The Maine SAC recently released the 2018 POSITIVE YOUTH OUTCOMES in Maine’s Juvenile Justice System.
This report highlights how the Maine Department of Corrections (DOC) Juvenile Division is aligning its programs, practices, and policy toward the result of positive youth outcomes.
To measure the extent to which youth are achieving positive outcomes during their time in Maine’s juvenile justice system, DOC adapts the positive youth development (PYD) framework to juvenile justice system programming. PYD emerged on the premise that all youth possess assets, both internal and external, that can buffer the risk factors present in their environments and the risk-taking behaviors that are a natural part of adolescent development.Tracking positive youth outcomes for youth who pass through Maine’s justice system creates a more complete profile, beyond recidivism measures, of the resiliency and potential of this population.
Findings from this research were generally positive. Among the findings were: 68% of youth saw their risk level decrease, and overall risk scores dropped 3.4 points, representing roughly a 31% decrease over the course of their supervision. 85% of the 174 youth leaving probation were engaged in school. 90% of youth who were not working during probation were in school.