Submitted by: Orangewood Foundation
Written by: Andy Vernier
For young adults entering the justice system, a felony conviction can shape far more than a court record. It can affect access to employment, housing, education, and other opportunities at a stage of life when many young people are still learning how to become independent adults.
In Orange County, roughly 125 arrests occur each day, and about 20% involve young men ages 18 to 25. Young Adult Court was created in 2018 in response to a recognition that this age group required a different approach, one grounded in developmental research and focused not only on accountability, but also on creating a realistic pathway toward long-term stability.
That approach required partners who traditionally operate on different sides of the justice system to work toward a common goal.
Young Adult Court was founded through a collaboration among the Orange County Superior Court, Orange County Public Defender’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, Probation Department, Orangewood Foundation, and University of California, Irvine, with research led by Dr. Elizabeth Cauffman and her team. Hon. Judge Maria Hernandez has played a central role in the program, providing judicial oversight and working directly with participants as they progress through the court’s four stages toward greater stability and independence.
Together, the partners created an alternative to the traditional criminal justice process for eligible Orange County men ages 18 to 25 facing nonviolent felony charges. Rather than focusing solely on the offense, the program considers the broader circumstances that can influence a young person’s ability to move forward.
Over approximately 18 to 24 months, participants receive trauma-informed case management, peer mentorship, judicial oversight, and clinical and social support. Orangewood staff help young men identify and address needs related to housing, employment, education, parenting, health care, substance use, therapy, and life skills. Participants also work through probation requirements and develop positive support systems and goals for their futures. Those who successfully complete the program may be eligible to have their felony dismissed, reducing barriers that could otherwise follow them for years. No single partner could provide that continuum alone.
Each partner contributes a different piece of the Young Adult Court model. The Orange County Superior Court, District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, and Probation Department bring the justice-system components of the program, while UC Irvine contributes the developmental research that helped shape the model. Orangewood Foundation provides case management and works directly with participants on needs including housing, employment, education, health care, substance use, therapy, life skills, and building positive support systems.
Sustaining that model has required persistence as well as partnership. When Young Adult Court began, there was no dedicated funding for Orangewood’s role in the program. For the first two to three years, Orangewood contributed the time of one staff member to help make the program possible. New funding sources have allowed the program to grow over time, but securing consistent funding remains an ongoing challenge. Sustained philanthropic support, including the long-standing commitment of donor Carole Urie, has helped provide continuity as the partnership has developed and expanded.
That collective commitment has already produced meaningful outcomes. More than 70 young adults have graduated from Young Adult Court since its creation, including 12 graduates celebrated in early 2026. The program guides participants through four stages — Engagement, Accountability, Stability & Sustainability, and Attainment — designed to help them progress from court involvement toward greater stability and independence.
For some graduates, that progress is visible in very personal ways. One recent graduate went on to work as a barber, pursue plans to own his own business, support his wife and two children, and return to Young Adult Court as a peer mentor for other participants. His experience illustrates the larger goal of the program: not simply avoiding another offense, but creating the conditions for a young person to build a different future.
As the partnership evolved, the organizations also saw that some participants needed something the courtroom and case management alone could not provide: a stable place to live while addressing substance use disorder.
That realization led to the opening of the Young Adult Court Recovery-Focused House in Fullerton, created through a partnership among Orangewood Foundation, UC Irvine, and the Orange County Superior Court. Supported by a $2.8 million Proposition 47 grant from the California Board of State and Community Corrections, the funding supports the recovery-focused house, a substance use disorder-specific care coordinator, and a therapist specializing in substance use disorder and related mental health needs.
The house represents an important evolution of the Young Adult Court model. A young person can be committed to changing his life, but progress becomes far more difficult without stable housing, recovery support, employment, or a reliable network of people around him. By bringing those resources into the broader court partnership, Young Adult Court can better address the interconnected challenges that often stand between accountability and lasting change.
The impact extends beyond individual participants. Successful community reintegration means young adults are better positioned to work, pursue education, maintain housing, reconnect with family, and participate in their communities. It also means reducing the likelihood that a mistake in early adulthood becomes a lifelong cycle of involvement with the justice system.
Young Adult Court demonstrates what becomes possible when organizations that could easily remain within their own institutional roles instead choose to build something together. A judge, prosecutor, public defender, probation officer, researcher, nonprofit care coordinator, and donor may approach the work from very different perspectives, but through this program, each contributes to the same goal of helping young adults build more stable futures.
The strength of Young Adult Court lies in what each partner brings to the table. Together, public systems, academic research, nonprofit expertise, and philanthropic investment have created a pathway that, for more than 70 young adults so far, has helped turn accountability into a genuine second chance.
