National Leadership Institute

The National Partnership for Juvenile Services’ Leadership Institute is designed for current and new/emerging leaders in juvenile justice with a focus toward those leaders (administrators and mid-level management) in juvenile confinement facilities including juvenile detention, corrections, and treatment centers. The NPJS Leadership Institute is an intensive one and a half day long immersion into leadership development. The Institute will focus on three areas of leadership development that will enhance and refine current leadership skills and develop new skills for all participants. Each participant will work through three modules focusing on specific areas of leadership and specific content related to each leadership style.

The modules involve a deep dive into three distinct areas of leadership, which will empower participants to apply these leadership principles into all facets of their work and professional interactions. The value of connecting and networking with peers from across the country and with the Institute speakers will have a lasting impact. Participants will return to work with professional relationships that will both promote and support their ongoing leadership development.

2026 Modules

Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence

Douglas White & Mark Hamlett

From Trauma-Informed to Trauma-Responsive: Leading Culture and Practice in Juvenile Justice
Many juvenile justice agencies strive to adopt trauma-informed approaches; however, the daily experience of staff and youth often remains reactive, inconsistent, and dysregulating. Training alone does not create a trauma-responsive facility. Leadership, supervisory practices, team culture, and daily operations ultimately determine whether trauma-informed values are truly experienced in practice.

 This workshop examines the transition from trauma-informed awareness to trauma-responsive leadership within juvenile detention and residential settings. Blending clinical and operational perspectives, the presenters will examine how leadership self-regulation, staff psychological safety, and youth co-regulation collectively shape outcomes in secure care environments. Participants will explore common leadership practices that unintentionally contribute to staff burnout, inconsistency, and youth dysregulation, while learning practical strategies that strengthen supervision, team functioning, and facility culture.

Through real-world examples and immediately applicable tools, this session will provide participants with a structured approach for translating trauma-responsive principles into daily leadership decisions, staff support, and operational routines that improve both staff performance and youth outcomes.

Ethical Leadership and Integrity

Antonia Reason & James Reason

Courage Under Pressure: Leading Across Youth Services with Data, Discipline & Heart

In today’s youth-serving systems, success depends on more than internal operations—it requires strong partnerships across communities, courts, schools, and families. Leaders, staff, and stakeholders alike are navigating increasing complexity while striving to maintain safety, accountability, and positive outcomes for youth across secure facilities, probation, and community-based programs.

This session explores what it truly means to lead with courage under pressure—not only within systems, but alongside those who support and shape them. Designed for a broad audience—including community partners, individuals with lived experience, educators, judges, probation professionals, and facility staff—this session creates space for shared understanding and collective impact.

Participants will gain practical strategies to strengthen accountability, build cultures of consistency, and use data as a tool for informed decision-making—not just compliance. Through real-world examples and interactive discussion, this session bridges the gap between leadership theory and everyday practice across youth services and community settings.

Grounded in experience from high-impact system transformation, this session emphasizes the balance of discipline and humanity—demonstrating how structure, relationships, and clarity of expectations can drive sustainable change across systems and communities.

Attendees will leave with actionable tools to:

• Lead and collaborate effectively across systems and community partnerships
   
  
• Strengthen culture and accountability within teams and organizations
   
  
• Use data to guide decisions and improve outcomes for youth
   
  
• Apply consistent, relationship-centered practices across facility, probation, school, and community settings

Because real impact happens when systems and communities work together to create environments where both staff and youth can succeed.

Decision-Making and Problem Solving

Charles Parkins & Donta’ Smith

Courage in the Middle: Leading in the Gray Areas

Leadership in juvenile justice rarely occurs in clear-cut situations. While policies and procedures guide daily operations, the most important leadership decisions often exist in the gray areas where staff dynamics, youth needs, safety considerations, and organizational values intersect.

Mid-level managers operate at the center of this complexity, translating vision into practice while supporting frontline staff in high-pressure environments. These leaders must frequently make decisions not fully addressed by policy, requiring sound judgment, accountability, and the courage to act in ways that support long-term culture rather than short-term comfort.

This workshop explores how supervisors and managers can lead effectively within these gray areas. Through practical frameworks and interactive discussion, participants will examine real-world supervisory challenges and learn strategies to align decision-making with organizational values, strengthen accountability, and support culture change. Attendees will leave with tools they can immediately apply to complex leadership situations in secure care settings.