Research and Resource Companion for High-Risk Youth and Challenging Cases Bench Cards

Judges, policymakers, and communities are increasingly concerned about youth crime and violence. In response, some decision-makers are adopting sanctions-heavy approaches that are not shown to improve public safety. Judges play a critical role in identifying truly high-risk youth and applying timely, research-based dispositional decisions and interventions to reduce reoffending. They also need evidence-based strategies for cases when youth are struggling to comply with their probation conditions and/or make consistent treatment progress.

This research summary complements the “Judicial Decision-Making for High-Risk Youth” and “How Courts Can Best Support Post-Dispositional Success for Challenging Delinquency Cases” bench cards, offering a research “cheat sheet,” brief summaries with references, and additional resources to help judges and other court stakeholders apply proven practices, supported by training and implementation tools.