Youth courts provide an efficient—albeit unconventional—alternative to the formal juvenile justice system. Although structures of youth courts vary, the purpose remains the same: to rehabilitate and deter youth offenders in a forum largely governed by their minor peers—one free of the stigma associated with the traditional justice system.

Translating research into practice requires a systematic approach grounded in implementation science and input from practitioners. This document details such an approach for The Bridge Project— an effort designed to facilitate translation of juvenile justice research into actionable policy and practice changes through the development of practitioner-friendly, application-ready products. The underlying decisionmaking framework for this project includes: a continuous consideration of evidence, stakeholder feedback, and input carefully weighed and considered at multiple decision points

The United States, with 1.3 million child and adolescents arrests each year, incarcerates a far greater proportion of youth than any other developed country. Two new studies in the February 2017 Pediatrics (both published online Jan. 23) suggest far-reaching health consequences for individuals and society.

Four out of every 100 black youths are referred to court versus 1 out of every 100 white youths, Leiber found. Two black youths continued to be detained for every white youth, and black youths were far less likely than white youths to have their cases diverted and leniency.

Adolescents in the juvenile justice system are underserved and understudied even though they are disproportionately affected by myriad health risks and comorbidities.1 Less well understood is whether duration of incarceration is associated with poorer long-term health outcomes and whether risk behaviors persist into adulthood. This issue of Pediatrics provides 2 studies addressing these questions.

Most juvenile justice practitioners are aware of the value of research and evidence-based practices, but few resources exist to help them apply research-informed practices in ways that respect the identities and developmental needs of youth. These and other findings are highlighted in this brief, which documents themes from interviews with key juvenile justice stakeholders. Interview findings reveal the most pressing research and practice gaps in the field, the barriers practitioners face in accessing and implementing research, and the audiences that could benefit most from research translation tools and products.

The same part of the brain that allows us to step into the shoes of others also helps us restrain ourselves.