Projects.All projects in the Juvenile Justice Research and Reform Lab are designed to improve juvenile justice policy and practice to produce better outcomes for youth and communities. Projects span a variety of areas—from more traditional forensic psychology research on adolescents’ legal decision-making capacities to translational research focused on developing effective juvenile justice policies and practices. Further, they range from evaluations of new and existing juvenile justice policies and programs to implementation science projects replicating best practices in juvenile justice.
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Evaluating the Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program Collaborating with multiple city agencies, the JJR&R Lab recently completed a 5-year longitudinal evaluation of the Diversion Program. Results indicate that this program reduced the annual number of school-based arrests in Philadelphia by 84% and produced a significant reduction in 5-year recidivism rates for diverted youth relative to a matched group of arrested youth. Detailed police, school, and service access outcomes are available on this project page. The Lab intends to continue ongoing evaluation of this program and expansion of this robust database.
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Developing, Implementing, and Evaluating Graduated Response in Juvenile ProbationCollaborating with more than 150 counties across the country, the JJR&R Lab uses research to help jurisdictions restructure their juvenile probation systems to facilitate youths' successful completion of court supervision and positive youth development. The Lab provides training, technical assistance, and research support to counties and states to enhance their juvenile probation policies and practices and youths' juvenile justice and wellbeing outcomes.
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Creating a Positive School Safety CurriculumThe JJR&R Lab created a 16-session coaching curriculum and training series to teach school safety staff--including school officers and school climate staff--empirically based, procedurally just, and trauma-informed practices. The Lab is currently partnering with the School District of Philadelphia to implement and evaluate this program with all district school officers and with a large sample of school climate staff in a randomized controlled trial.
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All of the JJR&R Lab's work aims to address inequalities in the juvenile justice system, eliminate disparities, and promote fair and just outcomes for youth. In addition, the Lab conducts research to evaluate the impacts of the Pennsylvania Disproportionate Minority Contact Youth/Law Enforcement Curriculum, a training curriculum that brings officers and young people together to improve relationships and foster safe and positive interactions in the community.
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Court-ordered restitution payments to victims can present a major obstacle to youths' abilities to complete their court involvement--with disproportionately negative impacts on low-income youth and youth of color. The JJR&R Lab is partnering with the Philadelphia DA's Office to evaluate alternatives to youth-paid restitution to remove this economic hurdle for youth and help victims receive their money more quickly.
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Arrest and criminal conviction records can have severe negative consequences for individuals long after their justice system involvement ends. The JJR&R Lab is conducting a mixed-methods evaluation of the implementation and outcomes of a city-wide Expungement Clinic initiative designed to help individuals expunge their records so they can take advantage of the employment and other life opportunities that were otherwise inaccessible.
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The lab researches juveniles' Miranda waiver capacities and consults to state governments and legal organizations seeking to pass developmentally informed laws protecting juveniles' rights during interrogation. Through this work, the JJR&R Lab also created the Miranda Rights Comprehension Instruments (MRCI) for use in forensic evaluations.
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To protect youth confined in justice facilities from COVID-19 health risks and other negative impacts of confinement, the Lab is collaborating with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges to 1) synthesize available research on risk assessment/reduction and judicial decision making and 2) disseminate a research-grounded strategy to support judges and probation officers in safely releasing more youth from confinement during the pandemic and beyond.
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The JJR&R Lab conducts international and cross-cultural research on juveniles' decision making in a variety of legal contexts. Data are used to inform national policy decisions and to generate assessment tools translated into Spanish. The lab offers workshops, trainings, and presentations in English and Spanish.
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The lab created the Juvenile Justice Anger Management (JJAM) Treatment for Girls, a manualized 16-session group treatment. Results of a randomized controlled trial revealed JJAM significantly reduced anger and aggression among girls in residential placement. JJAM was included as a "promising program" on NIJ's CrimeSolutions.org site and in OJJDP's Model Programs Guide.
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Training and Technical Assistance
Beyond research, the Juvenile Justice Research and Reform Lab provides training and technical assistance in each of its core project areas to help juvenile justice stakeholders enhance system effectiveness and fairness, evaluate programs and policies, and generate better outcomes for youth and communities.
