There has been a series of articles, with the final installment just released, in the Chronicle of Social Change focusing on the notion of building a system that includes positive youth development principles at its core. And Jeffrey Butts has produced a great briefing paper, Strengthening Youth Justice Practices with Developmental Knowledge and Principles, which outlines some of the key opportunities to think about improving our systems to build stronger, more resilient youth.

Amid all the talk about evidence-based practice, there is a growing voice for incorporating what we know works for all youth – knowing that the things we want for youth in the juvenile justice system are the same things we want for all youth; the same opportunities and the same skills that we value – the things that help all youth grow, learn, and become contributing adults. This is developing around the framework of Positive Youth Justice, building on what the research says about positive youth development and resiliency; viewing youth not as villains or victims; not limiting the view of the work to be done in the system to identifying deficits and “fixing” them; not measuring our success solely by whether youth reoffend (although that’s critical) but also by what they learn and what they can contribute to their and our futures.

While we sometimes decry a “medical model” approach, don’t we know that the medical community talks a lot more about prevention – healthy eating habits, exercise, and reducing stress – than we do? Not that there’s not room for improvement there as well, but really how often do juvenile justice practitioners focus efforts on positive youth development? Don’t the language and the processes we use too often feed into a limited view of what it takes for youth to become successful? How often do we talk about “risks” and “needs” and give only lip service to “assets” or “strengths”?

We do need to be about evidence-based practice, but ignoring all the research about positive youth development as some sort of “soft science” will inevitably get us only part way toward perhaps too temporary solutions. Let’s hope the voice for positive youth justice flourishes.

By Jim Moeser