
Resources Library
The National Center for Youth Law shares its learning and experience to assist people in our efforts to support and empower youth. Browse our research and resources.


Youth Justice In California: Obstacles to a Public Health Approach
This brief highlights three initiatives in California to create systems that support youth, communities, and state by endeavoring to create alternatives to the damaging practice of youth incarceration and strove to center juvenile justice within a public health approach.
Click to read 
Strategies to End Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Youth: A toolkit for collaborative action
A practical how-to guide that offers best practices and learnings gleaned from our decade of working to address the commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth.
Click to read Distance Learning Available to Families Through Independent Study During 2021-2022 School Year: Resource for Parents and Guardians
Click to read
How Districts Planned for Pandemic Learning: Equity-Driven Practices and Lessons Learned from 2020 Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans
For “students with unique needs” – students in foster care, students in the juvenile justice system, students experiencing homelessness, English learners, students in low-income families, students of color, and students with disabilities – challenging forms of instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic have compounded the typical barriers to graduation that they face, such as higher-than-average school mobility, lack of access to mental health and special education services, and discriminatory school climates.
Click to read 
Reimagine and Rebuild: Restarting School with Equity at the Center
Click to read
District Leadership Checklist for Supporting the Unique Needs of Students in Foster Care, Experiencing Homelessness or in the Juvenile Justice System
This is a tool for local education agency leadership to support planning and monitoring for students that are experiencing homelessness, in foster care or involved with the juvenile justice system (together, “students with unique needs”).
Click to read 
Ending Endless Probation
Probation is the most common court ordered outcome imposed on youth in juvenile court in California. Too often, youth are placed on probation for an unspecified amount of time, while under the microscope of overly burdensome and confusing probation conditions.
Click to read 
Alternative Education in California: A Primer for Advocates and Community Stakeholders
This report explores "alternative education" in California and provides essential information about the purpose, structure and accountability mechanisms for California’s alternative education settings.
Click to read 
Compassionate Systems: Monterey Program Progress Report
NCYL launched our demonstration in 2018 in partnership with Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD) to support students experiencing homelessness to improve their educational outcomes. Our Education Liaisons are collocated within high school sites at MPUSD, providing intensive educational case management and advocacy.
Click to read