DFPS children in juvenile delinquency Dual Status Youth DFPS children in juvenile delinquency Spring 2018

Agenda Harris County Youth Collective Georgetown Center for Juvenile Justice Reform Department of Family Protective Services Juvenile Probation Department Juvenile Capital Advocacy Project

Harris County Youth Collective

HCYC VISION Our vision is that all dually-involved youth can thrive in the areas of wellness, education, and transition to adulthood. In support of this vision, we aim to create an aligned and data-driven system that is inclusive of families and caregivers, committed to equity, and responsive to youths’ individualized needs.

NATIONAL ESTIMATES

Snapshot Data: 80 – 130 Dual Status Youth IDENTIFICATION Snapshot Data: 80 – 130 Dual Status Youth

Georgetown Center for Juvenile Justice Reform

The Center works to focus the nation’s juvenile justice and related systems of care on the key principles embodied in an evidence-based juvenile justice reform agenda, utilizing a multi-system approach. These include: An effective balance of prevention and intervention services An individualized system of justice for youth Implementation of proven and effective practices Strong linkages to the community Significant public engagement and building of public and political will A particular focus of the Center is on youth known to both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, also referred to as “crossover youth.”

Developing Process to Impact the Target Mapping Sessions Outlining the journey for any Youth who becomes dual status Participants DFPS CAC Disability Rights Texas District Attorney The Harris Center HCPS 315th District Court HCJPD Public Defender’s Office JCAP HCAO

Pathways to Dual Status A youth under TMC or PMC that is subsequently arrested and detained PATHWAY 2 A youth under TMC or PMC that is subsequently arrested and released PATHWAY 3 A youth under TMC or PMC that is subsequently arrested and diverted PATHWAY 4 A youth currently involved with JJ (any level) that is subsequently referred to CPS PATHWAY 5 A youth currently receiving FBSS that is subsequently arrested and released or detained PATHWAY 6 Cases of youth that are the victims of sexual abuse that have subsequently acted out against another individual

CYPM Jurisdictions Texas Bexar Co. Dallas Co. El Paso Co. Harris Co. Connecticut New London Co. Florida Brevard Co Broward Co. Duval Co. Miami-Dade Co. Polk Co. Seminole Co. Volusia Co. Iowa Woodbury Co. Kansas Sedgwick Co. Maryland Prince George’s Co. Montgomery County Michigan Berrien Co. Genesee Co. Oakland Co. Wayne Co. Arizona Apache Co. Cochise Co. Coconino Co. Gila Co. Graham Co. Maricopa Co. Mohave Co. Navaho Co. Pima Co. Pinal Co. Santa Cruz. Co. Yavapai Co. California Alameda Co. Los Angeles Co. Sacramento Co. San Diego Co. Colorado Alamosa Co. Broomfield Co. Conejos Co. Costilla Co. Denver Co. Douglas Co. Gunnison Co. Jefferson Co. Larimer Co. Mesa Co. Mineral Co. Morgan Co. Rio Grande Co. Saguache Co. Nebraska Dodge Co. Douglas Co. Gage Co. Lancaster Co. Sarpy Co. Nevada Washoe Co. New York Bronx Co. Kings Co. Monroe Co. New York Co. Queens Co. Richmond Co. Oregon Douglas Co. Jackson Co. Lane Co. Marion Co. Multnomah Co. Washington Co. Pennsylvania Allegheny Co. Philadelphia Co. South Carolina Berkley Co. Charleston Co. Georgetown Co. Washington King Co. Wyoming Laramie Co.   Minnesota Carver Co. Hennepin Co. Kandiyohi Co. Olmsted Co. Stearns Co. Missouri Camden Co. Cass Co. Greene Co. Jefferson Co. Johnson Co. Laclede Co. Miller Co. Moniteau Co. Morgan Co. Ohio Carroll Co. Clarke Co. Cuyahoga Co. Franklin Co. Hamilton Co. Lucas Co. Mahoning Co. Montgomery Co. Ross Co. Stark Co. Summit Co. Trumbull Co. Texas Bexar Co. Dallas Co. El Paso Co. Harris Co. McLennan Co. Tarrant Co. Travis Co.

Frequent Communication Moving Towards… Frequent Communication Shared Information Access to Resources

What Does This Mean For You?

Dual Status Teams – DFPS (April 2018) CPS Program Director FGDM Dual Status Facilitator CPS Supervisor Dual Status CVS Secondary Worker Juvenile Justice Coordinator

Dual Status Teams – HCJPD (April 2018) CPS Liaison Supervisor Extern Dual Status Court Officer Dual Status Field JPO

Juvenile Justice

Who are Dual Status Youth? CPS has TMC/PMC of the youth Involved with HCJPD Dual Status

What will that look like?

Challenges working with Dual Status Youth Issues with communication between agencies Difficulty finding placement. Licensing restrictions. Often history of multiple placements If offense is against caregiver, trust can be broken Tend to be older youths with complex needs Mental health issues Educational delays Often extensive CPS history/trauma history

What is Harris County Juvenile Probation doing?? Created the Dual Status Unit September 2016, stared with Alison McGallion, CPS Liaison Supervisor. Added field JPO Dralanjelia “Sherrie” Porter in February 2018 Added a Court JPO, specifically for the Dual Status Unit and a second field JPO in May 2018.

What is next for Harris County Juvenile Probation?? As the field JPO’s caseload reaches 15, another Field JPO will be added and continue to be added as caseloads reach 15. We would love an additional Court JPO and Administrative Assistant (numbers allowing) Continued collaboration and growth with CPS For the Juvenile Courts to have a dedicated Dual Docket.

What do we need from you?? Tell us, the CPS Caseworker, County Attorney and Judge that your case fits this criteria. If you ever have questions, call me, email me or stop me in the building.

Contact Information Alison McGallion I HCJPD CPS Liaison Supervisor Alison.mcgallion@hcjpd.hctx.net 713-222-4277

Juvenile and Capital Advocacy Project (JCAP) Crossover Youth Representation Program Katya Dow Legal Programs Director Professor of Practice, University of Houston Law Center katya@jcaptexas.org

What are “Crossover Youth” or “Dual-Status” Youth? Youth who have involvement with both the child welfare system and the juvenile (or criminal, if over 17) justice system.

Crossover youth are disproportionately low income youth of color who typically have high rates of truancy and school drop-out, unidentified special education issues, and family histories of mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, and criminal behavior.

National data suggest approximately 30% of youth aged ten or older in the care of child welfare are subsequently arrested.

The Problem There is a lack of collaboration and understanding among the DFPS court system and the delinquency/criminal court systems.

The lack of communication is compounded when there is a lack of coordination and continuity among the various attorneys representing the youth and the judges who hear their cases.

Delinquency/Criminal Two court systems: CPS/DFPS CPS Judge CPS Caseworker Attorney ad litem (sometimes) Guardian Ad Litem (sometimes) County Attorney Attorneys for parents (if parental rights have not been terminated). Delinquency/Criminal Delinquency or Criminal Court Judge District Attorney/prosecutor Defense Attorney Juvenile Probation office or Probation office. These two court systems do not communicate with one another well, if at all. The judges do not communicate with each other (unless the same juvenile court judge happens to be on both cases) Very often the situation is that a family court presiding over the CPS case (sometimes these courts are even located in other counties from where the youth has been detained) does not have adequate information about the delinquency case, and how it impacts the child’s best interest. Similarly, unless the judge in the delinquency case is provided with information about the CPS case, the history of that child (including the child’s past trauma and placement history), and how those factors have contributed to the offense, they are not getting a clear picture of how this youth should be assessed and adjudicated. (Ex. bad placements often source of delinquency charges.) Under the existing system, it is rare that anyone involved in these youths’ cases has a holistic understanding of that youth, how his delinquency case should best be evaluated, understood and adjudicated, and what supports need to be in place to ensure that youth can be successful in completing probationary requirements and stay out of legal trouble.

The JCAP Crossover Youth Representation Program How we are trying to address the issues just discussed through our program: Our attorneys and law students are appointed as guardians ad litem (GALs) on the delinquency cases of crossover youth. Currently we are being appointed by Judge Schneider in the 315th, as well as Judge Griffith in the CPS Project Court. These GALs get to know the youth well, meeting with them every week during the course of representation. They investigate the offense, research the CPS file, and then work closely with the defense attorney to best advocate for the youth in his delinquency case. (* Delinquency cases – defense attorney Dena Fisher) The GALs are also trained to coordinate with the CPS caseworkers and ad litem attorneys to provide them with information about the delinquency case and what types of supports should be implemented to ensure a good outcome on the delinquency case.

Examples of Cases

Endorsements

Ethical Considerations

Katya Dow katya@jcaptexas.org 713-743-1011

QUESTIONS? HCYC Kelly Opot 832.927.6370 kelly.opot@cps.hctx.net Megan Davis 832.588.0805 megan.davis@cps.hctx.net HCJPD Alison McGallion 713.222.4277 alison.mcgallion@hcjpd.hctx.net JCAP Katya Dow 713.743.1011 katya@jcaptexas.org