Congratulations to the 2022 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalists!

The annual PbS Kids Got Talent Contest was established in 2015 to celebrate and showcase the creative talents of young people in participating correction, detention, assessment and community residential programs.

This year, PbS received over 55 entries from 63 young people in 22 different facilities—and wow, what an impressive group of applicants! After careful review and consideration, the internal PbS Committee selected 12 inspiring and deserving performances as finalists.

The finalists include (anonymous to respect and protect privacy):

• An original spoken word poem from Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center, Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs
• A solo vocal original “Need None” from Copper Lake/Lincoln Hills School, Wisconsin Division of Juvenile Corrections
• A duo original song “In The Night” from Copper Lake/Lincoln Hills School, Wisconsin Division of Juvenile Corrections
• A solo original song from Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Facility, (Oregon) Multnomah County Department of Community Justice
• A group original song “Make A Change” from Ferris School, Delaware Youth Rehabilitative Services Division
• A duo performing an original song called "Bruddas” from Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility, Hawaii Office of Youth Services
• A cover of Mary J. Blige’s hit “No More Drama” from IYC Warrenville, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice
• A solo artist performing “I Am The Future”, a vocal original song from Long Creek Youth Development Center, Maine Department of Corrections
• A visual art and vocal original song from Long Creek Youth Development Center, Maine Department of Corrections
• A group dance from Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center, Philadelphia Department of Human Services 
• A solo artist vocal original “Leave A Message” from Rogue Valley Youth Correctional Facility, Oregon Youth Authority   
• An original group vocal performance from Stevenson House Detention Center, Delaware Youth Rehabilitation Services Division                                                           

Congratulations to all the talented finalists, and we look forward to spotlighting each performance on the blog over the coming weeks. Thank you to the staff who supported young people throughout this process. We appreciate your encouragement and dedication.

As always, thank you to our Selection Panel for their time and invaluable input:

• Chyrl Jones, Deputy Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
• Marc Schindler, Executive Director, Justice Policy Institute
• Naomi Evans, Executive Director, Coalition for Juvenile Justice
• Patrick Griffin, Senior Program Officer, Criminal Justice MacArthur Foundation