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Youth Correctional Leaders for Justice—released the following statement of respect and appreciation for Liz Ryan as she steps down from her leadership role as the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Liz Ryan has always poured herself into everything she does with energy, commitment, perspective, integrity and brilliance. And so everyone who cares deeply about helping young people succeed was excited and grateful when Liz accepted the offer to lead the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Liz moved quickly to frame her vision, anchoring OJJDP’s work to three core principles that get to the roots of true transformation of youth justice: Centering youth and families; treating children as children; and creating opportunities for youth impacted by the justice system.

She didn’t just proclaim these principles, however. She reached out through listening sessions to understand the perspectives and experiences of all those engaged in youth justice work. She spoke with people who work in public systems, nonprofit provider agencies, advocacy groups, think tanks, foundations and grassroots community organizations. Most critically, she listened to young people and their families to learn how OJJDP could turn these principles into action. Throughout, she listened, took notes, asked questions and then translated what she learned into OJJDP’s strategy, funding and support. She continued to listen and learn throughout her tenure, reaching out regularly to touch base and even sharing her cell number and email to ensure she was accessible.

Under her leadership, OJJDP expanded funding and supports for community-led programs and other alternatives as more effective and humane than the outdated, wastefully expensive and failing youth prison model. OJJDP provided planning grants to support state and local efforts that create robust community networks of services and supports strong enough to divert young people from harmful and ineffective institutional incarceration, and funded expert technical assistance to ensure these efforts were informed by the best available knowledge and experience.

OJJDP published research documenting the steady decline in youth crime alongside the steady decline in youth incarceration, challenging the myth that alternatives to youth prison would make communities less safe or that accountability for harm can only come from locking up more young people. OJJDP also published compelling reviews of the evidence that sending adolescents to the adult system not only harms young people but also leads to increased recidivism, particularly for violent offenses. In response to the uptick in gun-related and other violent offenses following the Covid Pandemic, the Office convened national experts — including representatives of young people and their family — to shape a multi-site initiative to address this challenge head-on.

The list of OJJDP initiatives and accomplishments over the last several years is much longer than these few examples. But this limited recap demonstrates the breadth and depth of Liz’ impact. After many years of advocacy and organizing coalitions to push reforms, from the very first day at OJJDP Liz proved that she could also walk the talk, not only through her heightened visibility as a senior official but also through her leadership in policy, program development, strategic targeting of funds and constant outreach and support of those of us working for reforms in public systems. She has been a key driver of fundamental shifts in the way the field thinks about what it means and what it takes to transform this country’s approach to youth justice. She made sure youth were front and center and involved. She made sure families were engaged. She made sure communities were at the table shaping the future direction of youth justice.

We all owe Liz a huge thank you for a job well done, with courage, principle and humility.