Kaj Althaus
Kaj is a research professional interested in youth development and how we can use data and public policy to create better and more equitable life outcomes for those involved in the juvenile justice system. In past roles, Kaj has been an educator with City Year Americorps, a data and policy analyst with the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, and, most recently, a community development specialist with Challenge Detroit and the Live6 Alliance.
Kaj holds a Master’s of Public Policy from the Pennsylvania State University with a focus on criminal justice policy and a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Michigan. In his spare time, he is a passionate musician who loves to sing and play guitar with his band. He also sits on the Michigan Committee of Juvenile Justice (MCJJ) as a youth member.
State Court Administrative Office: Improving Data Practices in Michigan’s Juvenile Justice System
In partnership with the Michigan Justice Fund and the Public Welfare Foundation, this fellowship is embedded within the State Court Administrative Office, focusing on improving statewide data collection and risk/needs assessment practices for Michigan’s juvenile justice system. Michigan has a decentralized juvenile court system where individual counties have significant flexibility and control over how data is collected and used within their systems–meaning that there are many, often conflicting, data systems and definitions being used across counties. The goal of this fellowship is to help SCAO and local jurisdictions transition to a more communicative and robust statewide management system for juvenile justice data.
Youth Justice Fellow Kaj Althaus works primarily with the Statistical Research team at SCAO, where he focuses on improving data performance measures and recommending risk/needs assessment tools to be used in juvenile courts statewide. Kaj has provided SCAO with analyses of juvenile financial assessment data (i.e., costs, fines, or refunds assessed to juveniles and their families throughout the court process), in order to provide a greater understanding of whether the use of these assessments are equitable and practical. He is also conducting a landscape analysis of juvenile justice data in Michigan to inform recommendations for improvements in data collection practices and data definitions, and is exploring the various juvenile risk and needs assessments used in counties across the state to make recommendations on a single tool to be used statewide.