The Transformative Justice Project of Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Delaware

Organizational Accomplishments
Organizational accomplishments include, but are by no means limited to:
1. Acquisition of Nationally Recognized Evidence-Based programs and services;
2. Formation and cultivation of Collaborative partnerships with key community stakeholders;
3. Expansion of Organizational Development expertise;
4. Success rates greater than 85%.
The Dilemma Facing the Juvenile Justice System
The Need for Our Program and Target Population
America's Juvenile Justice System is responsible for keeping our citizenry safe and rehabilitating
delinquent youth. Meeting these two responsibilities has been the goal of the system since it was first
implemented. The dilemma, however, that has faced policymakers and citizens has been deciding which
of the two aims should receive the most emphasis, and thus, funding. Should the state build more juvenile
penitentiaries and immediately protect its citizens, or should it teach current prisoners life skills that will
help them to live in such a way that they will be less likely to recapitulate (reoffend)? Or, in a separate,
preventative effort, should the state use its resources to fund parenting, recreational, and mentoring
programs that build up youth and enable them to make good decisions early on?
In the end, the state must balance effectiveness with urgency. Preventative and rehabilitative measures
have been proven time and time again to significantly lower the likelihood of a youth offending (or
reoffending). However, the results of prevention and rehabilitation programs do not become apparent
until years after they are begun, and few are willing to risk the immediate threat that could befall the
community should funding of penitentiaries experience a shortfall while prevention and rehabilitation
programs are being established. Citizens do not want to be the guinea pigs through which psychologists
measure the effectiveness of their rehabilitative efforts; they want offenders locked up. But most people
also know a young person, or were one, that prevention or rehabilitation measures helped somewhere
along the way.
Our operations model enables us to work with all strata of “at-risk” youth, both male and female, and
their respective families. Although we recognize that we cannot rescue children, we have developed
programs that seek to assist families in developing and accessing resources which help lower the families’
at-risk factors. For entire communities, BRY-AMA provides structured, multifaceted, culturally
responsive programs designed to foster community-wide paradigm shifting and thereby help young
people become positive and productive adults.
BRY-AMA also promotes interdependence between self, family, local and global communities. The
program embeds a Character-Building model called “Ten-Step Rites of Passage”, which promotes selfesteem,
self-discipline, self-determination, and self-sufficiency. Through interactive workshops, creative
field trips, and dynamic presentations, young persons are provided with the tools and information
necessary to develop healthy behaviors, improved study skills, the ability to plan for the future, and
increased practical knowledge of political, economic, and social systems that impact their lives.
The Transformative Justice Project of Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Delaware)
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