Applying the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges’ resolution to juvenile probation reform.

Abstract

In 2017, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) passed a resolution advocating for empirically supported juvenile probation reform nationwide. Here, we review the adolescent development and behavioral decision-making research underlying the principles enumerated in the NCJFCJ resolution and describe several of its critical elements. Then, to provide guidance to jurisdictions seeking to revise local policy and practice, we suggest a series of steps that would help juvenile justice professionals translate NCJFCJ resolution principles into innovative probation reform. Finally, we describe how two jurisdictions—Pierce County, Washington and Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania—have engaged in ongoing juvenile probation reform efforts to provide real-world models of how this translational work can be carried out successfully. What is the significance of this article for the general public?—In 2017, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges passed a resolution advocating for nationwide juvenile probation reform; the resolution was developed to align with findings from adolescent development and behavioral decision-making research. This article reviews the research underlying the principles of the resolution and provides step-by-step guidance to jurisdictions seeking to make such changes to local juvenile probation policy and practice. It also highlights the ongoing juvenile probation reform efforts in Pierce County, WA and Philadelphia County, PA to provide examples of two counties currently carrying out this translational work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)