Three days ago, United States District Court Judge Algenon Marbley ended court supervision of the Ohio Department of Youth Services. All parties agreed after seven years, the State had made significant reforms in its juvenile justice system. In 2008, the Department of Youth Services (DYS) of Ohio settled S.H. v. Reed (previously S.H. v. Stickrath) after four years of litigation on the harmful and unconstitutional conditions faced by the youth (age 10-21) who were placed in their custody. Since that date, DYS has worked cooperatively with experts and plaintiff counsel to create a safer and more youth-focused system. The culture inside and outside of the state’s juvenile correctional facilities has dramatically changed. Some issues addressed collaboratively include reducing the use of force and seclusion, redesigning the release process and planning for reentry, improving education, increasing family engagement, and offering mental and behavioral health treatment. For example, DYS abolished the use of seclusion as a disciplinary sanction, created a youth advocate program, and developed a Targeted RECLAIM program to further reduce the population of youth placed in the state’s juvenile facilities. Through different configurations of RECLAIM, a risk assessment process, and implementing evidence-based treatment, tremendous strides were accomplished to keep youth in their communities and reduce the number of youth in state facilities. In 2008, the average daily population of youth in state correctional facilitates hovered around 1500 while today it is 508. This reduction also was assisted through the closure of numerous facilities leading to an annual savings to the state of 62 million a year. In 2014, DYS agreed to reduce, and eventually eliminate, the use of seclusion, particularly those suffering from mental health disorders. Class counsel Al Gerhardstein, of Gerhardstein & Branch Co. LPA, says, “Judge Marbley and the monitoring team have worked closely with all of us to ensure that violence is reduced and evidence based treatment is increased. We are very grateful to the Court and to DYS for the steady improvements on behalf of Ohio’s youth.” Co-Counsel Kim Brook Tandy of the Children’s Law Center agrees adding, "there is great satisfaction in seeing the system now account for differences in kids and I truly have hope for better outcomes for youth that face state juvenile justice involvement. This is not an ending, but a beginning for Ohio to take better care of its most vulnerable population. Ohio is poised to become a national model.” It is now time to reduce the use of isolation adult jails, detention centers, and residential treatment centers.