Juvenile Justice

The RFK Juvenile Justice Collaborative joins forces with Massachusetts' RFK Children Action Corps, founder of an innovative model for alternatives to juvenile incarceration, to bring the practice of direct service and the power of advocacy together to strengthen the rights of juveniles and urges more effective policies for adjudicated youth transitioning back into their communities.

The mission of the program is to educate national policy makers on key youth reentry issues, including youth access to education upon reentry and improved coordination of federal reentry policies and programs for youth so that it can support youth leaving the juvenile justice system to successfully reenter their communities and lead healthy, safe, and successful lives.

The Collaborative realizes its main goal of educating decision-makers about the importance of effective policies and the need for sufficient resources to support youth reentry, by:

• Reducing barriers for youth returning to school from the juvenile justice system;
• Maintaining resources for youth reentry, including funding for the Second Chance Act Program in the Department of Justice and relevant youth reentry funding in the Department of Labor; and
• Improving federal coordination of and support for youth reentry through Obama Administration efforts, such as the Attorney General’s Reentry Council.