After being accepted through a competitive application process, Sacramento and Santa Cruz Counties participated in the 2026, Transforming Juvenile Probation (TJP) Certificate Program at Georgetown University in Washington DC, along with 4 other counties from across the nation.  The Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR) and JustSolve provided travel support to allow these California counties to participate. 

The TJP certificate program brings together teams of justice system stakeholders, youth leaders, and community partners to implement research-based principals to advance probation practices in order to best support youth on a path toward success without future system involvement. County teams complete and execute a Capstone Project, grounded in the following five pillars of probation transformation that will build upon the significant reforms and positive progress made in recent years to California’s youth justice system:  

• Expand diversion and community-led responses. 

• Minimize out-of-home placements through community-based alternatives. 

• Make probation a relationship-based, time-limited intervention that promotes youth well-being. 

• Advance equity and improve outcomes for youth of color. 

• Strengthen partnerships among probation, public agencies, community-based organizations, youth, and families. 

The pillars of TJP align directly with OYCR’s vision for youth justice in California, which centers on expanding diversion, reducing unnecessary system involvement, strengthening community partnerships and improving outcomes for youth and families. 

Sacramento and Santa Cruz are part of the second of two cohorts that have included California counties that were supported by OYCR through JustSolve to participate in this national program. The previous cohort included Orange and Riverside.  Additionally, San Diego participated in the first TJP certificate program offered in 2019.  

The Santa Cruz and Sacramento teams represented true cross-system collaborations. Each county brought together probation leadership and staff, judicial and court partners, behavioral health representatives, community-based organizations, youth-serving agencies, and youth representatives to develop a shared vision for probation transformation and strengthen partnerships across their local systems. 

Following the June 2026 program, Santa Cruz and Sacramento have begun implementing Capstone Projects that articulate their focus areas for system transformation work. While each county’s efforts will continue to evolve, both identified clear priorities during the program. 

• Santa Cruz County plans to expand diversion opportunities in partnership with community-based organizations, creating more pathways for youth to receive support outside of the formal justice system. 

• Sacramento County is committed to strengthening its existing juvenile justice initiatives by integrating all five pillars of probation transformation into a comprehensive, system-wide approach that emphasizes diversion, equity, relationship-based probation, community partnerships, and reduced reliance on out-of-home placement. 

These aspirations build upon the progress of California’s previous TJP participants, who have already begun implementing significant reforms in their communities. 

• Orange County developed police-referred and community-led diversion programs that provide front-end alternatives to formal involvement in the juvenile justice system. 

• Riverside County advanced probation practices that align with adolescent development while strengthening partnerships with community-based organizations to better support youth and families. 

As the counties transition from planning to implementation, JustSolve will continue providing technical assistance, coaching, and facilitation to help Santa Cruz and Sacramento move their Capstone Projects into action. By supporting local leadership, strengthening cross-system collaboration, and building implementation capacity, this technical assistance is designed to help both counties advance more effective, equitable, and community-centered probation systems.