Reduce Juvenile Detention

Indicators: How Can You Measure Progress?

Policymakers can measure progress toward preparing youth to succeed in life by tracking data in both the areas of risk factors and positive youth development. The indicators below meet criteria for powerful, useful reslt measures in these areas.

Youth Risk Indicators

· Juvenile detention -- Measures the rate of youth detained, incarcerated, or placed in residential facilities.[i]

o A sub-indicator some jurisdictions may want to track is juvenile arrests

· Births to teens -- Rate of births to teenaged females per 1,000.[ii]

· Binge alcohol and illicit drug use by youth in past month -- These are measured separately but can, and should, be tracked together:

o Illicit drug use

o Binge alcohol use.[iii]

· Teens not attending school and not working -- Measures the percentage of teenagers who are not enrolled in school (full- or part-time) and not employed (full- or part-time). [iv] Sub-indicators that could be tracked include:

o High school drop out -- Teenagers who are not enrolled in high school and are not high school graduates.[v]

o Unemployed teens -- Teenagers who are unemployed or not in the labor force. [vi]

Positive Youth Development Indicators

· Young adult voting history -- Measures youth civic engagement through reported voting and registration.[vii]

· Young adults enrolled in or completed college -- Measures academic success through the percentage of young adults enrolled in college or who have completed college. [viii]