CJCJ’s vigorous policy advocacy and innovative programs transform juvenile justice systems to better serve young people and their families. This work strengthens community safety while reducing incarceration. Our team regularly investigates juvenile halls and youth prisons across the country. We report on conditions and concerns, while lifting up successful, community-led diversion programs. Here are CJCJ’s reports on these juvenile justice programs and policies.
For more information, contact CJCJ Communications at cjcjmedia@cjcj.org or (415) 621‑5661 x. 103.
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Report Oct 19, 2026
Lessons of the Manson Case: Childhood, Institutions, & the Myth of the Born Criminal
Report by Dan Macallair examines the childhood and juvenile institutional history of Charles Manson, asking what that history reveals about the systems entrusted with the care and control of children.
California’s juvenile violent felony arrest rate in 2025 was the fourth lowest in 68 years, challenging CPOC narratives of a youth crime surge. Policy brief by Mike Males, Ph.D.
Report Sep 30, 2026
Realignment Without Accountability
California closed its state youth prisons in 2023, handing counties full responsibility for youth in the justice system. Our coalition has been tracking conditions in local facilities ever since.
Costly Blunder examines how California expanded juvenile detention during a historic decline in youth arrests, leaving counties with excess capacity and long-term costs.
Publications Aug 7, 2026
Empty Cells Are Missed Opportunities to Repurpose America’s Surplus Juvenile Detention Facilities
In a brief published with the Scholars Strategy Network, Daniel Macallair and Carina Gallo make the case for a federal conversion program for empty and underused U.S. juvenile detention facilities.