Executive Summary

Centinela Youth Services (CYS) was founded by Los Angeles area community leaders and parents concerned with disproportionate police response to youth of color. Innovators in diverting youth from justice system contact, CYS provides families with counseling, advocacy, connections to educational supports, basic needs and youth enrichment. Since 1992, CYS has diverted youth from court processing to community-led restorative justice. Youth with an eligible misdemeanor or felony meet with the person harmed in sessions where empathy and understanding are built, an agreement is made to repair the harm, and resolution is achieved without a court record.

In 2011, CYS worked with the Los Angeles Police Department to interrupt the arrest process so youth are not logged in the statewide database of arrests, further limiting justice system contact. Now expanded to eight police agencies, this lowered recidivism (rearrests) further while improving youth well-being and services to crime victims. Through training and technical assistance, CYS’s partnerships have achieved 95% drops in student arrests at partner school districts and double digit drops in youth arrests with city police agencies.

CYS’s systems-change advocacy amplifies the priorities of youth, families, “invisible populations”, and communities. CYS empowers community members to self-advocate for the equity objectives they identify as critical to improved and lasting well-being by facilitating collective efficacy education and planning.

Led by a Board of Directors and staff that largely reflect the community served, CYS is advancing toward a vision of thriving and restorative communities where no child has the police called on them, because youth needs are identified and addressed before behavior becomes a serious challenge.

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