Reports Track the Continued Progress in New Jersey’s Transformation of Its Youth Justice System and Decline in Youth Crime

JDAI 2023 Annual Data Report | Recidivism and Outcomes Report

TRENTON – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Youth Justice Commission (YJC) today released reports tracking trends in youth justice. The reports detail positive outcomes in decreasing youth involvement in the justice system and improved public safety. The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) 2023 Annual Data Report outlines the ways in which youth justice has improved since the groundbreaking initiative was implemented across the state in 2018. It focuses on declining trends in youth arrests and detention at the county level, and the related decline in youth sentenced or committed to secure care with the YJC.

Also released today is Recidivism and Outcomes Report: A Three-Year Follow-up of Youth Released in 2019, which demonstrates declining recidivism among youth released from YJC custody. Together, the reports highlight a steeply declining population of youth in detention, accompanied by equally steep reductions in youth crime and improved outcomes for youth leaving secure care with the YJC.

“The decline in the number of youth entering and remaining in the justice system and the continued decline in young people committing crime represent a profound victory for youth and for our state: it has made New Jersey safer and more just,” said Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. “The reports released today illustrate that we can reduce youths’ involvement in the justice system while improving public safety, and they underscore why closely examining data is critical to effecting that change. While we continue to steadily improve outcomes for justice-impacted youth in New Jersey, there is still work to be done, and we remain committed to expanding on the YJC’s advancements in youth justice.”

In response to national trends of increasing the use of secure detention for young people – and the resulting overcrowding of youth detention centers – the Annie E. Casey Foundation developed JDAI to create more effective and efficient processes surrounding the use of detention. JDAI reduces the number of young people unnecessarily or inappropriately held in secure detention, while maintaining public safety. JDAI also redirects resources toward successful reform strategies and improves conditions of confinement for those that require a secure level of supervision.

In 2004, New Jersey was selected to be among the first states to replicate JDAI, which historically had been a county-driven initiative. In its first year, New Jersey launched JDAI in five pilot sites – Atlantic, Camden, Essex, Hudson, and Monmouth counties. By 2018, JDAI was operating in all New Jersey counties. Since then, the overall number of youth placed with the YJC has decreased substantially, marking substantial progress toward youth justice reform in New Jersey.

“The YJC continues to make strides in transforming youth justice by minimizing reliance on secure confinement, providing programs and opportunities to help young people grow and thrive, investing in community-based programs, and reducing recidivism,” said YJC Executive Director Dr. Jennifer LeBaron. “Our successes have made New Jersey a model for other states. However, we also understand that there is still work to be done, and we are committed to continuing to innovate and lead as we work to help create bright futures for New Jersey’s justice-impacted youth.”

Since JDAI was implemented in all 21 counties, New Jersey’s youth justice system has seen significant improvements:

• an approximately 83% reduction in the number of young people admitted to county detention facilities as compared to before counties joined JDAI;
• a reduction of approximately 90% in the number of court-ordered commitments of young people to YJC custody, resulting in the virtual elimination of reliance on incarceration with the YJC for minor offenses; and
• on any given day in 2023, there were 562 fewer young people in secure detention, with youth of color accounting for 89% of this drop.

Amidst these improvements, Uniform Crime Report figures for 2023 indicate youth arrests were down in all 21 counties as compared to pre-JDAI, for a total reduction of 88%. Arrests for more serious “index” offenses are also down, at 79%.

The successful outcomes of JDAI underscore the importance of the related investments in alternatives to detention. In 2024, the YJC awarded counties more than $20 million in funding for local youth justice programs, which include alternatives to detention. These interventions are critical to reducing youth in detention while ensuring that they remain arrest free and attend all court hearings until their case is complete. Approximately 96% of youth completed their detention alternative placement without a new delinquency charge.

The Outcomes and Recidivism Report tracks individuals for three years after leaving custody. The current report follows youth released from YJC custody in 2019.

The report released today shows that the rate of recidivism among youth released from the YJC has been steadily declining since 2008. Among youth released in 2019, 77.0% experienced a new court filing or arrest compared to 85.0% in 2008. In 2008, 73.3% experienced a new adjudication or conviction within three years, compared to just 49.8% of youth released 2019. And 23.4% of young people released in 2019 experienced a new commitment within three years, down from 38.7% in 2008. While the JDAI report demonstrates that fewer youth are entering secure care with the YJC, the Outcomes and Recidivism Report reinforces that those who leave secure care are better prepared to reintegrate. This progress coincides with indicators of a decline in youth crime.

Prior to March 2024, the legislatively required report was produced by the New Jersey Department of Corrections, and the YJC contributed information regarding outcomes for youth in its care.

In further effort to transform New Jersey’s youth justice system, the YJC works with communities to provide diversionary programming for at risk young people – such as the Restorative and Transformative Justice Hubs. More than 10,000 youth are served in the community each year through funding provided by the YJC to County Youth Services Commissions. The YJC works to ensure that the young people the courts have placed into their care and custody have opportunities to attain a high school diploma, trade certificate, and other forms of higher education. These improved opportunities have been shown to reduce recidivism, making communities safer.

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On March 17, 2025, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law P.L.2025, c.35, renaming the Juvenile Justice Commission as the Youth Justice Commission. Established in 1995, the YJC serves as the single agency of State government with centralized authority for planning, policy development, and provision of services in the youth justice system. The YJC is committed to implementing and promoting policies and practices that improve outcomes for young people involved with the youth justice system, their families, and their communities.

The YJC’s three primary responsibilities are providing care, custody, and rehabilitative services to youth committed to the agency by the courts, supervising and coordinating services for youth released from custody on parole, and supporting local efforts to provide prevention and early intervention services to at-risk and court-involved youth.

Across a continuum of care, which includes secure care facilities, residential community homes, and community-based parole and transitional services, the YJC provides programming, supports, and opportunities designed to help youth grow and thrive and to become independent, productive, and law-abiding citizens.

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