This month, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced a $15 million commitment to support, in large part, the new Models for Change Resource Center Partnership. This announcement builds on the Foundation’s nearly 20-year, $150 million investment in supporting juvenile justice reform.

• Visit the Resource Center Partnership online at: http://modelsforchange.net/resourcecenters

The Partnership will provide public defenders, judges, policymakers, advocates, probation officers, mental health and social service agencies with much needed technical assistance, trainings, tools, and resources to help advance juvenile justice reform across the country.

The new Partnership consists of four Resource Centers that will focus on areas critical to continued change in juvenile justice:

• The Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Collaborative for Change: A Training, Technical Assistance and Education Center,  focusing on response to mental health needs;
• The National Juvenile Defender Center, focusing on stronger legal defense for indigent youth;
• The Status Offense Reform Center, focusing on interventions for youth charged with status offenses (or activities that are criminalized for those under 18, e.g., truancy, running away, curfew violations); and,
• The Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice, focusing on coordination of practices and policies for youth involved in both the juvenile justice and child welfare systems, and enhancement of probation system practices.  

For more information about the four resource centers, please visit the Partnership online at: http://modelsforchange.net/resourcecenters.