Between Knowledge and Practice: How Youth Justice Practitioners in a US Urban Setting Navigate Developmental Science in Collaborative Decision-Making

Traditional juvenile justice approaches in the United States have failed to adequately consider adolescent developmental needs and broader social contexts, potentially undermining healthy psychosocial development. In response, the juvenile justice system has been working toward a significant shift to developmentally informed approaches, including in a midwestern urban county in the United States, where prosecutors and others have been trained on bringing the science of adolescence into their decision-making. Yet limited research exists on how practitioners operationalize these principles in practice. This qualitative study examines how practitioners in juvenile justice understand and apply concepts of adolescent development and restorative justice when determining accountability pathways for youth. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six members of the Collaborative Review Team (CRT), a group of diverse decision-making practitioners (i.e. community members, public defenders, and assistant county attorneys) who make decisions about youth cases. The results from qualitative analysis indicate a gap between theoretical knowledge and application in practice. Analysis also indicated a nuanced and complex approach to assessing need and harm. Participants emphasized the necessity of examining each youth’s individual background, stressing the importance of understanding the environmental influences affecting decision-making processes. Another recurring theme underscored disparate access to information and information gaps related to the assessment of need; participants often relied on professional experience to fill these holes, speculating or making inferences about the type and acuity of need. Results from this research are particularly timely as jurisdictions across the United States increasingly adopt models that balance accountability with developmental science and restorative approaches.