why we do it! youth benefits improved academic performance – grades, attendances, referrals...
TRANSCRIPT
Why We Do It!YOUTH BENEFITS
• Improved academic performance– Grades, attendances, referrals
• Ability to address transportation issues • Appropriate educational placements
• Shared evaluations/assessments
• Needs of the youth • Less FTAs
Why We Do It!COURT SYSTEM BENEFITS
• Better educational outcomes for youth• Relationship with and immediate access to School
Administration– Address issues as they arise (transportation, admission,
etc.)
• Judicial Orders - avoid conflicts, address educational issues
• Current education information/records on juveniles– Assist youth/families with education issues and/or
placement concerns
• Reduction of discipline referrals/suspensions/school arrests
Why We Do It!SCHOOL SYSTEM BENEFITS
• Increased communication with Court/JJ systems• Increased graduation and attendance rates, more
positive student participation• Fiscal impact – record production, personnel off
campus• Increased Administration knowledge of court
system, reduced frustration• Provides school a clearinghouse to obtain info on
Court Orders• Streamlined process for placement, transition and
transportation matters
Why We Do It!JUVENILE JUSTICE BENEFITS
• Coordination and collaboration with School District leadership to ensure Principals work with DJJ when addressing disciplinary issues
• Structured meetings to review Probation youth and discuss a plan of action
• Access to students, reducing excessive travel and being able to intervene timely on all Probation-related activities
• Immediate access to school records and other resources on campuses
• Reduced length of time on Probation due to increased compliance
• Lessens costs to DJJ and avoids a duplication of services
Who Else Is At the Table?Additional Partners• Department of Children and Families
• School District Police
• Office of the State Attorney
• Office of the Public Defender
• Palm Beach County
What Is It?1. Collaborative effort
a. Open communication between School and Court players
b. Shared records and data to improve outcomes for youth
c. Quarterly Superintendent meetings
2. Everybody’s a Teacher– Statewide initiative coordinated by the
School District to address challenges
faced by children in out-of-home care
What Is It? (continued)• 3a. Countywide partnership – annual planning
meeting
• 3b. Committee work and outcomesI. Data Collection: created a County wide tool to gather
and share data for juvenile school-based arrestsII.School Justice Probation Pilot: established a pilot
program with DJJ to house a JPO on school campusIII.Elementary Out of School Suspension: reviewed data
and conducted focus groups on elementary suspensions; provided recommendations to School Superintendent
IV.Juvenile First Offender: Created protocols for information sharing between Youth Court and JAC; established processes to increase participation in County-wide first offender program
What Is It? (continued)4. School Justice Leader pilot
a. On campus DJJ JPO (“School Justice Leader”) to: i. Increase communication and collaborationii. Reduce out of school suspensions, VOPs, discipline
referraliii. Increase compliance with court-ordered sanctions
– Additional outcomes• Partnership with local law enforcement• Implemented summer programming• Infused DJJ into School Administration, SBT work
b. NIJ grant project increasing school safety and student success –
expanded School Justice pilot with services
What Is It? (continued)5. Court Education Liaison Program
a. Key components:i. Communicationii. Accessiii. Appropriate educational placementiv. Transitionv. Transportationvi. Services
Court Education Liaison Program
Making It Happen• NO ADDITIONAL FUNDING!
• Identify a “champion”
• Convene stakeholders– Identify the issue(s)– Formulate goals
• Establish written protocols and data collection
• Personnel/training
• Regular meetings to review goals, data
Talk to Us• Comments/Questions
• Honorable Kathleen J. Kroll (561) 355-4378 [email protected]
• Cristy Altaro, Juvenile Operations Manager (561) 355-6586 [email protected]
• Angela Bess, Director of Educational Alternatives (561) 681-5900
• Presentation materials: http://15thcircuit.co.palm-beach.fl.us/web/guest/
juvenile