The Meadows Institute is advancing a comprehensive, data-driven effort to strengthen Texas’ Juvenile Justice Continuum of Care (CoC) — the full range of prevention, diversion, intervention, treatment, and reentry supports that help young people thrive and avoid deeper system involvement.
This work brings together state and local agencies, juvenile probation departments, courts, schools, behavioral health providers, community organizations, youth, and families to identify what is working, where gaps remain, and how Texas can build a more effective youth justice system.
What Is the Juvenile Justice Continuum of Care?
The Juvenile Justice Continuum of Care (CoC) is a framework for organizing services and decision points across the youth justice system, from prevention and early intervention through reentry and long-term stability.
Rather than relying on detention or formal court involvement as default responses, a strong continuum emphasizes early community-based supports, diversion from formal justice involvement, family-centered and culturally responsive services, cross-system coordination, safe alternatives to detention, and successful reintegration into schools and communities.
The Meadows Institute uses this framework to map assets, identify gaps, and develop practical implementation strategies at the state, regional, and county levels.
Why This Work Matters
Texas has made significant progress in reducing youth incarceration. However, many young people continue to enter or remain in the justice system due to gaps in community-based supports rather than public safety risk.
A strong Continuum of Care helps reduce unnecessary justice involvement, improve access to mental health and substance use services, strengthen families and communities, and use public resources more effectively.
Meadows Institute’s Continuum of Care work provides a shared roadmap for aligning policy, funding, and practice around these goals.
Explore the Reports (Reports Coming Soon)
About the Continuum of Care Reports
Statewide Continuum of Care Report
The statewide report provides a comprehensive analysis of Texas’ juvenile justice system across Intercepts 0–5, from prevention through reentry.
Key components include:
- Statewide trends and system pressures
- Cross-cutting challenges affecting urban, suburban, and rural communities
- Youth and caregiver perspectives
- Policy, funding, and practice recommendations
- Opportunities for statewide coordination and sustainability
Primary audience: State leaders, legislators, agency leadership, and funders.
Bexar County Continuum of Care Report
The Bexar County Continuum of Care Report is a place-based analysis developed in partnership with the Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department and local stakeholders.
The report includes:
- A detailed resource inventory and gap analysis
- Youth and caregiver listening session findings
- A countywide Continuum of Care design
- An implementation roadmap with roles, timelines, and sustainability strategies
Primary audience: County leaders, practitioners, and local funders focused on implementation.
Seven Regional Continuum of Care Reports
Seven regional reports provide in-depth analyses grounded in local data, site visits, stakeholder meetings, and system mapping sessions. Each report highlights local assets, service gaps, regional collaboration opportunities, promising practices, and region-specific recommendations aligned with the statewide framework.
Primary audience: Regional leaders, juvenile probation departments, courts, councils of governments, and community partners.
Regions include: North Texas, Central Texas, South Texas, Southeast Texas, Northeast Texas, West Texas, and Texas Panhandle
How This Work Was Developed
The Meadows Institute’s Continuum of Care work is grounded in rigorous research and real-world practice, including:
- Juvenile justice data analysis
- Policy and statute review
- Regional site visits across Texas
- Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) mapping sessions
- Focus groups and listening sessions with youth and caregivers
- Cross-sector stakeholder engagement
- National best-practice research
This approach ensures findings and recommendations are evidence-informed, operationally realistic, and shaped by those closest to the system.
Partnership & Funding
The Texas Juvenile Justice Continuum of Care initiative is a collaborative, statewide effort led by the Meadows Institute in close partnership with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD).
The Meadows Institute and TJJD worked together to design and lead the planning and assessment process, coordinate statewide and regional system mapping, conduct data analysis, engage stakeholders, and produce all project deliverables. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to strengthening community-based systems of support, expanding diversion, and improving outcomes for youth and families across Texas.
At the local level, this work was developed in close collaboration with county juvenile probation departments across all seven TJJD regions. The Bexar County Continuum of Care Report was developed in partnership with the Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department and local stakeholders to support place-based planning and implementation.
Youth and caregiver perspectives were central to this effort. Focus groups and listening sessions were conducted with support from the Texas Network of Youth Services (TNOYS), as well as young adults serving on its Young Adult Leadership Council. Their lived experiences helped shape findings and recommendations throughout the project.
