Addressing the Needs of Multi-System Youth: Strengthening the Connection between Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice

This paper provides communities with a framework for serving youth involved in both the juvenile justice and child welfare systems that incorporates the most up-to-date research, lessons from ongoing reform efforts, and an innovative collaborative management structure. The paper focuses on how to prevent youth from crossing over between the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and to ensure that youth who are served by both systems are treated in a manner that respects their safety, well being, and permanence, while ensuring public safety.