“We must move beyond a basic reform mindset and start to recreate, rebuild, and reclaim a community of care. We can dismantle the systems of harm that tear down our young people and create new ones that build them up. We can create safer and more inclusive communities that help today’s young people believe in themselves and achieve success.” —OYCR’s Youth Advisory Board, excerpted from Please Don’t Give Up On Us: Stories from Children and Youth Incarcerated in California 

This summer marks three years since the closure of California’s Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) in July 2023. Prompted by Senate Bill 823, which also created the Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR) in 2021, the closure signaled a decisive shift away from a centralized, punitive system toward a county-based model rooted in rehabilitation, equity, and community care. 

The first year after DJJ’s closure was mostly about transition—shifting responsibility to counties and establishing new systems. The second year focused on building—strengthening partnerships, expanding programs, and investing in community-based infrastructure. In the third year of realignment, the work has shifted toward sustaining progress: refining practices, deepening collaboration, and reinforcing the systems that will carry youth justice reform forward for the long term. 

OYCR’s 2025 Annual Report captures what that shift looks like in practice. Across the state, counties, community-based organizations (CBOs), and system partners are translating the vision of SB 823 into stronger supports for young people, from expanded diversion and family engagement to improved educational continuity and deeper investments in community-based care. We reflect on 2025 with pride in the progress made across California—and with optimism as that momentum continues to build in 2026. 

What It Takes for Lasting Change 

Lasting systems change doesn’t happen all at once—and it doesn’t happen because of any one person, agency, or solution. In youth justice, progress is shaped through trial and error, through learning and adaptation, and through the steady work of building trust among system stakeholders and communities. While we do not have all the answers, California’s approach continues to be grounded in a commitment to learn, evolve, and strengthen what works for young people and their families. 

That progress is carried forward by a broad and growing ecosystem of partners: counties, probation departments, CBOs, educators, families, advocates, and young people themselves. Across California, this network is becoming more connected and coordinated. Partnerships are deepening, practices are becoming more consistent, and more counties are engaging in shared approaches. 

OYCR’s role within that ecosystem is to help strengthen that alignment by providing structure, resources, and coordination that support partners in turning policy into practice. In 2025, OYCR’s five divisions––the Ombudsperson, Health Policy, Systems Change and Equity, Data and Research, and Operations and Grant Program Support divisions—responded to 213 technical assistance (TA) requests across 52 counties, supporting work spanning health, reentry, education, policy development, and facility operations. At the same time, OYCR’s Youth Justice Action webinar series convened stakeholders across the state for 12 live sessions reaching nearly 2,000 attendees across 55 counties, creating space for shared learning, reflection, and problem-solving. All recordings remain available on the OYCR website, which generated an additional 4,093 views through December 2025. 

Together, these efforts reflect an important truth about lasting change: it is sustained not only through programs and policies, but through the relationships, infrastructure, and shared commitment that make progress possible. 

Centering Lived Experience 

At the core of this work is a clear principle: young people are not only impacted by the system—they are essential to shaping it. 

That belief is reflected most clearly through OYCR’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB), which reached full membership in 2025 and continued expanding its role in policy discussions, research initiatives, and TA to counties building local youth advisory structures. The YAB also launched a gender-expansive subcommittee, ensuring reform efforts reflect the needs and experiences of all young people. 

But youth leadership is only part of the equation. Across California, leaders with lived experience in the justice system—credible messengers—are helping strengthen systems from the inside out. Their insight, trust, and firsthand understanding of the barriers young people face make them uniquely positioned to mentor youth, inform policy, and guide programs toward what actually works. 

In 2025, OYCR’s Systems Change and Equity Division partnered with the Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement to expand statewide infrastructure for credible messengers through TA, convenings, and training opportunities. Additional partnerships focused on building culturally responsive training models and supporting community-based organizations in recruiting and sustaining this workforce. 

That leadership is also shaping systems at the highest levels. In 2025, California’s State Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention entered a historic chapter with both its chair and vice chair bringing lived experience with youth incarceration to statewide oversight and policy recommendations. 

Lived experience is not supplementary expertise—it is essential expertise. Read more about the power of credible messengers as leaders and partners. 

Strengthening the Community Supports Around Young People 

Lasting youth justice reform also depends on the strength of the supports surrounding young people before, during, and after system involvement. Health and healing do not happen in isolation but through access to education, healthcare, stable housing, family connection, and meaningful opportunities that support long-term growth and community safety.  

In 2025, OYCR’s Health Policy Division continued advancing that work through a whole-person approach to care, recognizing that behavioral health, physical health, and educational success are deeply connected to successful rehabilitation and reentry. Through a $5.2 million portfolio of 13 contracts, the division supported counties and CBOs in strengthening services and building pathways for youth both inside facilities and after release. 

After a successful literacy pilot in San Diego, OYCR expanded its Juvenile Court School Literacy Intervention into Alameda, San Mateo, and Riverside counties—helping address significant reading gaps for youth in detention and strengthening the academic foundation needed for long-term success in school, work, and life. 

At the same time, OYCR supported counties in implementing CalAIM Justice-Involved Reentry services, helping connect young people leaving custody with housing, transportation, medical care, and enhanced care management. These supports help reduce barriers during reentry and create greater stability as young people transition back into their communities. 

Through its partnership with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition’s Family Engagement Services program, OYCR continued helping families overcome barriers to visitation, strengthen relationships, and prepare for reentry together. As of 2025, the program has supported more than 100 families, reinforcing the critical role family connection plays in youth rehabilitation and long-term success. Hear from OYCR Family Engagement Specialist Cole Lancaster on why staying connected to family is so important for young people who are incarcerated.  

When young people are supported by strong systems of care and connection, they are better positioned to succeed—and communities are stronger for it, too. 

Strengthening Accountability and Trust 

As California’s youth justice system continues to evolve, accountability remains essential—not only to protect young people’s rights, but also to strengthen trust in the system itself. OYCR’s Ombudsperson Division plays a critical role in that work by ensuring that youth and families have a clear pathway to raise concerns, seek resolution, and be heard. 

In 2025, the Ombudsperson Division closed more than 400 complaints, conducted annual site visits to facilities across the state, and continued statewide education efforts to ensure the Youth Bill of Rights remained visible and accessible. This work helps create a culture of accountability where facilities understand they are open to oversight and where young people and families know their voices matter. Learn about how the Youth Bill of Rights came to be on the Voices of Youth Justice blog. 

One of the clearest examples of this work in action took place in Los Angeles County. Following in-person observations at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall, OYCR identified concerns related to visitation practices and family engagement. What followed was a broader collaborative effort: public discussion through the Probation Oversight Commission, additional county inspections, and targeted TA from OYCR and national consultants to strengthen visitation policies. 

At its best, accountability is not just about identifying problems; it is about creating pathways to improve practice and strengthen outcomes for youth and families. 

The Infrastructure Behind the Work 

Behind every program, partnership, and policy change is the infrastructure that makes it possible. 

OYCR’s Operations and Grant Program Support and Data and Research divisions provide the operational and analytical foundation for the office’s broader work—managing grant programs, supporting federal compliance, tracking legislative developments, and collecting the data needed to guide strategic decisions statewide. 

In 2025, OYCR conducted 234 federal Title II compliance monitoring inspections statewide, distributed $12.3 million through the Youth Employment Initiative to support workforce development across 10 counties, and continued managing critical state grant programs supporting reentry, prevention, and rehabilitation. 

At the same time, the Data and Research Division advanced statewide reporting and dashboard development, building tools that will provide counties and partners with more accessible, real-time insights into youth justice trends, service gaps, and outcomes. 

This work may be less visible than direct programming, but it is what allows the system to function with consistency, accountability, and transparency. 

Where the Work Stands Now 

Three years into realignment, California’s youth justice system is focused less on building from the ground up and more on strengthening what has been established. OYCR’s 2025 Annual Report reflects a growing system of care and accountability, shaped by deeper partnerships, stronger community-based supports, and the leadership of young people and those with lived experience. 

As California moves further into 2026, OYCR will build on that momentum: expanding evidence-based programs, strengthening cross-sector collaboration, and supporting counties and communities as they continue to refine and sustain this work. The path forward will require continued learning, investment, and adaptation—but the foundation is stronger than it was three years ago.