Screening, Assessment and Detention Continuum for Juveniles Presented by: Jeff McDonald April 12 – 13, 2011

Why an Assessment Center?

Why an Assessment Center for Jefferson County?  Lack of coordinated juvenile services  Juvenile information exchange  Increased lethality of juvenile violence  Need for a single point of entry  Too many separate juvenile court filings  Lengthy time between arrest and court  Low-level offenses-high level of intervention

JSPC Mission The mission of the Jefferson County Juvenile Assessment Center: We are an assessment center that is responsive to the safety and well being of youth, families, victims, and the Jefferson County Community.

JCJAC Goals  Family and youth have a single access point  Reduce time officers spend with juveniles  Respond comprehensively to the whole juvenile  Provide multi-agency screening and assessment  Ensure community safety The goals of the Jefferson County Juvenile Assessment Center:

Ten Essential Elements of a Juvenile Assessment Center

Target Population First Essential Element

Target Population  Juveniles from the age of  Mildly Intoxicated (BAC below.05)  Mild drug impairment  Delinquent youth  Truant, suspended, expelled youth  Fire setters  Beyond control of parent  Parent/child conflict  Mental health issues  Municipal juvenile violators/warrants

Second Essential Element Referrals

Who Refers to JCJAC ? District Attorney SB-94 R-1 Schools JCMH Police officers: Whether to detain Alternative to detention Criminal and academic information Human Services Runaways & homeless Beyond control of parent Abused and neglected Arvada & Golden Municipal probation and diversion services Municipal warrants: all police agencies District Attorney Sheriff’s Dept. Low risk offenders and case management services Community Education Juvenile Justice education and training: Semi-annual police training Teacher in-services Advice Center: In person or by phone Self referral Parents who need help with children School District Truant At risk youth School based threat assessment Suspended and expelled youth JCJAC

Third Essential Element Single Point of Entry

 Law enforcement  Stakeholder referrals  Family referrals  Self referrals  No wrong door

JCJAC Benefits for Law Enforcement  Law enforcement transports from municipalities and the sheriff's office make up 85% of the youth seen at the JCJAC  Average length of stay of the officer is 5 minutes  Average length of stay of the youth is 4 hours Financial benefit per transport avg. $90.00 per hour 1594 youth served in X $360 = $573, X 4 hours = 6376 officer hours saved 3 years transport: ; ;

Primary Services: Law Enforcement Transport After Transport to JCJAC  Screening and assessment  Referral and recommendations  Release to parents/adults  Detain/placement via Human Services  Psychiatric hold  Detention

Fourth Essential Element Comprehensive Assessments

Immediate and Comprehensive Assessment  Strength based needs assessment  Validated/evidence based screening and assessment tools  Best principles and practices interventions  All community focused

Immediate and Comprehensive Assessment  Colorado Juvenile Risk Assessment (CJRA)  Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument Second Version (MAYSI-2)  Substance Use Survey Second Version (SUS-2)  FEMA Fire Risk Interview Forms  Kearney School Refusal Assessment Scale

Primary Services: Detention Screens Youth assessed in the field with the Colorado Juvenile Detention Screening and Assessment Guide (JDSAG) 1. Mandatory hold factors 2. Juvenile warrants 3. Risk of serious/repeated delinquency 4. Risk of self harm (weapons) 5. Public safety risk 6. Family or community resources

Primary Services: Community Based Treatment Referrals: Linkage to services made based on screens and assessment:  Counseling services  Anger management  Drug/alcohol intervention  Mentoring  School based interventions  Mediation services

Menu of Services Primary Services  Detention Screens  Law Enforcement Transports  Phone Screens  Court Information  Juvenile Justice Training  Community Intervention Referrals  Case Management Secondary Services  Arson Education  Time Out  Bonding  Sex Offender Supervision  School Risk Assessment  School Notification  Data Access  Future….

Fifth Essential Element Terms of Participation

 Voluntary participation  Limited length of stay  Controlled entrance  Informed consent and confidentially

Sixth Essential Element Confidentiality

 Follow federal and state guidelines  Memorandum of Understanding  Mandatory reporters  Protect to the best ability

Seventh Essential Element Juvenile Information Systems

JUVENILE INFORMATION SYSTEMS  Access to view multiple databases  All systems web based  JAC based systems are individualized  All systems secure Juvenile Information Systems

Information Systems Based or used by JAC’s  Colorado Trails  Lexis Nexis / Courtlink  Case Management Systems  Record Management Systems  Juvenile Information Sharing  C.O.P.S.  COPLINK  CCIC/NCIC  Infinite Campus  Mental Health databases

From the Office of the Colorado Attorney General (10.5) "Assessment center for children", as used in sections and , means a multi- disciplinary, community-based center that provides services to children and their families, including, but not limited to, detention screening, case management, and therapeutic intervention relating to delinquency, abuse or neglect, family conflict, and truancy.

From the Office of the Colorado Attorney General Sharing of Information (4.3) School and school district personnel, employees of the state judicial department, employees of state agencies, employees of criminal justice agencies, and employees of assessment centers for children who share information concerning a child pursuant to this part 3 shall be immune from civil and criminal liability if such personnel or employee acted in good faith compliance with the provisions of this part 3.

National JIS Initiative  A national OJJDP initiative supported by the Center for Network Development  JCJAC is the local pilot site vetting the Juvenile Justice XML Data Model (JJXDM)  JJXDM is based on the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM)  JCJAC is participating with the State of Colorado’s Children and Youth Information Sharing Project using the JIS Guidelines and the NIEM.  JJAC will be the first site in the nation to conduct data exchanges in a juvenile environment using the JJXDM

Juvenile Information Sharing Colorado Children and Youth Information Sharing

Eighth Essential Element Program Administration

 Diverse board representation  Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for multi-agencies  Multi-funding of program  Federal, state and local  Established mission/goals

Ninth Essential Element Sustainability

 Multi-agency co-location  Ongoing assessment of community needs  Diversity of board  Multi-funding streams

JCJAC IGA Contributions The breakdown for contributing partners in the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) is as follows:  Jefferson County (including the District Attorney, Social Services, Mental Health) 46%  Jefferson County Public Schools 14%  12 Local Municipalities and Sheriff’s Office40%

Why JCJAC Works  Cost-effectiveness: co-located budget + operating expense  Collaboration with multiple agencies  Family limitations: less travel=less time=better rapport  Multi-systemic approach to youth and families  Ability to be flexible meeting local needs  Maximizing community partnerships  Low-cost alternative to detaining youth  Co-location of data/information: more comprehensive view of juvenile & family history  Reduction in recidivism Two Federal studies prove the effectiveness

Tenth Essential Element Statewide Initiative

Colorado Juvenile Assessment Center Coalition JAC written into Colorado statues in 2001  Memorandum of Understanding between JACs  Collaboration in ongoing training of center staff  Sharing of information  Description is included in Title 19 of the Colorado Children’s Code Colorado’s six sites  Jefferson County  Larimer County  Arapahoe County  Colorado Springs  Adams County  Pueblo

Questions from Participants?

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention or Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention National Training and Technical Assistance Center For more information or assistance