Juvenile crime prevention programs show sustained reductions in referrals and detention, Youth Development Oregon says

Youth Development Oregon officials told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education on Jan. 30 that the state’s juvenile crime prevention (JCP) programs delivered measurable reductions in new criminal referrals and detention, and that county and tribal programs rely on community‑based interventions and third‑party evaluation.

Brian Detman, director of Youth Development Oregon, and Anya Sikina, associate director and prevention lead, briefed the subcommittee on how the agency administers formula grants to all 36 counties and nine tribal nations to serve youth ages 8 to 17 at imminent risk of juvenile justice involvement.

Detman said the agency contracts third‑party evaluator NPC Research to assess outcomes. He told the committee that JCP funding supported roughly 1,600 youth in the 2021–23 biennium and that program evaluation shows strong short‑ and medium‑term results. “Twelve months after the program, 91 percent of youth with no prior criminal referrals continued to avoid new referrals, and 98 percent avoided detention,” Detman said. For youth with prior referrals, 69 percent had no additional new referrals and 76 percent avoided detention at 12 months.

The evaluation also examined outcomes at 36 months. Detman said the longer follow‑up showed continued effects: for youth with no prior referrals, 67 percent had no new referral at 36 months and 86 percent avoided detention; for youth with prior referrals, 39 percent had no new referral and 45 percent avoided detention after three years.

Youth Development Oregon staff emphasized the programs’ focus on risk and protective factors and on family engagement. Anya Sikina said the programs work “with families” and that family engagement and parental involvement are featured in updates to detention guidelines and program design. The agency noted that JCP uses validated risk assessment tools to create individualized service plans and that programs include intensive family therapy, cognitive behavioral approaches, restorative practices, diversion and outpatient treatment.

Detman and Sikina said JCP grants averaged roughly $2,000 per youth annually in the 2021–23 biennium. They contrasted that with the Oregon Youth Authority’s estimated cost to incarcerate one youth, which they said exceeds $110,000 annually, and argued that community‑based prevention is both more effective at reducing future offending and much less costly.

Youth Development Oregon also described related work: the agency administers Future Ready Oregon youth workforce funding (about $10 million) and the East Multnomah Outreach Prevention and Intervention (MOPI) partnership in Gresham, among other grants. Detman said roughly 2,300 youth were served through Future Ready youth workforce funds through June 2024 and that those programs paid about $1.4 million in wages to young people.

Committee members asked about family involvement, crossover youth involved in both child welfare and juvenile justice, and data disaggregation by county. Agency officials said they work with juvenile departments, the Oregon Judicial Department’s delinquency improvement project, the State Workforce and Talent Development Board and other partners to coordinate services and to highlight family and youth voice in planning. The agency plans to bring additional data and budget details when it returns for its budget presentation to the committee.