Transform Youth Justice

Transform Youth Justice (TYJ) invests in directly impacted communities as the foremost experts in defining and implementing healing-based, positive youth development strategies that ensure our youth are healthy, safe, engaged and thriving. TYJ invests in community capacity for a future where carceral and punitive justice system approaches are rare and community-based systems of care flourish.

TYJ is funded by the California Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR) and the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and implemented by The Center at Sierra Health Foundation through three program pillars. Each pillar reinforces The Center’s vision of a health and healing-based developmental approach to youth behavior and youth accused of harm: (1) Community Based Organization Capacity Building Initiative (2) Ending Girls Incarceration Initiative and (3) Justice Serving Network (JSN) Development Initiative

1. The Community Based Organization Capacity Building Initiative (CBI)

The Community Based Organization CBI improves the health, social, and intergenerational life course outcomes for youth and families impacted by punitive and carceral legal systems. This is achieved through community-based organizational capacity building that prioritizes fund development, organizational sustainability, technical assistance and the facilitation of peer-to-peer learning opportunities through a community of practice. The Center partners with local community-based organizations to provide supportive, sustainable and effective services tailored to the unique needs of their communities. Technical assistance is provided by the National Center for Youth Law and Public Works Alliance.

2.Ending Girls’ Incarceration (EGI)

EGI is a collaborative initiative with Vera Institute of Justice, a national organization working to reduce gender disparities in the youth justice system. OYCR is partnering with The Center to fund the EGI initiative in four California counties: Imperial, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego counties. EGI focuses on local prevention and diversion services for girls and gender expansive youth, while working to decriminalize status offenses, such as running away. It also works to explicitly prohibit incarceration for misdemeanors and technical violations of probation, all aimed at improving health and educational outcomes while promoting community-based healing and other supports necessary for thriving youth development.

3. Justice Serving Network (JSN)

The JSN Development Initiative builds the capacity of organizations that are ready to begin accessing or expand access to Medi-Cal funding through CalAIM and other opportunities created by the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI). By accessing these health and healing funding streams, JSN increases the capacity and sustainability of community-based services for justice-involved youth in California. Programmatically lead by Public Works Alliance, JSN provides technical assistance through peer-to-peer learning opportunities, intensive Medi-Cal navigation and billing support through Full Circle Health Network. Funding awards for start-up capital, financial and program reporting support and other grant management are provided by The Center. As the state shifts towards positive youth development, trauma responsive, culturally informed and health and healing based approaches to youth involved in punitive and carceral legal systems, the need for JSN will grow and evolve. The long-term goal of JSN is to improve intergenerational life-course outcomes for young people engaged by these community partners, as well as organizational sustainability.