[dropcap]C[/dropcap]onnecticut is widely considered a model for how a state can improve its juvenile justice system, while improving public safety and overall youth outcomes. Increasingly, youth charged with minor offenses are diverted from court involvement, and may instead receive behavioral health supports and other programming proven effective. For youth involved in the court system, the state has passed laws ensuring evidence-based practices, greater access to education and behavioral health care, and improvements in legal processing. The state also now regulates many issues stemming from school discipline policies that may otherwise push youth into unnecessary court involvement. As an early adopter of many reform policies based on a better understanding of crime deterrence and youth developmental psychology, Connecticut has earned recognition for its leadership, continued reforms and innovations that will allow the state to uphold this reputation.