About US

Our Fundamental Belief

Strategies for Youth believes that adults who are developmentally competent have more effective interactions with youth.

Here’s how we define that concept: Developmental Competence refers to the understanding that children and adolescents’ perceptions and behaviors are influenced by biological and psychological factors related to their development stage.

Mission and Vision

Mission

SFY is a national policy and training organization dedicated to ensuring best outcomes for youth interacting with law enforcement.

Vision

We achieve our mission by:

providing law enforcement agencies and officers with developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed, racially equitable training, policies and partnerships;
teaching youth how to navigate interactions with law enforcement officers and their peers, and to be aware of what conduct puts them in legal jeopardy,
conducting original research and working with scholars to raise the profile of this issue.

Prospectus

Strategies for Youth (SFY) was founded in 2010 to improve interactions between police and young people, with a focus on youth of color, and to reduce unnecessary arrests and use of force by police against young people.

Approximately 40 percent of youth arrests are for minor or “contempt of cop” offenses with no underlying crimes. The reality of current police/youth relations stems from a combination of factors:

inadequate and limited police training that emphasizes control,
the adolescent impulse to resist authority and their vulnerability to legal misinformation,
and a longstanding history of mutual distrust of one another’s motives, resulting in escalations of situations that pose little risk to public safety.

These arrests are unnecessary, avoidable, expensive, and harmful to youth, their families, and their communities.

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Case Statement

SFY places a priority on improving outcomes for youth—particularly youth of color—who are at high risk of arrest and violent encounters with law enforcement officials. Our strategies include:

Training law enforcement in effective strategies for interacting positively with youth. SFY teaches officers about adolescent psychology, including how to recognize signs of mental illness and trauma, and how to de-escalate situations and avoid use of force, while weaving in issues related to racial bias.
Promoting partnerships between community-based organizations and law enforcement to connect youth and their families with a network of available services.
Teaching youth through Juvenile Justice Jeopardy about the legal consequences of their behaviors, and how to engage effectively and peacefully with law enforcement officers.
Building public momentum for policy reforms that institutionalize a positive youth development approach in law enforcement through research and publications.

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