Juvenile Detention and Mentoring

Transcription

1 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROFILE Examiig the Referral Stage for Metorig High-Risk Youth I Six Differet Juveile Justice Settigs Depedecy Court, Deliquecy Court, Juveile Detetio, Juveile Correctios, Juveile Probatio ad Tee Court/Youth Court Diversio Programs Juveile Detetio ad Metorig THE REFERRAL STAGE Writte by: Michael A. Joes Pamela A. Clark Roald J. Quiros 5

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3 Juveile Detetio ad Metorig Juveile Detetio is cosidered to be a secure residetial facility that provides for the temporary ad safe custody of juveiles whose alleged coduct is subject to court jurisdictio ad who require a restricted eviromet for their ow ad the commuity s protectio while awaitig a hearig, pedig dispositio, awaitig a placemet or pedig a retur to a previous placemet. I most cases, a youth s time i a Juveile Detetio settig is short-term (72 hours or less). Juveile Detetio may be publicly or privately fuded ad operated. The cotiuum of services provided to youth i Juveile Detetio is determied by the jurisdictio/private etity operatig the facility ad, at a miimum, should iclude services that address immediate ad/or acute eeds i the educatioal, metal, physical, emotioal ad social developmet of juveiles. Metorig Program Descriptio Metorig ivolves a o-paretal adult who plays a importat role i promotig healthy developmet for youth. There are may metorig models ad eve more programmatic differeces withi the differet metorig models. The goal of metorig programs is to provide youth with positive adult cotact ad, thereby, reduce risk factors (e.g., early atisocial behavior, alieatio, lack of commitmet to school) by ehacig protective factors (e.g., healthy beliefs, opportuities for ivolvemet, ad social ad material reiforcemet for appropriate behavior). Metors provide youth with persoal coectedess, supervisio ad guidace, skills traiig, career or cultural erichmet opportuities, a kowledge of spirituality ad values ad, perhaps most importatly, goals ad hope for the future. Geographic ad Demographic Characteristics Juveile Detetio facilities may be located i commuities large ad small, rural ad urba across the coutry. Because ot all commuities have a Juveile Detetio ceter, facilities ofte serve a regioal area. Juveile Detetio facilities may be co-ed or geder specific. The miimum ad maximum ages of youth served i Juveile Detetio are jurisdictio specific ad guided by statute. Some facilities may choose to serve a age group that is eve more arrow tha that allowed by statute. Typical miimum ad maximum ages are 10 ad 18 years respectively. Offeses that youth i detetio are charged with rage from ruaway, a status offese, to murder. Idividual 1

4 Possible Challeges Facig Youth Ivolved with Juveile Detetio The overarchig goal of metorig youth i the juveile justice system is to build ad stregthe youth assets. Whe dealig with youth i this settig, oe should be cogizat of potetial challeges: 5 Coduct disorders (authority coflict/rebellious/stubbor/disruptive/atisocial) Idividual Geeral deliquecy ivolvemet Metal health issues (icludig substace abuse) Umet medical ad detal eedsds Family Metal disorders/atisocial parets Family history of problem behavior/crimial ivolvemet Family poverty/low family socioecoomic status Family violece (child maltreatmet, parter violece, coflict) Family stress Paret crimiality Paretal use of physical puishmet/harsh ad/or erratic disciplie practices Poor paretal supervisio (cotrol, moitorig, ad child maagemet) Poor paret-child relatios or commuicatio School Poor school attedace Poor school performace; academic failure Learig disorders 2

5 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Juveile Detetio Youth to Metorig What is the differece betwee a detetio ceter ad a correctioal ceter? I the process of coductig iitial cotacts for potetial site visits, project staff leared that there was some cofusio amog metorig programs about the differece betwee Juveile Detetio ad Juveile Correctios settigs. Detetio is used primarily for juveiles who are awaitig actio of the court or trasfer to a Juveile Correctios facility. The average legth of stay i detetio is usually less tha 21 days with the majority of youth stayig 72 hours or less. Some detetio ceters have specialized programs so that juveiles may stay as log as six moths, servig a setece that the judge has imposed. Juveile Correctios ceters house juveiles who have bee committed to the Departmet of Juveile Justice by a judge. These youth have bee foud to have committed a feloy or multiple misdemeaors. Uless committed by the judge o a determiate commitmet, juveiles caot remai i a Juveile Correctios ceter loger tha 36 moths o a idetermiate commitmet. Who refers youth i Juveile Detetio to metorig? For detetio settigs where a metorig program is embedded ad is part of the facility s programmatic offerigs, the process for makig referrals for metorig durig icarceratio was the juveile court by virtue of the judge orderig the youth to detetio. Juveile Detetio lie staff workers iformally fit the role of metor/role model to a particular youg perso durig their brief cofiemet. Ivolvemet of detetio facility staff i providig ad/or supportig metorig or other services eded with the youth s release from that facility. The processes for makig referrals for metorig post-icarceratio icluded metorig program staff: Discussig the eeds ad circumstaces of detaied youth with appropriate detetio staff throughout the youth s icarceratio. Esurig the youth s accessibility to a metor post-release. Completig a itake iterview with the youth ad cotactig a appropriate family member(s)/caregiver(s) to esure paret/caregiver support. What is a embedded program ad how is it importat to a successful metorig program i a Juveile Detetio settig? A embedded metorig program fuctios completely withi the Juveile Detetio facility. Metorig staff have office space i the facility, participate i staff meetigs, iteract with youth i programmatic settigs ad are viewed as importat members of the team by lie staff, as well as facility leadership. The embedded metorig programs provided daily group sessios that lasted betwee oe ad two hours per sessio for all detaied youth. Curricula were used that focus o character/ leadership, educatio/career, health/life skills, the arts ad sports/fitess/recreatio. Without a embedded program, there was little evidece of a formalized metorig process for Juveile Detetio settigs give the short-term ature of icarceratio. I some istaces, Professioally traied metorig staff delivered the oe-to-oe, group ad team-based metorig services durig ad post-detetio. 3

6 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS cotiued How are strog relatioships formed betwee Juveile Detetio settigs ad metorig programs? I the case of the idetified detetio sites, staff with the local metorig program approached leadership at the detetio facility about operatig a embedded metorig program i the facility. The primary metorig program staff should have a solid uderstadig of the juveile justice system i geeral, the fuctio of Juveile Detetio ad the type of at-risk/high-risk youth served i this settig i order to led credibility to their discussios with facility leadership about implemetig a program. Metorig program staff should be icluded i traiig provided by the detetio facility related to workig with youth i a secure settig. with may youth durig their cofiemet. I these cases, the metorig staff should be prepared to explai the value of the program, ecourage the youth to participate post-release ad gather the appropriate cotact iformatio for the youth, as well as for their paret(s)/caregiver(s). I all istaces, cotiued participatio i the metorig program post-icarceratio was volutary ad at the metorig program s discretio. What are the post-release metorig cosideratios for Juveile Detetio youth? Participatio i the commuity-based metorig program is for as log as the youth is eligible ad chooses to participate i metorig. Are o-embedded metorig programs successful i workig with Juveile Detetio youth? A o-embedded metorig program suffers from the lack of regular presece ad iteractio amog metorig staff ad facility staff ad leadership, as well as with the detaied youth. These programs are show ot to be as valued or uderstood by detetio staff ad youth as those programs that are embedded. Youth i the juveile justice system ted to be trasiet, so maitaiig regular frequet cotact is importat ad may be challegig. I states that operate regioalized Juveile Detetio ceters, a youth may be may miles from their home commuity, complicatig the developmet ad maiteace of a metorig relatioship i the youth s home area. Oe-to-oe metorig post-release should typically be oe hour each week ad should take place at various safe locatios i the commuity. Were youth i Juveile Detetio willig to participate i metorig programs? 4 I settigs where there was o requiremet to atted the metor programmig, it was rare that a youth would choose ot to atted. I settigs where metorig activities were icorporated ito the facility s programmig, youth were expected to participate. The greatest challege for participatio is the short-term ature of detetio. At best, a metorig program may oly make brief cotact The oe-to-oe metorig match commitmet should be for at least oe year. For youth adjudicated from short-term detetio to a log-term setece i a Juveile Correctios facility, cosideratio might be give to waitig for the offeder to be moved to the correctios settig before implemetig metorig services. Are there ay statutory requiremets related to metorig? Related to the metorig program, there were o statutory requiremets to be met either durig or post-icarceratio.

7 WHAT S WORKING: Examples of Effective Strategies Embedded Metorig Program Metorig program activities were Offerig metorig programmig iside embedded i the program schedule at the the detetio facility provided youth with a detetio facility. As a result, all youth opportuity to uderstad what services they icarcerated there were referred to the might receive from the metorig program metorig program. This situatio esured after their release from detetio. that all youth had the opportuity to be exposed to metorig activities. Havig the metorig program embedded at the Juveile Detetio facility allowed the Sice the metorig program was metorig program staff to build relatioships embedded i the detetio facility, there ad trust with juveile justice staff that was a opportuity for metorig staff to cotributed to the level of iformatio build relatioships with detaied youth durig available to the metorig program about the their icarceratio. This relatioship buildig issues ad eeds of detaied youth before durig icarceratio helped the youth: their release from detetio. Begi to make a coectio with the metorig program ad its staff before their release from detetio. Be more likely to have a iterest i beig referred to ad participatig i post-icarceratio metorig. Post-Release Metorig staff cotactig detaied youth withi 24 hours of their release from detetio supported the maiteace of a ogoig coectio with these youth post-release. 5

8 CHALLENGES AND ACTION STEPS The short-term ature of the Juveile Detetio settig provides some challegig barriers i implemetig a formal metorig program. Aecdotally, the fidigs suggested that metorig i these settigs is ofte provided by idividuals, typically from a faith-based orgaizatio, visitig the Juveile Detetio facility o a semi-regular basis rather tha by staff from a commuityor evidece-based metorig program. Challege #3: Chages i the youg perso s placemet ca egatively affect the ability of the metorig program to cotiue to serve these youth post-icarceratio. * Actio Step There is likely little that may be doe to aticipate or mitigate the impact of this situatio. Challege #1: Due to cofidetiality requiremets, metorig program staff ofte foud it difficult to access iformatio required by the metorig program, icludig paret cotact iformatio, util after the youth s discharge from detetio. * Actio Step A expectatio should be set by metorig staff for youth idicatig a iterest i participatig i post-icarceratio metorig services to provide cotact iformatio for his/her paret(s)/ caregiver(s) as soo as possible.. Challege #4: Poor paret/child relatioships at times kept paret(s) from supportig the youg perso s participatio i metorig programmig post-icarceratio. * Actio Step #4 Metorig programmig for youth ivolved i the juveile justice system may be most effective whe accompaied by paretig educatio ad support services. These services may be offered as either part of the metorig program or as a referral for service. Challege #2: Despite the relatioship buildig that takes place while youth are icarcerated, after release from detetio the youg perso could chage his/her mid about participatig i the post-icarceratio metorig program. * Actio Step A ivestmet by metorig program staff i buildig relatioships with the youth s paret(s)/caregiver(s), both durig ad after the youth s icarceratio, may serve to provide a support system for ecouragig the youth s ogoig participatio i metorig. 6

9 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Adjudicated a court rulig of guilt or iocece. At-Risk ad High-Risk Youth The Office of Juveile Justice ad Deliquecy Prevetio (OJJDP) defies at-risk youth as those with high levels of risk i their family, home, commuities ad social eviromets to such a degree that it could lead to educatioal failure, droppig out of school or ivolvemet i juveile deliquecy ad gag-related offeses. OJJDP defies high-risk youth as those with preset or past juveile justice ivolvemet. Caretaker or Physical Custodia a perso who has physical custody but ot legal custody of a youth, such as a foster paret, placemet facility or relative without legal custody. Dual Adjudicatory a Deliquecy Court desigatio for a abused, eglected or depedet youth who is also a deliquet youth ad vice versa. Embedded Program a program that is housed iside the juveile justice settig either by beig developed by the juveile justice settig or by beig implemeted by a outside metorig program. Idividual Service Pla (ISP) a focused pla for addressig ay umber of issues that a youth may have. Geerally, a similar term is commoly used i public educatio to aid youth with learig difficulties. While the same may be true i Juveile Correctios, the ISP may iclude issues for staff to cosider whe workig with the youth i ay program. Juveile a youth uder the age of majority. The recommeded age is usually eightee (18) ad youger. Legal Guardia a adult who is ot the biological paret, or a state or licesed childre ad youth agecy, who has bee give legal authority by a court to provide care ad custody of a child/youth. Needs Assessmet oe tool i the Structured Decisio-Makig process. It idetifies the offeder s specific eeds ad provides part of the foudatio for the case pla. Petitio the documet that specifies the violatio of law ad state statute umber described i the affidavit that the youth is alleged to have committed. A probable cause statemet or affidavit, usually filed by the police, accompaies the petitio. Pre-Adjudicatio the period betwee arrest ad a court rulig o guilt or iocece. Wrap-Aroud Services a method of service delivery highlighted by commitmet to create services o a oe youth at a time basis to support ormalized ad iclusive optios for the youth with complex eeds. Wrap-aroud itervetios create a youth ad family team composed of the people who kow the youth best to desig a idividualized pla. 7

10 TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE RESOURCES OJJDP Research Report o Referrig High Risk Youth for Metorig Services Full Report OJJDP Research Report o Referrig High Risk Youth for Metorig Services Executive Summary Juveile Justice Joural o Referrig High Risk Youth for Metorig Services Special Editio Memoradums of Uderstadig Six Resource Guides for Developig MOUs for Juveile Justice ad Metorig Services PowerPoit Presetatios for Six Juveile Justice Settigs ad Metorig MENTOR s Elemets of Effective Practice For Metorig, Third Editio, Checklist for Metorig Programs For free, dowloadable versios of these resources, visit: MENTOR at resources/researchig_the_referral_stage/; Global Youth Justice at ad Natioal Partership for Juveile Services at Six Techical Assistace Profiles: Examiig the Referral Stage for Metorig High-Risk Youth MENTOR s Elemets of Effective Practice For Metorig, Third Editio MENTOR s Elemets of Effective Practice For Metorig Toolkit Juveile Justice Sectio 8

11 WEBSITES OF INTEREST Boys ad Girls Club of the Teessee Valley Koxville, TN Boys ad Girls Club of Buffalo Buffalo, NY Goodwill Idustries of Norther New Eglad Portlad, ME Global Youth Justice Website Metorig High Risk Youth Resources Natioal Partership for Juveile Services Metorig High Risk Youth Resources MENTOR: The Natioal Metorig Partership Office of Juveile Justice ad Deliquecy Prevetio Metorig Resources Office of Juveile Justice ad Deliquecy Prevetio Model Program Guide/Metorig Admiistratio for Childre, Youth ad Families, U.S. Dept. of Health ad Huma Services State-by-State Listig of Legislatio ad Statutes Regardig Juveiles Profiles.aspx 9

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16 5 This project was supported by Grat #2010-JU-FX-0118 awarded by the Office of Juveile Justice ad Deliquecy Prevetio, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Departmet of Justice. The opiios, fidigs ad coclusios or recommedatios expressed i this publicatio/program/ exhibitio are those of the author(s) ad do ot ecessarily reflect those of the Departmet of Justice. PROJECT PARTNERS