The proliferation of zero tolerance policies and "tough on crime" laws has lead to 2.11 million youth arrested and 75% adjudicated through juvenile courts in 2008. Many arrested youth have mental illness diagnosis resulting in further barriers including fragmented services, institutions with conflicting missions and incompatible approaches, and a dearth of community resources (Shufelt & Cocozza, 2006). Yet, for the boom years of mass incarceration since 1990s, the Agency¹ studied for this project shifted from institutionalization of these youth to community-based treatments by shifting from problem-based medical focus to a strengths-based approach. In this study, qualitative data collection occurred over a 6-month period for the purposes of analyzing how a community-based program has sustained itself in an era that emphasizes a tough approach to crime. This Agency’s success partially stems from shifting the conversation about juvenile justice away from punishment by effectively viewing the youth’s family as the expert and a valuable resource in treatment. This shift, enhanced by diversification of services and fiscal controls, also illustrates that a strengths-based approach to juvenile justice is also cost-effective.