Introductions

Agenda 10:00- 10:20am Introductions and Today’s Agenda 10:20- 10:40am Project Overview (large group) 10:40- 11:30am Definitions 11:30- 12:00pm Key Findings 12:00- 12:45pm Lunch 12:45- 1:00pm Resources: Profiles, MOU’s, and Elements of Effective Practice 1:00- 1:45pm Small groups: Juvenile Detention and Juvenile Corrections 1:45- 2:30pm Small groups: Juvenile Probation and Delinquency Court 2:30- 2:45pm Break 2:45- 3:30pm Small groups: Youth Court/Teen Court and Dependency Court 3:30- 4:00pm Opportunities for Partnership 4:00- 4:30pm Wrap up and Questions

Why are we here today?

Learning Objectives Participants will gain an understanding of: Six juvenile justice settings The advantages and challenges of offering mentoring services within each setting Promising practices mentoring within or in partnership with each setting with a focus on the referral stage

Project Overview

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is a leader in recognizing that well-designed and well- implemented mentoring can have a tremendous, positive impact on a youth's life chances in particular, “high-risk” youth.

Project Overview OJJDP funded Researching the Referral Stage of Youth Mentoring in Six Juvenile Justice Settings: Juvenile Corrections Juvenile Detention Juvenile Probation Delinquency Court Youth/Teen Court Dependency Court

Project Overview This exploratory research is designed to inform the mentoring referral process for delivery of mentoring services to “high-risk” youth for the purpose of reducing delinquent behavior, alcohol and drug abuse, truancy, and other problem behaviors.

Partner Organizations MENTORGlobal Youth Justice National Partnership for Juvenile Services Research Team J. Mitchell Miller, Ph.D. Holly V. Miller, Ph.D.J.C. Barnes, Ph.D.

Research Questions What are the best practices in identifying and referring youth to mentoring programs across distinct juvenile justice settings? What is the capacity of the mentoring community to support the youth identified for mentoring from six juvenile justice settings? What intermediate outcomes are achieved by mentoring throughout the settings?

Qualitative Data Site visits Interviews with staff and administrators Questionnaires

Quantitative Data: Survey Sample The survey netted a large sample size (N = 1,197) All 50 United States were represented by the survey respondents Program respondents hailed from a variety of community types ranging from urban, suburban, rural, and tribal communities.

Definitions

Juvenile Detention Juvenile Corrections Juvenile Probation Delinquency Court Youth Court/Teen Court Dependency Court Six Juvenile Justice Settings

Juvenile Detention Secure facilities that provide for the short-term, temporary, safe custody of juveniles alleged to have committed a delinquent act/offense

Juvenile Corrections Secure, residential facilities that provide for the long-term, safe custody of juveniles adjudicated on felony or multiple misdemeanor offenses. These facilities typically are considered to be high security.

What is the difference between detention and corrections ?

Juvenile Probation Community-based corrections program where probation officers supervise and monitor youth under court jurisdiction, ensuring they comply with all court orders. Probation officer provides direction, guidance, rehabilitation.

Delinquency Court Delinquency Courts have jurisdiction over juveniles, juvenile delinquents, status offenders and children and youth in need of supervision. The Delinquency Court is most commonly associated with the Juvenile Justice System and juveniles who have committed a crime, status offense and/or violation.

Youth Court/ Teen Court Diversion programs in which peers sentence juveniles for minor crimes, offenses and/or violations. These programs are administered locally by law enforcement agencies, probation departments, delinquency courts, schools and local nonprofit organizations.

Dependency Court The Dependency Court is most commonly associated with foster care, abuse and neglect issues involving children and youth younger than 18.

Key Findings

Juvenile Detention While mentoring is not used as a diversion from adjudication per se, it is, in many instances, viewed as one component of a holistic approach to delinquency prevention and intervention.

Conceptual Model of the “Typical” Referral Process Step 1 Identification phase Sources of identification: law enforcement or juvenile probation, family, social worker Step 2 Court appearance Types of court: youth, family, dependency, delinquency Step3 Eligibility assessment by court Judge or other governing body assess youth for eligibility in mentor program Step 4 Referral to mentor program by court Step 5 Referral received by mentor program Eligibility determination and assessment by mentor program Step 6 Potential mentor identified Step 7 Match made between mentor and mentee

Who refers youth in JJ settings? Probation officers Judges Magistrates Social Workers and Case Managers Public Defenders Administrative Office of the Courts Police Officers Court Clerks Public Defenders School Officials and Administrators

Juvenile justice settings use mentoring 60% Mentoring programs serve youth from juvenile justice 40% Mentoring programs use individually based mentoring 80% More likely when programs utilized Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring Positive Outcomes Key Findings: National Survey

Risk Assessment Prior to Referral De Majority of juvenile justice settings reported between 76 to 100% of youth are charged with a crime prior to being referred to a mentoring program Relatedly, the majority of juvenile justice settings reported always assessing youth for their level of risk prior to making a referral to mentoring program.

Key Findings: National Survey and Site Visits Top Reasons for Match Failure Youth or family refusal or lack of support Serious mental health issues on the part of the youth Lack of suitable adult mentors

Staff meetings Mentoring juvenile justice youth is more successful when mentoring program staff are involved in regular probation or other staff meetings. Key Findings: Site Visits

Voluntary participation Youth have a greater degree of commitment to the mentoring experience when participation is voluntary. Key Findings: Site Visits

Knowledge about Juvenile Justice System Mentor/staff should have a background understanding of the Juvenile Justice System. Key Findings: Site Visits

Close working partnerships Probation officers and other juvenile justice staff working in close partnership with mentoring program staff is key to successes. Key Findings: Site Visits

Definition of Embedded Programs A program that is housed inside a juvenile justice setting either: developed by the juvenile justice setting or implemented by an outside mentoring program

Greater access to information about youth’s needs More seamless referral process Greater success in matching and shorter waiting lists More understood and valued by juvenile justice staff Better able to track youth’s long term outcomes Key Findings: Site Visits Reported Advantages of Embedded Mentoring Programs

Specialized Programs Mentoring programs with a specific and/or sole purpose of serving youth from a specific JJ setting have an advantageous level of knowledge, skill and ability in providing effective mentoring services for a wide range of high- risk youth involved in JJ settings.

Youth in longer- term placements can build longer-term mentoring relationships.

Resources: Profiles, MOUs, and Elements of Effective Practice

Resources: Setting Profiles Overview of content: Definition of Setting Youth Served Frequently Asked Questions What's Working Example of Promising Strategies Challenges and Action Steps Terms and Definitions Resources

Resources: MOU’s Overview of content: Definitions Tips and Strategies for Writing MOU’s Policy and Programmatic Discussion Points Training and Technical Assistance Resources

What is an MOU? Document that describes a common understanding of a working relationship Provides a framework for partnership Not a binding contract Outlines a commitment between parties MOU

Why is an MOU important?

The MOU provides a structure for a working relationship and clarifies what each of the partners will do to further the collaboration.

Small Groups Juvenile Detention and Juvenile Corrections How are youth from this setting identified and referred to mentoring programs in our community? What works well? What has not? What best practices must we adopt in our community in order to serve youth from this juvenile justice setting? What are the pros and cons of mentoring for youth involved in this setting?

Juvenile Detention Secure facilities that provide for the short-term, temporary, safe custody of juveniles alleged to have committed a delinquent act/offense

Juvenile Corrections Secure, residential facilities that provide for the long-term, safe custody of juveniles adjudicated on felony or multiple misdemeanor offenses. These facilities typically are considered to be high security.

Small Groups Juvenile Probation and Delinquency Court How are youth from this setting identified and referred to mentoring programs in our community? What works well? What has not? What best practices must we adopt in our community in order to serve youth from this juvenile justice setting? What are the pros and cons of mentoring for youth involved in this setting?

Juvenile Probation Community-based corrections program where probation officers supervise and monitor youth under court jurisdiction, ensuring they comply with all court orders. Probation officer provides direction, guidance, rehabilitation.

Delinquency Court Delinquency Courts have jurisdiction over juveniles, juvenile delinquents, status offenders and children and youth in need of supervision. The Delinquency Court is most commonly associated with the Juvenile Justice System and juveniles who have committed a crime, status offense and/or violation.

Small Groups Youth Court/Teen Court and Dependency Court How are youth from this setting identified and referred to mentoring programs in our community? What works well? What has not? What best practices must we adopt in our community in order to serve youth from this juvenile justice setting? What are the pros and cons of mentoring for youth involved in this setting?

Youth Court/ Teen Court Diversion programs in which peers sentence juveniles for minor crimes, offenses and/or violations. These programs are administered locally by law enforcement agencies, probation departments, delinquency courts, schools and local nonprofit organizations.

Dependency Court The Dependency Court is most commonly associated with foster care, abuse and neglect issues involving children and youth younger than 18.

Opportunities for Partnership

RelationshipsMOUs

Additional Resources Juvenile Detention Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention – Mentoring Resources Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention – Model Program Guide/Mentoring Global Youth Justice Website – Mentoring High Risk Youth Resources National Partnership for Juvenile Services – Mentoring High Risk Youth Resources MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership