Promoting a New Direction for Youth Justice: Strategies to Fund a Community-Based Continuum of Care and Opportunity

R E S E A R C H R E P O R T Promoting a New Direction for Youth Justice Strategies to Fund a Community-Based Continuum of Care and Opportunity Samantha Harvell Chloe Warnberg Leah Sakala Constance Hull March 2019 J U S T I C E P O L I C Y C E N T ER A B O U T T H E U R B A N I N S TI T U T E The nonprofit Urban Institute is a leading research organization dedicated to developing evidence-based insights that improve people’s lives and strengthen communities. For 50 years, Urban has been the trusted source for rigorous analysis of complex social and economic issues; strategic advice to policymakers, philanthropists, and practitioners; and new, promising ideas that expand opportunities for all. Our work inspires effective decisions that advance fairness and enhance the well-being of people and places. Copyright © March 2019. Urban Institute. Permission is granted for reproduction of this file, with attribution to the Urban Institute. Cover image by Tim Meko. Contents Contents iii Acknowledgments iv Introduction 5 The Need to Invest in Community-Based Youth Justice Solutions 7 Structuring Investments to Address Youth and Community Needs 10 Promising and Innovative Strategies for Directing Resources to Community-Based Youth Justice Solutions 13 Capturing and Redirecting Savings from Reduced Youth Incarceration and Facility Closure 13 Repurposing Youth Facilities and Leveraging Land Value 17 Transforming Former Youth Detention and Placement Facilities 18 Leveraging Land Value to Create New Funding Streams 19 Maximizing Existing State and Federal Funding Opportunities 21 Child Welfare Funding 23 Workforce and Education Grants 27 Victims of Crime Act Funding 28 Community Development Block Grant Funding 29 Implementing Innovative Strategies to Fund Community Investment 29 Leveraging a New Tax to Develop Sustainable Funding 30 Pay for Success Models 32 Participatory Budgeting 33 Opportunity Zones 34 Anchor Institutions 35 Cannabis Legalization 36 Conclusion 37 Notes 38 References 43 About the Authors 46 Statement of Independence 47 A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S iv Acknowledgments This report was funded by the Public Welfare Foundation. We are grateful to them and to all our funders, who make it possible for the Urban Institute to advance its mission. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and recommendations of Urban experts. Further information on the Urban Institute’s funding principles is available at www.urban.org/fundingprinciples. We are grateful to the many people who took the time to share their experience, perspective, and vision for better youth justice investments. The authors thank the participants in the August 9, 2018, Innovative Strategies for Reinvesting in Youth Justice convening, the youth advocate roundtable participants, and the interviewees who generously shared their time and expertise with us. We want to acknowledge Randy Bowman, Laura Goren, Dakota Hall, Josie Halpern-Finnerty, Shelli Jackson, Todd Landry, Josh Lerner, Galit Lipa, Alezandra Melendez, Sharlen Moore, Ann Rooney, Noran Sanford, Valerie Slater, and Kelly Walsh in particular for their review of prior excerpts and drafts as well as Carmen Daugherty, Liz Ryan, Mishi Faruqee and Hernan Carvente with Youth First for their collaboration on this report. We are also grateful to our colleagues Akiva Liberman and Nancy La Vigne for their support and feedback during this process and to Hanna Love for all her contributions to the conceptualization and planning of the convening. Any errors are the authors’ responsibility alone. Introduction Over the past two decades, the United States has seen a dramatic decline in youth arrests and a fundamental shift in its approach to youth justice. Recognizing the detrimental effects of incarceration on youth and communities, states and localities are increasingly embracing community-based strategies to prevent, intervene, and respond to harmful and/or illegal behavior. Yet, despite this shift, they continue to funnel the vast majority of funding to incarceration rather than investing in community-driven solutions. Building a true continuum of care and opportunity for youth and families in their home communities to both prevent and address the root causes of illegal behavior requires substantial investment, particularly given that communities disproportionately impacted by youth incarceration often also experience concentrated disadvantage that creates structural barriers to youths’ success. There is a pressing need to identify proven, promising, and innovative strategies for investing in community-based solutions and, moreover, to follow the lead of those closest to the challenges on the ground in developing and implement