The official definition as defined in the JJDP act of 2002 states, graduated sanctions are:

"an accountability-based graduated series of sanctions (including incentives, treatment, and services) applicable to juveniles  within the juvenile justice system to hold such juveniles accountable for their actions and to protect communities from the effects of juvenile delinquency by providing appropriate sanctions for every act for which a juvenile is adjudicated delinquent, by inducing their law-abiding behavior, and by preventing their subsequent involvement with the juvenile justice system"

Graduated sanctions can mean a lot of different things to different people and different systems, however we know that graduated sanctions need to be administered quickly and must be an appropriate response to the first signs of delinquent behaviors in children and youth.  Ultimately, graduated sanctions are envisioned as a multi-tiered continuum of interventions that allows the juvenile justice system to carefully match its sanction and treatment response to each youth’s offense severity, level of risk, and service needs.

NCJFCJ has created several links to the left to help your jurisdiction design, implement, and administer graduated sanctions (and incentives) that may improve outcomes for the youth in your community.

Some ideas are extreme, but in an initiative developed by Volkswagen known as the Fun Theory, we can see how people's behavior can change by using different types of motivation. This is what we are trying to accomplish when we use graduated sanctions to encourage positive behavior change for at-risk youth. To view the video, click on the related picture below: 

Please visit the following links for more information:

Key Principles

Frequently Asked Questions

Resources & Tools

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