Strategies for Youth

Who We Are:

Strategies for Youth is a national nonprofit policy and training organization that equips law enforcement to interact with youth using developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed, equitable approaches that promote public safety.

Our Core Strategies:

1) Law Enforcement Training: Policing the Teen Brain™ (IADLEST‑certified, 2–4 day) blends cutting-edge neuroscience and psychological insights into hands‑on communication tactics to avoid escalation and help de-escalate interactions with youth for patrol officers and school resource officers, offered across 28+ states.

2) Model Policies: SFYworks with law enforcement agencies to consider adoption and adaption of our 12 Model Law Enforcement Policies for Interactions with Youth to support developmentally aware, trauma-informed, and equitable policing practices. Backed by research, stakeholder-reviewed, and designed for use at the federal, state and local levels.

3) Youth Education & Engagement: Our interactive Juvenile Justice Jeopardy games teach youth their legal rights and obligations and strategies to navigate authority and peer dynamics safely, and to avoid legal jeopardy

4) Public Education: Raise the profile of the need for equipping law enforcement and youth to interact effectively, and highlight, through innovative research and policy analysis, the need for structural reforms.

Our Impact:

SFY's integrated approach has led to documented reductions in juvenile arrests, improved public safety, and more equitable policing outcomes. Our work has been featured in Newsweek, NPR, The Hill, USA Today, Juvenile Justice Update, and other local, state, and national publications.