The Juvenile Justice Information Exchange is an established and respected independent, nonpartisan, internationally distributed digital media publication covering juvenile justice and related issues nationally.
In the past, traditional journalism organizations reported on juvenile justice issues. Today, due to shrinking resources, there are large gaps in that coverage. The JJIE aims to fills the void.
The JJIE was launched in September 2010 as an initiative of the Center for Sustainable Journalism. The Center, at Kennesaw State University in metropolitan Atlanta, aims to discover innovative ways to produce financially sustainable, high quality and ethically sound journalism via applied research, collaborations and advancing innovative projects. The Center publishes multiple projects including, JJIE, Fresh Take Georgia and Bokeh Focus.
Focused not just on delivering information, but rather on an “exchange” of ideas, the JJIE fosters a community of support around the issues facing at-risk youth and our juvenile justice systems. Readers are made up of people who are interested in doing what is best for our youth, along with industry professionals who work with these children on a daily basis.
Doing what is best for children means staying well informed on governmental policies and legislation, court rulings, educational trends, treatment, research, prevention programs, and other factors that impact the quality of service delivered to the youths that need them most.
States in America have a lot of freedom in how they develop and implement local juvenile justice services and community alternatives, yet — regardless of location — many stories demonstrate universal truths about issues impacting children and their families in all 50 states. The JJIE covers these national stories as well as stories specific to individual states.
Our mission
The Juvenile Justice Information Exchange is a reliable source for fair, objective, in-depth and empirically supported information provided by professional journalists and engaged, thoughtful community members to help the general public, practitioners, educators, parents, youth, funder, advocates, policymakers and lawmakers better understand issues impacting youth in this country — both singularly and as part of a larger child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health and educational ecosystem.
The JJIE takes a three-pronged approach, providing:
- Great, in-depth reporting by professional journalists.
- Commentary from experts, academic researchers, practitioners and dedicated members of the public in our Opinion section.
- Interactive engagement with our audience through traditional, social and emerging media and technologies.
Supporting our mission
The Center, along with a generous start-up grant from the Harnisch Foundation, has invested time, energy and money to establish the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange. These foundations generously support us, but it needs your help to continue covering juvenile justice issues in America.
It’s up to dedicated community members like yourself to ensure the JJIE has a long-term, sustainable future. Juvenile justice has been called a major civil rights issue of our time. If you value the in-depth and consistent work of the JJIE consider making a donation in support.
Can’t afford to make a donation? Do your part by sharing your knowledge of youth juvenile justice issues and why they are important with friends, family, lawmakers and others within your own social sphere. Together we can move toward a brighter future for the youth of today.
Our staff
We are a team of dedicated, professionals working to bring you the latest information and news related to juvenile justice. See who we are and connect with us here.
Historical perspective
Back in 1954, enlightened editors in the South started the Southern School News, “a reliable source for fair, objective, in-depth, statistically supported information about the way school districts in the South were responding to desegregation.” The news service put a spotlight on the unabashed truth about school segregation in the South and was a strong influence in changing a worldwide perception of race in America.
A similar spotlight needs to shine on juvenile justice, a civil rights issue of our times. Ar JJIE we do that through the tireless efforts of our team of professional journalists.
Those who care about children, education, family and the law come to the JJIE because mainstream media no longer cover these issues with enough insight to do these serious topics moral justice. Crippled by budget constraints, mainstream media rarely examines beyond the surface except when horrific incidents occur. This approach can result in bad public policy and regressive legislation. We, as a society, owe it to our nation’s youth to do better.