“I’m so proud of our state. I’m so proud of all the stakeholders here… It’s the energy, radiance, warmth, and compassion that we have in California that is leading the entire United States in this movement.” —Dr. Renford Reese, Prison Education Project Founder and Cal Poly Pomona Professor of Political Science

It has been a little over two years since the closure of California’s Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) in July 2023—a defining milestone in Governor Gavin Newsom and the state’s effort to reimagine youth justice. Spurred 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.  

While youth justice reform is gaining momentum nationwide, California’s approach stands out for its ambition—in both philosophy and scale. At its core, OYCR embraces a holistic vision of a youth justice system that addresses the root causes of involvement while building the supports young people need to transition into adulthood and thrive in their communities. As one young person in a Secure Youth Treatment Facility wrote in a postcard to OYCR’s Ombudsperson, “California is a big state with 58 counties, and they are all different.” Reforming a system across such a vast and diverse landscape is no small task. Yet it is within that diversity that California is forging a shared path forward. 

OYCR’s 2024 Annual Report reflects the progress made over the past year and outlines key steps already underway in 2025. The groundwork laid since DJJ’s closure—including relationships built, strategic investments made, technical assistance provided, and lessons learned from the early days of county-based care—is yielding meaningful results for lasting, systemic change. 

What We Accomplished Together Since DJJ’s Closure 

In July 2023, California completed one of the most significant transformations in youth justice nationwide with the closure of DJJ. In the lead-up—and in the time since—counties, communities, and state partners have worked together to build new systems of care, accountability, and support. These evolving models are rooted in local realities while advancing a unified, statewide vision for youth justice. 

Over the past year, momentum has only grown. In 2024, OYCR responded to more than twice as many technical assistance requests compared to the year prior. Counties received unprecedented, targeted investments to expand access to community-based housing, education, behavioral health services, and more. Young people, probation, community-based organizations (CBOs), and other stakeholders collaborated in more intentional and coordinated ways. Our divisions—from Health Policy to Data and Research to the newly formed Operations and Program Support—supported local partners in piloting solutions that are culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and grounded in the communities they serve. 

Two key examples of California’s youth-centered, cross-collaborative approach to advancing youth justice in 2024 were OYCR’s inaugural California Youth Justice Summit and the launch of our Youth Advisory Board. 

The California Youth Justice Summit convened more than 400 participants—including educators, tribal leaders, probation officers, mental health professionals, and judges—for two days of learning, networking, and meaningful discussion. With four session tracks—Youth Voice, Behavioral Health, Educational Health, and Racial Equity—the event offered a platform to break down silos and share insights. 

The Youth Advisory Board (YAB) led two full days of sessions at the Summit, guiding conversations rooted in lived experience. As YAB member Juan reflected, “the fact that people come and want to listen and learn from the lived experience that we have is very humbling.”  These young leaders—who have shaped the Board’s values, structure, and practices from the ground up—now meet weekly to review ongoing efforts and host monthly public sessions, helping ensure youth perspectives remain central to decision-making. 

Together, the Summit and Youth Advisory Board demonstrate the power of centering youth voices alongside diverse stakeholders to strengthen collaboration and build a more accountable, youth-responsive justice system. This approach reflects OYCR’s ongoing role as a guide in California’s youth justice system—helping to foster these partnerships and shape meaningful change for years to come. 

A closer look at 2024 highlights the key elements and accomplishments behind California’s distinct and impactful approach to youth justice reform: 

Unprecedented Investment in Local and Community-Based Care 

California’s youth justice reform is more than a policy shift—it is backed by historic state and federal investments and carried out through coordinated efforts across OYCR’s divisions to drive long-term, community-based change. While a clear vision is essential, meaningful reform requires the resources to implement it. Strategic funding enables counties and CBOs to turn ideas into action—building the infrastructure, programs, and partnerships that make youth-centered systems of care possible. 

In 2024, OYCR’s Systems Change and Equity Division alone directed significant funding to expand alternatives to incarceration and strengthen local systems of care: 

• $4 million was awarded to build the capacity of CBOs across eight counties—ensuring trusted local partners have the resources to support young people where they are. 

• $15.9 million supported Less Restrictive Placement (LRP) grants, helping 11 counties provide safe, community-based options outside of traditional confinement. 

• $500,000 was awarded to Los Angeles Room & Board, a unique CBO piloting a residential education LRP for young men of color involved in the justice system (pictured below). 

 OYCR’s new Operations and Program Support Division also assumed responsibility for administering Title II, a federally funded program available to all 50 states to advance youth justice reform. Title II grants enable states to advance delinquency prevention efforts and improve systems by offering services such as job training, mental health and substance use treatment, community- and school-based programs, and reentry and aftercare support. Additionally, OYCR manages all aspects of the State Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (SACJJDP) and prepares the Title II State and Compliance Monitoring Plans to meet all federal requirements, including those for jails and lockups holding young people—two of which are separating adults and juveniles and addressing disproportionate minority contact.  

At the same time, the Data and Research Division has overseen three state grant programs and their reporting requirements since 2024, supporting counties in expanding reentry services, preventing juvenile crime, and investing in rehabilitation-centered strategies. 

The People, Tools, and Beliefs Behind the Progress 

Funding is essential to expanding access and building the capacity needed for lasting change in youth justice, but it’s not enough on its own. Trust, collaboration, and a shared belief in what’s possible when young people are met with care instead of punishment—a mindset deeply rooted across California—are driving this transformation. 

In 2024, OYCR’s work went beyond the distribution of funding to include technical assistance, the development of strategic tools, and relationship-building efforts: 

• The Ombudsperson Division distributed more than 5,700 Youth Bill of Rights posters and 39,000 brochures to facilities across the state, ensuring young people know their rights and the resources available to them. 

• The California Juvenile Justice Compendium and Toolkit, developed by the Health Policy Division in partnership with RAND, launched in 2024 to give practitioners real-time access to research-backed, evidence-based strategies. 

• Through the Health Policy Division, the Educational Health Team launched a literacy intervention pilot for youth in pre-adjudicated detention, with a focus on students with IEPs and English language learners—helping improve educational equity inside facilities. 

• Funded through the Ending Girls Incarceration (EGI) California Action Network, a partnership between OYCR and Vera Institute of Justice, Imperial County reached zero girls in detention in 2024 and sustained that number through warm handoffs from probation to a CBO offering gender-specific diversion programs. 

• OYCR hosted monthly Youth Justice Action webinars, along with a three-session series tailored for probation, engaging over 2,000 registrants and demonstrating broad commitment to advancing youth justice through continuous learning and mutual support. 

Together, the tools and initiatives launched in 2024 reflect how real reform takes more than the right policies or funding streams—it takes people willing to reimagine systems, share power, and act in partnership. 

What Comes Next 

Two years after the closure of DJJ, California’s approach to youth justice continues to evolve. The goal more than reducing incarceration—it is to fundamentally reimagine how the state supports and invests in young people and their communities. 

This year, in 2025, that vision is coming to life through several key efforts, including: 

• A new OYCR Dashboard will provide stakeholders with real-time, actionable data to guide decisions and monitor progress—building on the preliminary AB 102 dashboard released in 2024. 

• Workforce development efforts, including the Youth Employment Initiative and OYCR’s partnership with the California Conservation Corps, are expanding opportunities for systems-involved youth to build independence and economic mobility. 

• The Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement is launching a California Credible Messenger Learning Community and webinar series with OYCR’s support—growing a statewide network of community-rooted mentors and strengthening local partnerships. 

As UC Law Professor Andrea Lollini reminded us at the California Youth Justice Summit, “California is very actively moving forward with a huge juvenile justice reform, which is extremely important. We should keep strengthening this movement forward, keep supporting the stakeholders—judicial, law enforcement, educational—and keep working in this way.” 

Again, California’s youth justice reform isn’t just a shift in policy—it’s a growing movement rooted in healing, partnership, and belief in the power of young people. It’s a case study in what becomes possible when a state commits to building systems with—not just for—its young people. 

Explore the full 2024 Annual Report to see how this work is unfolding across the state—and the lessons that continue to shape a more just and supportive future. 

Alani Jackson, OYCR Deputy Director, is a respected and dynamic government leader with almost two decades of experience as a public servant in California correctional healthcare and state Medicaid agencies. Her passion for public service is driven by her diverse background, formative adolescent experiences, and core belief that leading with love can change the world.