• In The Presence Of Children

    Strategies for Youth surveyed children whose parents/guardians were arrested in front of them. We asked them how this experience could have been less scary and terrifying. In response to their answers, SFY has created materials for law enforcement to use when arresting a parent in the presence of children. These resources were developed in consultation with psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, police officers and, importantly, the children themselves.

    Watch the Video
  • Press Release

    More Training Needed For Working With Youth

    The death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri has re-ignited debates about the adequacy of police training for interactions with youth...

    Read Full Press Release

  • Juvenile Justice Training Report

    You’ve all been waiting patiently and now it’s finally here. If Not Now, When? A Survey of Juvenile Justice Training in America’s Police Academies is now available for download. Check out the fact sheet for some of our key findings, or read the full report to find out how officers are being trained in your state.

    Read the Report

  • Juvenile Justice Jeopardy

    Juvenile Justice JeopardyTM is a game created by Strategies for Youth. It’s aim is to teach teens the workings of the juvenile justice system, their rights and obligations, what happens in police/youth interactions and how to interact safely with law enforcement.

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  • Cambridge's Safety Net Approach

    After training all its officers in Policing the Teen Brain, the Cambridge Police Department in Massachusetts rethought how it would approach youth in its city. With a change in emphasis and deployment, the Department has reduced runaways by 80% and juvenile arrests by 65% in five years.

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Lisa addressing The Y

Our Mission

Strategies for Youth is an policy and training organization dedicated to improving police/youth interactions through community engagement, police training, outreach programs for youth, and proactive use of multi-disciplinary approaches to problem solve and build relationships between police and youth. Learn More»

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For Police

Policing The Teen Brain

Learn more about Policing the Teen Brain, SFY's signature police training program. Learn More»

For Communities

Teaching Teens

Check out Juvenile Justice Jeopardy, SFY's tool for helping youth navigate interactions with police. Juvenile Justice Jeopardy»

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This was, by far, the best training that I attended this year... and for the last few years! I look forward to attending again next year."

– School Resource Officer

The response was absolutely amazing. People are crying for this program and the energy of desire for JJJ was unbelievable... the passion that both Commander Waters and I have for bringing this type of program to the Community could be felt throughout the audience."

– Officer Candi Perri, Indianapolis Metro Police Department