School Discipline and Juvenile Justice

This study sought to examine the educational and criminal justice trajectories of youth who have been arrested as juveniles or young adults. At the broadest level, the goal was to better understand how interaction with the juvenile (criminal) justice system influences educational outcomes and, conversely, how a young person’s success in the educational domain impacts the likelihood he or she will interact with the juvenile justice system.

YPL partnered with the Juvenile Justice Clinic (JJC) at the U-M Law School to evaluate their Counsel at First Appearance pilot in select Michigan counties. Through this evaluation, we assessed the outcomes of providing legal representation to juvenile defendants facing felony charges at their first time in court. Findings from this evaluation were expected to support efforts to scale CAFA for juveniles statewide.