Juvenile court judges are the most important public figures in the juvenile justice system–their decisions impact whether hundreds of thousands of youth each year become court involved and for how long, whether they are involuntarily removed from their homes and communities, and the services they receive. Despite the importance of these judges, states and locales have generally not assessed whether and how the structure, roles, and operations of their juvenile courts support or hinder public safety and positive youth outcomes.
To support improved practice, the Council of State Governments Justice Center, in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, conducted an analysis of how juvenile courts are structured and operate in all 50 states. The resulting report, Courting Judicial Excellence in Juvenile Justice, highlights key recommendations to improve juvenile court policy and practice and includes examples of best practices across the country. Key recommendations include:
An accompanying tool, which highlights key juvenile court metrics, can be found at the Juvenile Justice GPS. Additionally, NCJFCJ passed a resolution on the importance of juvenile court specialization which can be found here.
December 1, 2021
Twelve courts from around the country have completed a six-month pilot as part of LaGratta Consulting’s Court Voices Project, where they asked both court staff and court users for their feedback on courts’ pandemic responses. While most of the pilot courts had little to no experience collecting feedback from court users in the past, all …
November 1, 2021
The Franklin County (Ohio) Municipal Court has a Self-Help Resource Center (the Center) which works daily to improve the quality of court filings filed by pro se litigants, increase access to the justice system for individuals who cannot afford attorneys, and provide a positive point of contact between the Court and the community. The Center …