Overview

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

Overview

Youth who are released from institutional confinement are more likely to succeed if they have access to services that can help them thrive in a noninstitutional environment. When high-quality reentry and aftercare services are available, youth need to spend less time in confinement, and the overall cost of juvenile corrections can be reduced.

Effective reentry/aftercare programs begin before a youth leaves the facility and involve the family and the community. Developing and testing new models of juvenile reentry/aftercare services is a major focus of OJJDP.

Statistical information on this aspect of the juvenile justice system, although currently limited, should increase substantially in the future. OJJDP is committed to building knowledge in the field to support the development of successful reentry strategies. This section of the Statistical Briefing Book will provide policymakers, juvenile justice professionals, and the public with the latest available statistics on the characteristics of youth leaving confinement and their experiences after release.