Guided by the CJCA & CJJR Youth in Custody Practice model (YICPM) and the San Diego County Juvenile Justice System Core Beliefs, the EMJDF Softening project follows the guiding principle that “Every youth should leave a correctional program better than when he or she came in.”

The physical space promotes positive youth development by offering functional areas aligned with the YICPM programming goals, such as establishing an identity, autonomy, achieving something, developing a personal value system, and a sense of belonging.