Evident Change is a nonprofit that uses data and research to improve our social systems. Over our long history we have consistently worked to establish more effective and humane social service systems for all.
Our work began in 1907, when we were founded to support and expand the nation’s burgeoning juvenile justice system. Before the creation of the juvenile system, children and teenagers were prosecuted as adults.
At the beginning, we were a volunteer organization made up of probation and parole workers who wanted to keep children out of the adult system. These volunteers helped many states establish their first juvenile court systems and programs that aimed to keep young people in their communities rather than being incarcerated.
Over the ensuing decades, we expanded our scope, bringing our humane and evidence-based perspective to improving adult justice and public safety. In the 1990s, we integrated evidence-based decision support into the child welfare system, supporting better outcomes for families by bringing consistency and equity to workers’ decisions. And in the 2000s, we successfully introduced these data-driven, people-focused methods into the adult protective services system.
Today, Evident Change continues to keep pace with advances in technology and approaches while remaining true to our history and our values.