Focus Areas

The Institute’s focus areas align with those of the Partnership for Youth Justice (PYJ), a collaborative body comprised of multiple New York State intergovernmental agencies and local partners working to improve outcomes for youth in the justice system. The PYJ’s current focus areas include: decreasing racial and ethnic disparities; reducing youth and young adult violent offenses through prevention strategies and programming; and providing alternatives to arrest opportunities for young people with behavioral health, substance use and developmental needs. For questions regarding the PYJ, please contact the PYJ here.

To support jurisdictions seeking evidence-based youth and family-focused programs and services, the Youth Justice Institute has compiled a directory of evidence-based programs (EBPs) organized by challenge area, program setting, and specific goals. We encourage counties, municipalities, and practitioners to contact the YJI for assistance identifying and implementing appropriate EBPs, and also for assistance evaluating EBPs and local innovations.