Videos and Webinars

CJJR hosts numerous webinars on a wide range of topics within the juvenile justice and child welfare fields. The Center also produces spotlight videos highlighting various issues, as well as jurisdictions and teams that have found success in implementing reform.

You can find a collection below. Please be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to learn about when our next webinar will be hosted. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we post content.

How Do You Address Racial Equity as a Judicial Leader? Interview with Hernán Carvente-Martinez

Every month, we and our partners at the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, through the Center for Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities, will be releasing a new resource, interview, or toolkit that dives deep into how to advance racial equity in your community or jurisdiction.

In this video series, we interview a range of professionals including judges, attorneys, public defenders, community advocates, and law enforcement and ask them what racial equity means to them–and how they advance it in their role.

We are proud to launch this series with an interview with Hernán Carvente Martinez, Executive Director of Alianza for Opportunity! Hernán is a remarkable thought leader, advocate, organizer, and an inspiration to all who are engaged in this kind of work.

Center for RR/ED Monthly Resource Spotlight Preview!

With the support of OJJDP, the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform and the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) are launching the Center for Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice (CRR/ED). As part of this effort CRR/ED, alongside providing training and technical assistance, will develop and release a resource each month designed to help the field promote racial equity and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in youth justice.

Learn More Here

Missing in Plain Sight: Why Black Girls Deserve Our Attention, Too

Black girls are an understudied, undervalued, and misunderstood population – particularly when they are system involved. This webinar weaves data from a report co-authored by CJJR and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) with research to elucidate the tragic trajectories of many Black girls who are placed in the child welfare system, go missing, and find themselves involved in the legal system.

Learn More

Addressing Commercial Sexual Exploitation: A Framework for the Youth Legal System Series

The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform hosted a new webinar series titled “Addressing Commercial Sexual Exploitation: A Framework for the Youth Legal System.” Youth experiencing commercial sexual exploitation, or sex trafficking, continue to interface with our public systems – youth justice, child welfare, and beyond. Led by an expert team of researchers, practitioners, policy managers, and advocates, this webinar series will provide an overview of what commercial sexual exploitation is, what it looks like, and common misconceptions. Then, our expert team of collaborators and presenters will share examples from professional and lived experience of specific system-level policies and on-the-ground practices that can be used to better identify and support youth experiencing commercial sexual exploitation.

You can watch the video series below, and find additional resources on our dedicated Addressing CSE page!

Policy Solutions and Lessons Learned for Combating Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

This presentation delves into the multifaceted approach necessary to combat the commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) of children from a policy and infrastructure perspective. It emphasizes the pivotal role of cross-agency collaboration and centering individuals with lived experience in policy change.

The presentation highlights the importance of political and financial investment to implement robust policies, and will provide examples of the policy and infrastructure frameworks needed to implement decriminalization, multidisciplinary teaming, and the shift toward community-based prevention and intervention. Presenters share lessons learned and policy recommendations from their experiences advocating for shifts in legal frameworks to support impacted youth and families.

Joining us as panelists were:

Mae Ackerman-Brimberg, JD, MSW; Senior Attorney for the National Center for Youth Law’s Collaborative Responses to Commercial Sexual Exploitation Initiative
Carly B. Dierkhising, PHD; Associate Professor at California State University, Los Angeles, the School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics
April Grayson; Senior Policy Manager at the Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition

Establishing a Tailored Response to Commercial Sexual Exploitation within Probation Services

The second webinar in the series, “Establishing a Tailored Response to Commercial Sexual Exploitation within Probation Services,” offered strategies and examples of best practices designed to assist probation officers and their collaborators in identifying and supporting youth impacted by commercial sexual exploitation (CSE). Participant gained practical knowledge on building a multidisciplinary team response to CSE, fostering youth and family engagement, and centering youth voice and choice through systematic feedback and shared decision-making. Concrete examples from research, frontline probation experience, and lived experience were included throughout the presentation. You can watch the webinar in full above!

Shifting Narratives: Understanding the Complexities of Commercial Sexual Exploitation

The first webinar in the Addressing CSE series, “Shifting Narratives: Understanding the Complexities of Commercial Sexual Exploitation,” explored the dynamics of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and identified vulnerabilities and pathways to CSE through case examples and lived experience. Data was presented on the experience of young people impacted by CSE within the child welfare and youth justice systems to highlight opportunities for prevention and intervention. We confronted common misunderstandings and misperceptions that prevent proper identification and services for impacted young people. Participants gained a heightened awareness, improve their ability to identify CSE among young people, and build a collective commitment to better support those impacted by CSE.

Practical Strategies to Bolster Youth, Family, and Community Partnerships in Residential Facilities

The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform is joined by representatives from Utah Juvenile Justice and Youth Services and the Bexar County, Texas Juvenile Probation Department to discuss practical strategies for partnering with youth, families, and community organizations in residential settings. This conversation highlights a variety of approaches, such as youth councils, Child and Family Team Meetings, and more, used by practitioners in Utah and Bexar County to engage lived experts and improve their system experiences.

Capstone Project Spotlight Series: Christian County, KY

In this video, we spotlight the efforts at reducing racial and ethnic disparities in Christian County, Kentucky.

The Kentucky Team participated in the Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities Certificate Program in 2018. Spearheaded by Rachel Bingham from Kentucky’s Administrative Office of the Courts, and Pastor Edward Palmer, a community activist and certified diversity trainer, the team seeks to address the overrepresentation of youth of color in the state’s Juvenile Justice System. In particular, Ms. Bingham and Pastor Palmer partnered with system leaders in Christian County as a pilot site to address disparate treatment on a local level. Through their Capstone Project (an action plan for local reform efforts), Christian County took a multidisciplinary approach to bolstering culturally-responsive wraparound services, engaging the community and minority families, and implementing trauma-informed care practices.

2019 Capstone of the Year Award

The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy is pleased to announce the 2019 Capstone of the Year Award goes to the team from Bexar County, Texas. After attending the 2017 Youth in Custody Certificate Program, the Bexar County, Texas team centered their Capstone Project on supporting youth in secure residential care to transition back into their communities. They focused their effort in a specific local facility, the Krier Center, building readiness for meaningful academic and employment opportunities for youth. In particular, the team created academic, vocational, technological, and life skills programs with support from the County Juvenile Probation Department, East Central Independent School District, County District Attorney’s Office, and other community-based partners.

Leading with Lived Experience

The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University are delighted to present Jennifer Rodriguez, Executive Director of the Youth Law Center, with the 2020 Janet Reno Endowment Women’s Leadership Award. Over her career, Ms. Rodriguez has distinguished herself as an innovative and impactful leader dedicated to transforming child welfare and juvenile justice systems across the country so youth can thrive. Informed and inspired by her childhood experiences in foster care and juvenile justice facilities, Ms. Rodriguez has spent most of her life advocating to ensure justice, compassion, and opportunity for all system-involved youth. Her advocacy has resulted in significant policy, practice and organizational culture changes designed to better meet the needs of youth and elevate their voices. In this webinar, Jennifer will facilitate a discussion with advocates who bring lived experience to their efforts to transform child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The discussion will focus on questions that are critical for advocates, agencies and policymakers: How can we effectively engage youth and families to lead real system change, and what does it look like when those most impacted design the blueprint for transformation?

Children’s Mental Health During COVID

The COVID-19 pandemic has proved an extraordinary challenge around the world, with global ramifications that will be felt for years to come. Locally, challenges related to the pandemic are often met with few resources to combat the crisis as it affects systems-involved youth and families. Kyle Hanson is the District 6 Chief of Children’s Mental Health within the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, which is an agency that provides counties in Idaho with crisis intervention and wraparound services. Kyle is a member of the CYPM Implementation Team in District 6 and has been instrumental in ensuring that service providers are represented as active partners in Idaho’s CYPM efforts. In this video, Kyle describes the ways in which Children’s Mental Health has acclimated to the current environment through creative outreach and problem solving. Using Flex Funds, the agency has provided families with resources such as puzzles and art supplies to help youth cope with the boredom and isolation of COVID-19. The staff at Children’s Mental Health recognize the mental and emotional strain that the pandemic has placed on youth and families, and so they have been reaching out to their clients by phone to interact and maintain a sense of community. Kyle commends the efforts of his team and hopes that this intentional outreach as well as the use of tele-health appointments will continue even after COVID-19 recedes.

Navigating the Challenges of COVID-19 on Crossover Youth: Juvenile Justice

From planning to implementation, Matt Olsen, Director of the Juvenile Justice Department in Bannock County, has played a critical role on the CYPM project through his membership on the CYPM Implementation Team. In this video, Matt shares some of the challenges that the Bannock County Juvenile Justice Department has faced since COVID-19 struck Idaho, as well as several unexpected yet positive outcomes from the recent months. COVID-19 arrived on the heels of the CYPM training and the relationships that had been established through the Model have helped Bannock County respond efficiently and effectively to the needs of crossover youth during the pandemic. Communication and collaboration among Bannock County agencies and CYPM partners have remained high despite the strain that COVID-19 has placed on the community. Virtual platforms have also allowed families to connect with probation and diversion officers when transportation would normally have been a barrier to such meetings. Matt applauds the ability of his team to quickly troubleshoot and navigate the COVID-19 environment, and he remains impressed at the level of coordination that continues to occur.

Family Is Essential: A Conversation with Family Advocates about COVID-19 and Youth Justice

As youth justice agencies race to prevent and respond to the harms of the novel coronavirus, families are essential partners. In this webinar, hosted by the Vera Institute of Justice and the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, we will hear directly from family advocates about the actions families need systems to take in the present moment.

The panel discusses how systems can partner with families to release young people from facilities, support them at home under these unprecedented circumstances, and maintain communication and connection with loved ones of young people in custody.

You can watch the webinar in its entirety through the link below:

Navigating the Impact of COVID-19 on Juvenile Justice Policy and Practice

The COVID-19 pandemic currently presents significant challenges for juvenile justice policy and practice. In the face of this crisis, juvenile justice leaders and partners are working around the clock to keep youth, families, staff, and communities safe.

This webinar, hosted by the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform and the Council of Juvenile Justice Administrators, featured three juvenile justice agency leaders for a discussion of the challenges their agencies are facing and the strategies they are implementing in response. Juvenile justice practitioners and partners are invited to hear how these leaders and their systems are navigating the impact of COVID-19 across various key areas, including:

Meeting the needs of youth and families
Supporting staff wellbeing
Maintaining facility safety and programming
Providing community-based supervision and services

You can watch the webinar in its entirety below:

Communications Strategies Around Family First: Examples and Lessons Learned from Early Adopter Jurisdictions

This webinar explores communications strategies around implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act. The webinar, presented on behalf of the Public Information Officers Learning Collaborative in partnership with Casey Family Programs, explores the internal and external communications that PIOs in Utah and DC have used to prepare staff, stakeholders, and communities to be among the first to move forward with prevention plans under the Act. Featured speakers include Heather Barnum and Ashley Sumner from the Utah Department of Human Services, and Lydia Sermons from the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency.

Learn more about the Family First Prevention Services Act

Download a communications toolkit on Family First

Download the Utah FFPSA Communications Resource Packet

Building Connections: Spotlight Webinar on CASA DC, November 14, 2019

In this webinar we discuss the BRIDGES program in Washington, D.C. and learn how jurisdictions, agencies, and organizations around the country can apply the impactful practices employed by CASA DC to best build trust, make meaningful connections, and collaborate effectively with partners, advocates, and children.

“Improving Outcomes for Crossover Youth: Spreading Lessons Learned from Implementation of the Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM),” August 1, 2018.

The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare sponsored a webinar on the Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM) as an evidenced-based system reform model and its impact on communities implementing it. Participants were provided information concerning the characteristics of crossover youth, the pathways they follow into their involvement with both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and the implications of their experiences for systemic change. The session also presented examples from communities in California and Florida that addressed the needs of this population through a variety of mechanisms including implementation of the CYPM.

Participating organizations included: CJJR, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, Florida Department of Children and Families, Kids Central Inc., San Diego County Department of Probation, and San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency.

“A Research and Practice Partnership to Improve Outcomes for Crossover Youth: Douglas County, Nebraska’s CYPM Evaluation – Part 1.” February 20, 2018.

https://georgetown.app.box.com/embed/s/u24ly8c741e2qfnktwstkepy1jsgkbucCJJR presented a webinar titled, “A Research and Practice Partnership to Improve Outcomes for Crossover Youth: Douglas County, Nebraska’s CYPM Evaluation,” focused on the research process, design and findings associated with the evaluation of the Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM) conducted by the Douglas County, Nebraska Youth Impact! team and the Nebraska Center for Justice Research at the University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO).

The evaluation found that the CYPM efforts in Douglas County led to better outcomes for crossover youth, increased information sharing between youth-serving systems, improved decisions and relationships within multi-disciplinary teams, and cost savings to the County.

This was the first in a two-part webinar series.

“Douglas County, Nebraska CYPM Cost-Benefit Analysis – Part 2.” April 26, 2018.

CJJR presented the second webinar in a two-part series highlighting the impact of the Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM) efforts in Douglas County, Nebraska. The series features the results of an evaluation conducted by the Nebraska Center for Justice Research at the University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO). The study found multiple benefits from implementing the CYPM through a project the team coined Youth Impact!—including at both the process level (e.g., increased information sharing and relationships between youth-serving system partners) and at the outcome level (e.g., reduced recidivism for crossover youth).

The second webinar primarily focused on UNO’s cost-benefit analysis of the CYPM efforts in Douglas County, including the process used to analyze the relative costs and benefits of Youth Impact! compared to the previous handling of crossover youth. The presentation highlighted the study’s finding that the program results in a net benefit of over $173,000 annually.

Webinar presenters included Nick Juliano, Director of Regional Advocacy and Public Policy, Boys Town; Darci Poland, Chief Deputy Probation Officer, Nebraska State Probation; Ryan Spohn, Director, Nebraska Center for Justice Research; and Emily Wright, Associate Director, Nebraska Center for Justice Research.

“Improving Outcomes for LGBTQ Youth in the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems – Part 1.” May 8, 2017.

CJJR, FosterClub, and Impact Justice hosted a webinar on how to improve outcomes for lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, gender nonconforming, and transgender youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.

The webinar highlighted new research on how LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in the population that crosses from child welfare to juvenile justice, and discussed findings from an evaluation of FosterClub, a culturally responsive leadership program for youth in the child welfare system. The webinar featured panelists who offered recommendations for policy and practice, including a youth who shared important insights.

This webinar was presented on Monday, May 8th in conjunction with the announcement of a new CJJR professional development opportunity, the Supporting the Well-Being of System-Involved LGBTQ Youth Certificate Program.

“Improving Outcomes for LGBTQ Youth in the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems – Part 2.” June 19, 2017.

CJJR, FosterClub, and Impact Justice hosted Part 2 of a webinar series on how to improve outcomes for lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, gender nonconforming, and transgender youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.

This webinar was presented on Monday, June 19th in conjunction with the announcement of a new CJJR professional development opportunity, the Supporting the Well-Being of System-Involved LGBTQ Youth Certificate Program.

“Using Predictive Analytics in Los Angeles County to Prevent Child Welfare Involved Youth from Crossing Over to Juvenile Justice.” January 22, 2016.

The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) recently released a new report describing efforts made with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to prevent youth involved in the child welfare system from crossing over into the juvenile justice system by using predictive analytics in the form of a newly designed actuarial screening assessment tool. This new tool was developed to identify the risk of a youth involved with child welfare’s subsequent involvement in the juvenile justice system and assist Los Angeles County workers in focusing preventative services for those youth with the highest risk of dual-system involvement.

On Friday, January 22, 2016 at 1:00pm EST, representatives from NCCD, DCFS, and CJJR presented “Using Predictive Analytics in Los Angeles County to Prevent Child Welfare Involved Youth from Crossing Over to Juvenile Justice.” During this 90-minute webinar, presenters shared their experience developing this actuarial screening assessment tool and the lessons learned from implementing it in the field. Participants also learned about the potential for other jurisdictions to develop and implement similar predictive analytics to prevent crossover from occurring. Listen above!

“CYPM Implementation Data Webinar.” August 6, 2015.

This webinar highlighted outcomes of the first cohort of sites to implement the Crossover Youth Practice Model. This initial cohort of 13 jurisdictions began implementation in 2010. It also provided an overview of the Crossover Youth Practice Model and highlighted improvements in jurisdictions on a series of outcomes, including use of diversion, education, mental health, substance use, permanency planning, prosocial connections and activities, recidivism and case closures. Listen above!