Center for Improving Youth Justice Data Analytics

Someone found something interesting in these datasets that changed how detention centers dress their staff across the country. Facilities where staff wore polos and khakis instead of guard uniforms had significantly lower rates of violence. One data point. Real kids. Real change. For more than 20 years, data has been collected from inside juvenile justice facilities across the country: incident reports, safety outcomes, surveys from the kids living there. But most of it has never been rigorously analyzed. Almost none of the data has reached the people with the power to act on it. In this externship, you'll dig into one of the most comprehensive juvenile justice datasets in existence — 300+ facilities, nine operational areas — build real research questions, run statistical analysis in Python, and deliver a findings package that mirrors what actual policy research teams produce. The analytics skills you'll build are ones any data role will demand. When you walk into an interview and explain what you found — and who it affects — hiring managers will remember you and your resume.