The Administrative Office of the Courts selected the Juvenile Probation Department as the recipient of the 2026 Judicial Branch Strategic Agenda Award for its innovative use of the Journey.do platform, which aims to promote positive behavior change among youth.

“This award recognizes our staff, court stakeholders, and community partners who have helped turn an idea into a practical tool for working with youth,” said Chief Eric Meaux. “Journey.do strengthens our work by giving youth more opportunities to reflect on their choices, learn from others including peers, and build skills they can use in everyday life. It supports and aligns very well with the accountability and guidance our staff provide, with the goal of helping youth make lasting changes that improve community safety.”

Introduced six years ago, the Journey.do platform holds justice-involved youth accountable beyond probation supervision with opportunities for expected personal growth and learning. Through the platform, individualized growth plans are created, youth connect with peers and mentors known as “Champions of Growth,” and interactive learning modules are completed on a variety of relevant topics and available in common languages such as Spanish. Each module incorporates videos, engaging activities, and opportunities for youth to relate to others and share their own stories to help them build skills, reflect on their experiences, and work toward positive change.

“There are so many different modules kids can pick from within the platform. Kids can choose to work on relationship skills, family communication, avoiding substance abuse and more. The goal is to supply them with knowledge about their choices. What does it look like to get a high school diploma or a GED? Is college for them? Or is it more of a trade school route for them?” said Project Lead Senior Christina Badilla.

Journey.do Platform Impact: There are more than 60+ Journey.do groups within juvenile probation to which youth are connected.

  • To date, these youth have:
    • Produced over 190,000+ connections to stories written by other youth
    • Completed 180,000+ Grow Activities
    • Written and accepted 60,000+ stories
    • Earned 12,000+ certificates
  • Youth have received personalized feedback on each of the 60,000+ stories, with over 20,000 requiring revision based on feedback.

“I really feel that our youth are our future, and I think that we've all made some type of mistake in the past,” said Project Specialist Linda Luna. “I feel like they can make this change, and they can still be successful in life. These youth are our future. So, we want to make sure that we're giving them the tools, regardless of the reason they are with us. I think that there's something that we can do for them so that we can help them succeed.”

The Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Department partnered with the Arizona State University Center for Games and Social Impact to bring Journey.do, an innovative learning and personal growth platform to justice-involved youth. Subsequent to this start and promising success, Lifelab Studios was created as an ASU spin-off technology behavior change company. Customized to address critical challenges, the Journey.do platform has the flexibility to focus on specific concerns such as firearm possession, substance use, sex trafficking, and serious firearm-related offenses. The ASU Youth Justice lab, led by Dr. Adam Fine, has conducted multiple studies demonstrating statistical learning gains in all criminogenic need areas, and is seeing a reduction in recidivism among juveniles that complete the gun possession program.

Through this partnership, the department is leveraging engaging, peer to peer, interactive learning experiences supported by the latest technology to help youth address complex challenges, build skills, and support positive pathways forward that further the Department’s mission of public safety.

The award was recently presented to the Juvenile Probation Department at the 2026 Arizona Supreme Court Leadership Conference in Flagstaff, Arizona.

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