LaRon Dennis is a Research Consultant for the Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR). After a career spanning the youth justice system, she shares the importance of collaboration and how stakeholders from across the justice system can work together to support youth development and community safety.  

Over the course of my career, I’ve seen the youth justice system from a variety of perspectives — as a director of a community-based organization, probation officer, policy attorney, prosecutor, and now as a special consultant at the Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR). Through these experiences, I’ve gained insight into the different roles within the system and a firm belief that improving community safety requires collective support for each young person’s journey towards healing and accountability.  

Stakeholders in the youth justice system include youths and families, judges, attorneys, law enforcement, probation officers, administrators, child welfare workers, victims, victim service providers, schools, and community organizations. Despite our different roles, we share the common goals of making our communities safer, healing for victims, and supporting youth development. 

While the youth justice system has made strides since the 1980s, providing more impactful services for youth and their families and developing programs anchored in credible research, there’s still much to be done. Continued progress will rely on collaboration across stakeholders, an openness to change, and a willingness to learn from new findings. 

At OYCR, one promising strategy we’ve seen effectively unite stakeholders is cross-discipline education and training. When we learn together, using the same data and research, we align our knowledge and decision-making processes. Training together fosters cooperation, breaks down professional silos, and promotes mutual understanding and respect.  

As youths move through the court system, we make a set of decisions and then pass the responsibility onto the next stakeholder, each decision building upon the next. Therefore, the success of youth treatment and justice system reform hinges on open dialogue and a willingness to work collaboratively.

Two opportunities for collaboration are the development of individual rehabilitation plans (IRPs) for youths in secure treatment facilities and the subsequent 6-month review hearings.  

Creating comprehensive IRPs involves input from all stakeholders, including youth themselves, to ensure the plans address the youth’s needs, and supports their progress to eventually transitioning back to their community. When everyone is working together to set the metrics that progress and rehabilitation will be measured against, it prevents surprises later in the process.  

Adding a case conference, similar to a multi-disciplinary team meeting, prior to the 6-month review hearing would allow stakeholders to address concerns, align on goals, and reduce uncertainty for youths and victims. That uncertainty is mentioned by youth to be a cause of stress, and a clearer understanding of expectations and progress would reduce some of that anxiety. In these case conferences, any concerns or disagreements about the youth’s progress can be heard and addressed, and appropriate next steps can be developed. Such a process would make the actual hearing in court more productive, less adversarial, and less stressful for the youth as well as the victim. 

By coming together during these key moments, stakeholders can foster teamwork, prioritize rehabilitation and accountability, and work towards shared goals.  

My hope is for a partnership across the youth justice system built on genuine collaboration and transparent dialogue, where we treat each other with respect and openness, and where we can offer constructive feedback, acknowledging successes and areas for improvement alike.