Infusing Positive Youth Development in Juvenile Justice Reform
Conditions in Washington, D.C.’s juvenile facilities were not only dangerous and overcrowded when Forum President & CEO Mishaela Durán went to work for the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) in 2005, they also provided scant opportunities and services to help youth there succeed in school, work, and life after incarceration. However, a shift to a Positive Youth Justice (PYJ) model that integrated community organizations changed that. More than 15 years later, this model is still the guiding principle at DYRS, and a body of evidence now shows providing developmentally appropriate services to court-involved youth helps set them on a positive trajectory.