Savings Rate

YAP services generate considerable savings by reducing the need for commitment and out-of-home placement among court-involved youth. Based on average lengths of stay in out-of-home placements in Florida and the actual placement settings used for committed youth in this study, we estimate that the State of Florida saves more than $2.7 Million in avoided placement costs for every 1,000 youth referred to YAP rather than DJJ probation. Continue reading Savings Rate

The Trace—New York City Embraces a Gun Violence Outreach Program Left on Life Support in Chicago

Jeffrey Butts, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who is currently researching Cure Violence, said a different relationship develops in each city between police, outreach workers, and the community. He said that, in New York, a culture of respect has developed slowly, and now works well. “Everyone’s ideal is mutual trust and respect,” he said. Continue reading The Trace—New York City Embraces a Gun Violence Outreach Program Left on Life Support in Chicago

NationSwell—The Impressive Top-to-Bottom Makeover of the Massachusetts Juvenile Justice System

At the height of the War on Drugs, policymakers generally split along partisan lines about how to respond to criminal acts by youth. The right wing saw unchangeable “super-predators” who needed to be incarcerated to restore law and order, while leftists saw victims of poverty who needed counseling and therapy, says Dr. Jeffrey Butts, director of John Jay College of Criminal Justice’s Research & Evaluation Center. Continue reading NationSwell—The Impressive Top-to-Bottom Makeover of the Massachusetts Juvenile Justice System