Pathways to Resilience: Assessing the Impact of Juvenile Justice Reforms in Oklahoma

The American Institutes for Research® (AIR®) proposes to implement the study, Pathways to Resilience: Assessing the Impact of Juvenile Justice Reforms in Oklahoma. In partnership with Oklahoma’s Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA), AIR will conduct a 4-year study. The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of Oklahoma’s legislative and administrative juvenile justice policy reforms that led to a system of community-based alternative services to youth incarceration with a focus on high-risk/high-need youth who have traditionally been held securely. Further, this project is intended to identify OJA’s gaps in practices and support data literacy for improving community-based services provided to youth with a particular focus on historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected groups. The study will include an implementation evaluation and an outcome evaluation to examine the effects of Oklahoma’s juvenile justice policy reforms over the past decade on youth outcomes. It will also include a pilot study to enhance the capacity of youth service agencies in monitoring the quality and effectiveness of their services for continuous improvement. Expected outcomes include advancing policy and practice in the juvenile justice field; informing efforts to increase access to services for underserved and historically marginalized populations and expanding our understanding on how to best incorporate young people with lived experiences as key partners in building knowledge and translating it for practice change. Juvenile justice experts, practitioners, and policymakers, and youth involved in the juvenile justice system are the intended beneficiaries of the project. CA/NCF