This month in the Asset Champion we hear from people and programs doing unique and powerful things to build Developmental Assets® in young people involved with the juvenile justice system.
The Bridge Project
Juvenile offenders in Victoria, Australia are given opportunities to envision, prepare for, and make a new life for themselves thanks to the Bridge Project. 
Stemming from a long relationship between the YMCA in Victoria and the youth justice centers in the area, the Bridge Project supports and connects incarcerated young people with opportunities to pursue jobs in fields that they are interested in as they transition into their lives outside of custody.
Coconino County Juvenile Court Services
In Arizona, Coconino County Juvenile Court Services has been working with the Developmental Assets for a decade. The strength-based system focuses on positive outcomes for youth by training staff, utilizing asset-building activities in its detention center, and implementing the Step Up program. Serving about 1300 youth each year, Coconino County Juvenile Court Services plays an important role in the community, offering positive, caring, structured environments dedicated to supporting some of the most vulnerable teens.
Diversion to Assets Project
In 2008, Communities for Children and Youth (C4CY) in partnership with the Maine Department of Corrections began pilot programs in six primarily urban communities. The C4CY Diversion to Assets Project intends to divert juvenile offenders to people and resources in the community that can support and engage them and provide positive, strength-based alternatives to detention.
Additional Resource
Asset-Building Ideas for Law Enforcement and Juvenile Justice
Handout from The Asset Activist’s Toolkit
