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Goals for Change
Partners for Change
The MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, headquartered in Chicago, is a private, independent grantmaking institution dedicated to helping groups and individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition. With assets of approximately $5 billion, the Foundation is among the nation’s largest private philanthropies, and makes grants totaling $200 million each year. Through the support it furnishes, the Foundation fosters the development of knowledge, nurtures individual creativity, strengthens institutions, and helps inform the public and improve policy.
The MacArthur Foundation has been making grants in the juvenile justice field since 1996, funding research that has expanded knowledge regarding adolescent development and delinquent behavior. Through its Models for Change initiative, the Foundation seeks to advance juvenile justice reform in line with this new knowledge.
As part of Models for Change, the Foundation conducts site visits with state and local government officials, practitioners, and advocates to educate them about the initiative, gauge interest, gather information and identify potential leverage points and constituencies for reform. After selecting an in-state lead entity to quarterback the strategic planning and implementation efforts in each Models for Change state, the Foundation continues to provide oversight and set policy, assuming the ultimate responsibility for approving grants to support the different elements of the work plan.