The prevention, processing, and rehabilitation of individuals between the ages of 10 and 24 has presented complex problems for the United States juvenile and criminal legal system. Research has revealed that evidence informed policies, practices, and programs can result in meaningful reforms to the legal system and, more importantly, limit the developmental impact of system involvement of adolescents (10-19 years old) and early adults (20-24 years old). Continuing research and training and technical assistance (TTA) in this area is substantively important to drive meaningful change to the legal system overall.
Working in partnership with practitioners, RTI’s juvenile legal system and developmental experts are dedicated to furthering this line of research, with input from youth and families, to address the immediate needs of the juvenile and criminal legal system. In addition to evaluating the effects of policies, practices, and programs, our experience includes guiding the implementation of new efforts to reform the juvenile and criminal legal system and provide training and technical assistance to juvenile justice stakeholders.
We evaluate the effects of policies, practices, and programs for adolescents and early adults, including research on:
effects of school-based delinquency prevention programs,
implementation of School Justice Partnerships,
validating assessment tools,
impacts and effects of implementing risk needs assessments and rehabilitation programs for adolescents,
and examining racial and ethnic disparities.
Our diverse expertise, including child psychology, criminology, sociology, organizational psychology, criminal justice, public policy and political science, and longstanding partnerships with communities, agencies, and court systems allow us to provide solutions that are responsive to the needs of practitioners working to support positive youth development and outcomes while promoting public safety.