Youth Justice Board

How It Works

2009-10 Youth Justice Board members at a town hall meeting.Recruitment: Members are selected through a competitive process from a large applicant pool. Criteria for selection include interest in the topic, commitment to working on a long-term project, and willingness to work as part of a team. The Board represents the diversity of New York City, and includes a wide range of skills and perspectives.

Training: Members receive intensive training, beginning with a weekend retreat in upstate New York where members participate in team-building activities and begin their exploration of the selected topic. Later training covers research, consensus building, listening and interviewing skills, public speaking, and ‘New York Civics 101’ to learn how policy decisions are made and implemented in New York City.

Fieldwork: The Youth Justice Board designs and implements a work plan that includes interviews, focus groups, and direct observation. The Board interviews a wide range of stakeholders—professionals in the field, community members, advocates, public officials, and young people affected by the issue. Members work in small teams to plan and conduct the interviews then compile the information from the interviews to share with other Board members. Past interview subjects have included the Chief Administrative Judge of New York City Family Court, the New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, the Mayor’s Office of the Criminal Justice Coordinator, the New York City Law Department, and the Legal Aid Society. The Board also runs focus groups, typically composed of young people affected by the issue being investigated. The focus groups enable the Youth Justice Board to hear directly from a diverse collection of young people, resulting in recommendations that genuinely reflect young people’s points of view.

Policy Development: The Board’s research culminates in the development of policy proposals for policymakers and City officials. As part of the process of developing recommendations, the Board invites input from stakeholders, including other young people and professionals in the field. The Board then issues a final report and holds a series of meetings to present its policy recommendations directly to relevant officials and policymakers; past presentations have been made to the Chancellor of the Department of Education, the New York City Criminal Justice Coordinator’s Office, the New York City Council, the New York State Assembly, the New York State Judicial Training Institute and the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development.

Taking Action: After presenting its recommendations, the Board develops and executes strategies to facilitate the implementation of their recommendations. Strategies have included advocating for their ideas directly with key agencies, designing and implementing pilot initiatives, developing materials to assist other youth, and building partnerships with other organizations addressing the same topic.

Alumni Activities: The program continues to work with and support members after they complete the program. Many alumni continue to advocate for implementation of the Board’s recommendations. In addition, alumni remain citizen leaders, taking on leadership positions in their schools, interning with related organizations, and pursuing civic-minded activities in their communities.