1. Preferred Name, Title, and How many years you’ve worked with CIYJ?
Lisa J Bjergaard, Director, North Dakota Division of Juvenile Services
I have worked directly with CIYJ for 18 years.
2. What is the most challenging aspect of your role? What aspect is the most rewarding? (Feel free to address either or both questions.)
It is very difficult to rank challenges, as what is “most challenging” tends to ebb and flow. What is most rewarding is easy: It is always rewarding to move forward policy, practice, and reforms that improve the likelihood of positive long-term outcomes for justice involved youth.
3. Looking back over the past two decades, what do you consider to be CIYJ’s most impactful contributions to the youth justice space?
CIYJ, first taught us about using data to drive decisions. The continuous quality improvement process itself is the heart and soul of how leaders, managers and front-line practitioners can improve outcomes by using the “gather data, analyze data, make improvements” approach. The process can be applied to any challenge, and the process itself contributed to many of the broader youth justice reforms across the country.
4. Can you share a particularly poignant success story, milestone, or impactful moment that CIYJ has achieved during your tenure with us?
In 2009, we used Performance-based Standards data to drive cultural and practice reform. Instead of making little tweaks or tiny changes, we used some of our most intractable data to jump head long into changing the entire cultural perspective from which we viewed youth corrections. It was a big risk and turned out to be a long journey, but Performance-based Standards data data helped keep us on track and make smaller course corrections along the way. I am not sure we could have accomplished our goals without the Performance-based Standards data data as support.
5. What message would you like to convey to our supporters, partners, and advocates as CIYJ celebrates this significant anniversary?
The CIYJ has years of experience in helping facilities and agencies integrate research into practice. They are experts in this space and are a trusted voice.
6. What inspired you to pursue a career dedicated to youth justice?
I stumbled into working with youth and fell in love with kids, their stories and their lives.