On today’s episode we are joined by David Muhammad, founder and executive director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform. We talked to Muhammad about “high risk, hard to reach youth,” which is a term he and fellow justice reformer Vinny Schiraldi have coined to describe the relatively small group of youth they believe should be the focus of the next phase of youth justice reform. This group of youth, he says, have come more into view after decades of declining incarceration rates and greater attention to community alternatives. 

David Muhammad is the founder and executive director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform. He was the chief of committed services for Washington, D.C.’s juvenile justice agency, and served as the first executive director of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition. 

Reading Room

HR Squared: Effective Services and Supports for Youth Who Are High Risk and Hard to Reach
https://nicjr.org/files/galleries/HR2_Report_V8_2_13_26.pdf

What Happened When America Emptied Its Youth Prisons
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/magazine/juvenile-prison-crime-rates.html