Center for Children's Law and Policy

The Center for Children’s Law and Policy seeks to reform juvenile justice, child welfare, and other systems that affect disadvantaged youth. As a national expert for Models for Change, the Center provides technical assistance to state and local jurisdictions in developing interventions to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. This grant will enable the Center to use its Racial and Ethnic Disparities Practice Manual and training to disseminate the lessons learned through Models for Change and provide jurisdictions practical tools to address the disproportionately-high contact of youth of color in the juvenile justice system.

This is one of four matching grants that fund projects under a public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the Foundation to promote and diffuse best practices developed through Models for Change. The Center - a nationally-recognized source for training, technical assistance, and information in juvenile justice - will provide training and technical assistance to two local jurisdictions to reduce the over-representation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system using a five-step model developed and tested through the Models for Change Disproportionate Minority Contact Action Network in 17 sites.

The Center for Children’s Law and Policy is a public interest advocacy organization, which, as a member of the Models for Change National Resource Bank of expert consultants, helps state and local jurisdictions reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. It will use this grant to help Louisiana complete implementation of new juvenile detention licensing standards and develop a practice manual and a training program to disseminate Models for Change knowledge, tools, and strategies for reducing racial and ethnic disparities.

As part of the Foundation’s public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to promote and diffuse Models for Change best practices, it is funding four technical assistance projects in18 state and local jurisdictions adopting and implementing innovative and promising practices from Models for Change states. Center for Children’s Law and Policy will provide training and technical assistance to two local jurisdictions to reduce minority over-representation in the juvenile justice system using a five-step model developed and tested through the Models for Change Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Action Network.

To provide technical assistance on the development of statewide juvenile detention facility standards and licensing in Louisiana as part of Models for Change.