North Dakota juvenile court program looks to improve Tuesday, March 24, 2020

One year into a new North Dakota court program, collaborators say its areas of focus have become clearer for better serving youth and families involved in both the juvenile justice and child welfare systems and for reducing referrals to juvenile court.

North Dakota's Dual Status Youth Initiative launched in January 2019. It was born from a yearlong study and recommendations in 2018 from the Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice to a group of state court, corrections and human services officials.

Last month, the initiative's Executive Committee met to review a third-party evaluator's critique of the program's first six months, The Bismarck Tribune reported.