policy managers, and advocates, this webinar series will provide an overview of what commercial sexual exploitation is, what it looks like, and common misconceptions. Then, our expert team of collaborators and presenters will share examples from professional and lived experience of specific system-level policies and on-the-ground practices that can be used to better identify and support youth experiencing commercial sexual exploitation.

Juvenile Justice Leadership Network

In partnership with the Council of Juvenile Justice Administrators and the Public Welfare Foundation, CYJ hosts a Juvenile Justice Leadership Network designed to provide public juvenile justice agency leaders a convenient and comfortable “place” to have open and honest dialogues on juvenile justice reform issues. This collaboration facilitates the convening on an informal basis of a small group of progressive and innovative public agency juvenile justice probation and correctional leaders at the state and local levels, to discuss their work in a safe environment, one that allows them to discuss their successes, failures and ongoing challenges.