Surveying the Field: Mapping a Path Towards Better Outcomes for Systems-Involved Youth

Surveying the Field: Mapping a Path Towards Better Outcomes for Systems-Involved Youth
Washington, DC and virtually via GoToWebinar

Additional Resources and Speaker Handouts

Overview

The landmark Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) and the Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Act (JJDPA) reauthorization provides new opportunities to strengthen support services for systems-involved youth through the use of evidence-based programs and practices. As organizations, advocates, and other stakeholders work to develop resources that can support the new legislation and states prepare for implementation, it is critical to assess how these policies will impact older youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare system and the role that organizations are playing in developing resources to complement the new policies.

This discussion group brought together government and nonprofit organizations to strategically map and identify resources that are currently available and being used, as well as identify new tools that are needed to help promote better outcomes for systems-involved youth. We heard from state child welfare and juvenile justice leaders. The speakers shared their approach for implementation and discussed both the challenges and exciting opportunities for states to reform their systems. We ended with an interactive mapping exercise to identify current and future products that are needed and collectively identify the resource gaps within the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. We had a graphic recorder present to capture our journey and help organize our thoughts and next steps.

The goals of this discussion group included:

  • Hearing from state leaders and organizations about the greatest challenges and opportunities within the FFPSA and the JJDPA.
  • Taking inventory of the current resources available to states and other stakeholders to support the implementation of the FFPSA and the JJDPA.
  • Identifying gaps in resources and potential tools that could help states and stakeholders implement the new federal legislation.

 

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The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional development organization based in Washington, DC, provides learning opportunities for policy leaders, practitioners, and researchers working on youth and education issues at the national, state, and local levels. AYPF events and publications are made possible by contributions from philanthropic foundations. For a complete list, click here.