Policy makers and the public expect government accountability, yet the gap between ideals and actual practice remains large. The situation is especially pronounced in juvenile justice, where little is known about the impact of everyday activities. Given the growing demand for accountability, the substantial costs of juvenile justice, the potential for harm to crime victims and communities, and, not least, the risk of failing to improve the life outcomes of young offenders, performance measurement in juvenile justice is essential.

Six communities in North Carolina collaborated to bring the Reclaiming Futures approach to agencies serving the needs of youthful offenders with drug and alcohol problems. The project worked intensively with the Reclaiming Futures National Program Office in Portland, Oregon and North Carolina sites selected by the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to develop and demonstrate the Reclaiming Futures model in North Carolina communities.

The Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice helped each  community to formulate its strategy for measuring performance (based on the six-step Reclaiming Futures Model) and assessing its efforts. Officials in each county worked to: 1) design a series of performance measures based on the Reclaiming Futures Model, 2) implement data sharing systems to generate the measures, and 3) draw upon the measures to assess the success of the demonstration effort.

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Project Staff

Jeffrey Butts, PI
Rhoda Ramdeen

Funding

$80,000. Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust.
Susan Richards, Program Officer