The Challenge
Two of the most frequently discussed challenges among Philadelphia’s juvenile justice stakeholders are the lack of reliable data and the absence of protocols for using data to improve outcomes for youth. In the absence of complete information on youth in the juvenile justice system or a robust understanding about the efficacy of the services they are receiving, efforts to improve outcomes for system-involved youth are significantly hampered.
The Project
After years of working with young people in community-based supervision programs at Northeast Treatment Centers (NET) in Philadelphia, Adam Serlin developed a custom performance management system to track the numbers, characteristics, and outcomes of the young people in his care, as well as the efficacy of his program’s services. This information led to improvements in service delivery, new strategies for youth engagement, and better youth outcomes at NET.
Through his Stoneleigh Fellowship, Adam partnered with The Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University to develop and further implement performance management tools and strategies to help establish data-informed practices that address the needs of any stakeholders in Philadelphia’s juvenile justice system who express interest in leveraging their data to better serve youth.
This Stoneleigh Fellowship enabled Adam to:
- Identify gaps in information and implement data solutions. Adam worked with system stakeholders to align their data collection and outcome standards, and to design tailored technology and management solutions.
- Sustain and expand his performance management approach. Adam worked with stakeholders to build an infrastructure for data-informed performance management systems in Philadelphia, develop potential policy recommendations, and collect lessons and best practices to help replicate the model in other jurisdictions.
