U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

they regularly talk with other youth program specialists who are

seeking information, advice, and ideas about quality programming. PEPNet encourages Awardees to share their success

through workshops, phone inquiries, and online databases.

Several PEPNet Awardees work primarily with court-involved

youth. Their programs reduce recidivism rates, prepare youth offenders for economic self-sufficiency, and help them develop the

work and life skills and resources necessary to achieve long-term

success. Five of the award-winning programs are listed below:

Career Exploration Project (CExP), Center for Alternative

Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES), New York,

NY, is an alternative to incarceration for first-time youth felony

offenders. Activities include a 1-month work readiness and personal development course followed by 10-week, part-time internships at small businesses and nonprofit agencies.

Crispus Attucks YouthBuild, Crispus Attucks Community

Development Corporation, York, PA, is a 12-month program

for nonviolent youth offenders, high school dropouts, and youth

with special education needs. Participants alternate between renovating housing in low-income neighborhoods and completing

classroom work that counts toward a high school diploma or

general education development (GED) diploma.

Fresh Start, Living Classrooms Foundation, Baltimore, MD, is

a 9-month program that provides hands-on work experiences and

educational programs to youth recently released from a secure residential facility. Youth build and repair boats and engines, work in a

marina, and have the opportunity to sail aboard foundation vessels.

Gulf Coast Trades Center, New Waverly, TX, operates a residential facility and a transition housing program that serve as an 

intermediate sanction for youth who have not succeeded on probation. The youth train in a selected trade and prepare for their

GED. In addition, the program provides work experience, job

placement, and followup services.

Re-Integration of Offenders Youth Project (RIO–Y), Texas

Youth Commission, Austin, TX, operates in the Texas Youth

Commission’s residential facilities. Participants receive help in

PEPNet: Connecting Juvenile Offenders

to Education and Employment 

by Kate O’Sullivan, Nancy Rose, and Thomas Murphy

Research and practice show that long-term success in helping

youth involved in the juvenile justice system prepare for economic

self-sufficiency and productive citizenship requires strategies that

address the developmental needs of these youth: a solid academic

foundation, life skills, and good workplace attitudes and attributes.1 The National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC)

recently completed a study in cooperation with the Youth Development and Research Fund and the Justice Policy Institute

that suggests that employment and career-focused programs can

prepare these youth for a successful transition to the workforce if

the programs are comprehensive, sustained, and connected to further education or long-term career opportunities.

The Promising and Effective Practices 

Network (PEPNet)

PEPNet, administered by NYEC and funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, provides information, materials, and publicity to

organizations working with young offenders in both residential

and community settings. PEPNet is a practice-based system that

identifies and promotes effective youth development and employment programs and maintains an extensive database resource.

During the past 6 years, PEPNet has created the PEPNet Criteria

for Effective Practices, a framework for developing quality programming, and developed a national recognition system that has

designated 58 youth programs as PEPNet Awardees.

To be eligible for the award, organizations complete a 40-page

application detailing how their program meets the five PEPNet

criteria (discussed in a later section). Awardees speak at conferences and receive national recognition and validation. PEPNet’s

growth into a premier resource on “what works” in youth development and employment has provided many networking opportunities. All Awardees’ contact information is publicized, and

July 2001 #29

1Task Force on Employment and Training for Court-Involved Youth. 2000. Employment and Training for Court-Involved Youth. Report. Washington, DC: U.S.

Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention. NCJ 182787.
PRESORTED STANDARD

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

DOJ/OJJDP

PERMIT NO. G–91

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U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

entering the workforce, such as preemployment counseling, job

readiness skills, and career exploration, in addition to the education, resocialization, specialized treatment, and tailored aftercare

services all youth at the facility receive.

Each of these programs incorporates PEPNet’s youth development and workforce development principles within the constraints

of the juvenile justice system and has a recidivism rate of less

than 20 percent. More detailed profiles of these PEPNet Awardees

are available at www.nyec.org/pepnet.

PEPNet Criteria 

PEPNet’s operating framework falls into five broad categories:

Purpose and activities. Effective juvenile justice programs view

themselves as rehabilitation projects rather than disciplinary programs. For example, RIO–Y’s stated mission is “to provide incarcerated youth with postrelease career training opportunities

and with youth development skills necessary for them to find and

maintain employment as productive members of society.” Gulf

Coast Trades Center’s program is designed around a philosophy

that “stresses the worth and dignity of each person.” Each program incorporates long-term support (for at least 12 months) following a youth’s completion of the program.

Organization and management. Collaboration is particularly

strong among the most effective youth offender programs, enabling them to leverage available resources. RIO–Y is a collaboration between the Texas Youth Commission and the workforce

investment system. At Crispus Attucks YouthBuild, social services agencies, local businesses, and other organizations provide

an estimated $500,000 a year in in-kind contributions that include workshops, training, childcare, counseling, construction

materials, and office space. Partnerships with employers guarantee that program participants have quality work experiences.

Youth development. Positive youth development programs look

beyond youth problems and tend to stress young people’s strengths

and assets to encourage growth. The PEPNet Awardees set high

expectations and demand accountability, ranging from attendance

requirements to postrelease drug testing. They provide participants

opportunities for responsibility and leadership, such as the youthrun boatbuilding and chairmaking businesses at Fresh Start and the

youth policy committee at Crispus Attucks.

Workforce development. All PEPNet programs integrate academic, vocational, and work readiness instruction.

Evidence of success. All PEPNet programs document the outcomes

of their graduates in terms of rearrest, reincarceration, and postcompletion employment results over at least a 12-month period.

PEPNet’s free resources include:

◆ The PEPNet Criteria Workbook, which contains the PEPNet

self-assessment and continuous improvement processes along

with the criteria themselves.

◆ The Index to Effective Practices, with more than 500 specific

techniques and strategies from PEPNet Awardees.

◆ Information about funding support for PEPNet Awardees and

the youth populations they serve.

◆ Onsite training by PEPNet staff.

For Further Information

For more information about PEPNet and its related activities,

contact:

Kate O’Sullivan, PEPNet Director of Programs

National Youth Employment Coalition

KO@nyec.org

Thomas Murphy, Program Manager

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

U.S. Department of Justice

murphyt@ojp.usdoj.gov

Nancy Rose, Manpower Analyst

Employment and Training Administration

U.S. Department of Labor

nrose@doleta.gov

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component 

of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice

Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice,

and the Office for Victims of Crime.

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