30 Years
and Beyond

Currently, there are no national standards for crisis intervention, violence and harm prevention, or any type of universal behavior response training. The CJJA Code of Practice emphasizes the need for facility safety which involves reducing the use of all forms of restraints (physical, mechanical, and chemical) and reducing or eliminating the use of isolation. This working committee examines data and research on best practices; reviews existing policies and procedures; discusses the most effective practices in the field. The committee’s main purpose is to develop national standards to reflect the least restrictive and most effective intervention strategies for each of the identified practice areas. Establishing national standards will provide guidance to juvenile justice leaders and staff with the goal of encouraging staff to employ effective strategies when working with youth and families. Ultimately, setting national expectations will improve the safety of facilities and positively impact youth and family outcomes.

CJJA Position Paper

Code of Practice for Harm and Violence Prevention and Comprehensive Intervention Strategies for Juvenile Justice Systems (November 2019).  Code of Practice

CJJA has convened a Behavioral Health Committee that includes Mental Health directors and persons directly overseeing mental health programming within jurisdictions to discuss current issues and Best Practices in delivering mental health services to youths.

The CJJA Best Practices Committee continually seeks out information about programs and research that would be of significant interest to directors. Presentations are hosted by the CJJA Regions and CJJA Associate members on a rotating basis and are part of the CJJA Business Meetings.

The Positive Youth Outcomes (PYO) committee, made up of CJCA members, research and clinical staff.  The committee seeks to improve juvenile justice agencies’ capacities to collect and utilize positive youth outcomes data. The information will help CJCA come to consensus, and develop guidelines, on the most appropriate and useful methods for collecting and analyzing positive outcome data within juvenile correctional agencies.

CJJA has convened a PREA Committee that includes CJJA members, their state PREA Coordinators and national representatives from the PREA Resource Center and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The Committee provides a forum for members to network, share promising practices, hear from national leaders and gain knowledge from peer discussions focused on addressing the PREA standards.

The Research and Data Analysis Committee is comprised of CJJA members and research/analyst staff.  The goal of the committee is to expand the use of data and analysis to enhance the effectiveness of practices, guide policy and practice decisions of juvenile justice leaders, and increase research partnerships.  Outcome data provide the basis for designing more effective programs and services, inform decision makers about levels of success related to objectives and examine the effects of programmatic and/or policy changes, and demonstrate accountability for juvenile justice agencies.  The committee strives for standardization of measurement and terms to ensure possible comparisons across studies and jurisdictions.

The Communications Committee seeks to provide policy and guidance on engaging with internal and external stakeholders, to include youth and their families, through various media and social platforms. Committee members include public information officers, the individuals responsible for preparing and disseminating agency messages.

National juvenile justice leaders convening to address experiences of marginalized youth and create action plans to eliminate disparities and overrepresentation.