White Paper: DC YouthLink: Promoting Public Safety, Preparing Youth to Succeed and Investing in DC

By focusing on community-based interventions, DC YouthLink is at the forefront of a national trend in positive, community-based services and placements for youth committed to a juvenile justice agency. The initiative is based on the premise that youth are best served within the context of their home community and that building upon their strengths and the strengths of the community is the most effective way to enhance public safety.  This report provides a description of DC YouthLink, its relationship to current trends in juvenile justice, and initial outcomes associated with the initaitive.