The Lone Star Justice Alliance is pleased to present its new white paper, Transformative Justice: A Developmental Approach to System-­Involved Emerging Adults.  This white paper identifies the ways in which emerging adults (17-24) differ from older adults, making them vulnerable to justice system involvement, the intervention strategies that provide the best evidence available about what works in justice system response for emerging adults, and ultimately, outlines an approach for meeting the needs of emerging adults in their communities to produce positive health and public safety outcomes for all residents in Texas.  

Relying upon the Pew Charitable Trust’s evidence-based policymaking framework, the report utilizes a three-step process to assess exiting programs to help determine the most effective method of appropriating resources in support of community health and safety. Ultimately, the Lone Star Justice Alliance recommends that local criminal justice systems establish an alternative to incarceration program for emerging adults charged with a felony offense that provides participants community-based services through a localized, integrated program structured to support positive life outcomes, improving participants’ health outcomes while simultaneously reducing their criminogenic risk and the likelihood of their continued justice system involvement. This program should have 5 key elements: (1) a panel of experts to inform decision-making; (2) a risk-needs-responsivity framework; (3) community-based interventions in the least-restrictive environment; (4) an outcome-driven approach to case management; and (5) an ongoing evaluation by a neutral third-party that assesses public health outcomes, as well as the recidivism of participants.