This document reports on listening sessions with state juvenile justice agency administrators serving in several states across the U.S., that explored the application and outcomes of policy changes to juvenile justice system practices in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the central goal of determining which practices should be continued, and how.
This report describes research activities that aimed to answer three questions: how U.S. juvenile justice systems responded to the Covid-19 pandemic and how policies change regarding transfers between and releases from juvenile residential facilities; how the different policy responses are associated with youth and public safety outcomes; and what resources are needed to sustain those policies that were associated with positive outcomes. The authors describe the setting, participants, and focus of their research activities, and provide a detailed breakdown of their findings. They conclude that findings from this listening session reaffirm the challenging times of the pandemic with staffing issues, safety and health concerns, and the need for continual adaptation due to changing circumstances of concern. The authors also note that administrators highlighted the importance of ongoing and frequent communication between their agencies and staff, families, and youth.