By Lo Houser
A practical guide to bringing your arts programming to justice-involved youth, from your first facility visit to measuring whether it’s working.
For young people in the justice system, the arts can do more than fill time. Research and field experience suggest they can improve behavioral outcomes, lower recidivism, support rehabilitation, and strengthen social and emotional skills like self-regulation and self-worth.
So how does an arts organization actually bring those experiences inside a facility or to youth returning home?
Project Jericho, a program of Clark State in Clark County, Ohio, has spent more than two decades answering that question. Since 1999, we’ve offered in-depth visual and performing arts experiences to high-priority youth and families. For 20 of those years, we’ve partnered with Clark County Juvenile Court, running our youth programs inside a detention facility and alongside two specialized youth treatment courts.
This guide is for arts leaders and program staff considering this work for the first time. We’ll walk through what we’ve learned over the years: how to get connected with a facility, how to build programming that respects these young artists, how to earn trust, and how to know it’s working.
It’s not about the art. It’s about realizing and grabbing on to a part of yourself you never knew existed.
–Project Jericho Program Participant
Knock Before Entering
Start with a conversation. Reach out to your court administrator or detention facility director and ask how your arts programming could complement what the court already offers (diversion, mentoring, or therapy, etc.), whether youth are detained or back in the community.
Ask about volunteer or service-provider training, and request a facility tour early. A tour helps you picture which spaces could work and what rules you’ll need to design around.
Trust at a facility starts at the top. In Clark County, we began with the judge and magistrates, then invited court staff to our existing Project Jericho programs, art showcases, or performances, so they can begin to see and appreciate the work already being done and dream alongside you. Once leaders see the work, they can help you reimagine it for the youth in their system.
Lead with their needs, not your program, and ask for a tour before you pitch a plan.
Build Thoughtful Programming
Youth come to the table both eager and curious. Eager to meet new people, break the monotony, and learn something new . . . and curious about what they’ll actually get out of it. We welcome that gentle skepticism.
Like most teenagers, justice-involved youth tend to crave autonomy and purpose, so we build as much choice into programming as we can. We tell every group: this is invitational, not obligational. That might mean letting someone opt out after the first session, or sit quietly in the circle. Inside a facility, where choices are few, handing some control back goes a long way.
Plan your conversation topics, too. When talk drifts somewhere unproductive—and these are teenagers, so it will—redirect with a question anyone can answer: “What was your favorite cartoon growing up?” “What’s your perfect meal?” And remind them often that whatever led to their court involvement is the least interesting thing about them.
The joy is in the journey of young people discovering more about themselves and seeing for themselves how their humanness is directly linked to creativity. In the words of a past participant: “It’s not about the art. It’s about realizing and grabbing on to a part of yourself you never knew existed.”
Design for choice and dignity. Art is the vehicle. Belonging is the destination.
Host a Book Club
Partner with a local library or literacy group for a teen-centered “satellite” library or seasonal book club. We read by Kwame Alexander with a local poet, then wrote poetry of our own.
Rethink Public Art
Share student work with a wider audience so youth see themselves as community contributors. We turned four by five inch block prints into seven large window decals installed in downtown Springfield, Ohio, for over a year.
Tap Your Performing Arts Scene
Invite touring or local artists to perform or lead a workshop inside the facility. We’ve hosted Black Violin, Aquila Theatre, and Kyshona for 60 to 90 minute sessions with youth and staff.
Earn Trust
In this work, trust gets built on three fronts at once, and none of them can be skipped.
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Staff and Administration
Before any programming launches, learn the facility inside out: procedures, requirements, safety protocols, values, and rules. Learn their language and ask plenty of questions. Include staff where you can, as participants rather than spectators. Be meticulous with materials and leave the space cleaner than you found it. Making their workday easier is an excellent way to make allies out of your hosts.
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The Youth
Trust with teens starts and ends with authenticity. Be genuine about wanting to know them, and model clear, healthy boundaries. Set high expectations, then offer the support to meet those expectations. Praise honestly, celebrate their work and their effort, and proudly model your belief that the arts can leave us better than they found us until they believe it, too.
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Your Team
Hire teaching artists the youth can see themselves in. As an all-female staff serving mostly young men, we’ve found it essential to bring on male teaching artists with whom our participants can relate and identify.
Trust is built in three directions at once: with the facility, the youth, and the people you bring with you.
Set the Room, Set the Tone
Assign seats with name tents, arrange furniture to limit distractions, and bring supplies in clear containers so they’re easy to count. A Bluetooth speaker and some lo-fi beats don’t hurt.
Invitational, Not Obligational
Give youth real choices wherever you can: Opting out after a session, staying quiet in the circle. Inside a facility, handing back even small decisions builds trust.
Measure What Matters
Begin with the end in mind. On day one, we describe where we hope to be by the end, walk participating youth through the roadmap, and ask them to trust the process.
You’ll know you’re on the right path when a young person lights up at something they made. You’ve succeeded when they say they feel successful. And check in regularly with facility leadership for their read on the work.
We collect pre- and post-surveys measuring growth in hope theory and mindfulness skills, but the numbers will never tell the whole story. Success here is hard to pin down, so we keep asking ourselves:
- Are we creating a space that’s emotionally brave and physically safe?
- Are we shifting the culture of the facility for the better?
- How can we support each young person’s broader treatment goals?
- How can we connect with their family and support network before and after release?
Let the youth define success… then back it with the data you’ve collected.
Start Small, Start Now
Young people in the justice system are faced with serious obstacles that can often overshadow their promise. Their paths won’t be linear; like all of us, they need room to make mistakes and room to recover. In our experience at Project Jericho, protecting that promise has always felt more like a joy than a duty.
If your organization feels ready for this work, start small: set up that first meeting or tour, keep an open mind, and let the arts do what they do best: transform, heal, and inspire.
Want to compare notes? Reach out to Lo Houser, Director at Project Jericho [email protected].
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This story was originally published by Arts Midwest, a non-profit amplifying Midwestern creativity with Creative Commons License
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Photo credit: unsplash
