1. Beltrami County Board Room Beltrami County Administration Building
Improving Outcomes for Minnesota Youth that
Crossover between Child Welfare & Juvenile Justice
Beltrami County Board Room
Beltrami County Administration Building
701 Minnesota Avenue, Bemidji, MN
June 19, 2013

2. Meeting Goals & Objectives
Identify Key Early Activities for Success
Provide an in-depth overview of Phase One of the Crossover Youth Practice Model
Provide an Interactive Discussion Opportunity for Participating MN Counties
Identify Immediate Next Steps and a Plan for Action

3. Considerations When Implementing The Crossover Youth Practice Model
Organizational Change / System Collaboration
Infrastructure
Leadership
Data
Organizational Change/System Collaboration
In implementing a new practice model, particularly one involving multiple systems, it is important to consider organizational culture…and how to use organizational culture change principles as the new model is being introduced.
Infrastructure
Successful practice model implementation requires that agency leadership fully understand it and actively engage in assuring its success. The leaders, Directors and Mid-level managers have to be seen as supporting the implementation.
Data
Data collection is part of all agencies practices. However, given the challenges when combining systems other factors should be considered:
Identified barriers to information sharing must be eliminated (real or perceived);
Ensuring that the identified baseline and outcome measures are tracked;
All systems should be working toward Information system interface
Messaging
One of the crucial components of successful practice model implementation is the messaging staff receives.
Leaders from both agencies must ensuring the consistency of the message;
Messaging has to impress that this is a long-term commitment.
Training
Training has to be provided in phases prior to full implementation;
Training should include utilization of staff case;
Training must be ongoing & the info. incorporated into new employee training.

4. Initiating the Process
The initiative must have a clear management structure to
support the reform/change process through all of its phases.
The management structure should:
establish the governance and decision-making processes
identify goals, objectives & desired outcomes
determine staffing and funding
designate working teams or committees, and
establish timelines

5. Key Practical Initiation Issues
Who & what agencies/entities do we need as stakeholders?
Youth/Parents
Judiciary (e.g. judges, masters, court administrator)
Juvenile justice (e.g. intake, probation, corrections)
Child welfare (e.g. investigation, intake, case managers, permanency)
Education
Representatives from the local school district (depending on the size of the area)
and/or school district w/highly concentrated number of the target youth
Mental health and substance abuse treatment providers
Law enforcement (local police and school resource officers)
Attorneys
Prosecutors and attorneys representing the state in dependency proceedings
Defense attorneys and counsel representing children in dependency proceedings
Youth attorneys
CASA and Guardian ad litem

6. Formalizing the Function
Routine meeting schedule
Identify a specific manager /coordinator
Establish team goals and objectives that are mutually agreed upon by all parties on the team
(e.g., MOU, MOA, Charter)
Understand that struggle is part of the refining process

7. Critical Role of Data Collection
Establishes Method for Routine Capacity to ID
Youth
Establishes Prevalence
Supports ID of Target Population Characteristics
Builds Capacity for Ongoing Prevalence &
Performance Measurement

8. Crossover Youth – Definitions
Youths who have experienced maltreatment and engaged in delinquency.
Dually-Involved Youth
A subgroup of crossover youth who are simultaneously receiving
services, at any level, from both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
Dually-Adjudicated Youth
A subgroup of dually-involved youth, encompassing only those youth who are concurrently adjudicated by both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

9. Pathways to Becoming a Crossover Youth
Youth has an Open Child Welfare Case
Youth is
Arrested
Enter the Juvenile Justice System
Youth has an open child
welfare case
Child welfare case is closed
arrested
Youth enters the juvenile justice system
Youth is victim of maltreatment but it is undetected by CW system
Youth Referred to the Child Welfare System
Youth is arrested and put in a correctional facility
Youth is released from the facility but family abandons him/her
Youth referred to the child welfare system

10. Prevention / Early Intervention
Early Considerations / Opportunities:
Where does crossover occur most likely?
(i.e. particular child welfare placement or case type)
What supports that can be put in place when at-risk for
delinquency behaviors are identified?
Are there particular providers that have a higher incidents of police calls and/or arrest?

11. CYPM Practices
In order to help families understand what is happening to them, the CW social worker-JJ case worker team is expected to meet with the family together and describe in detail how the two systems will seek to work as partners.
In addition, the team is encouraged to have some form of written documentation (i.e. brochure, family guide) that describes the way that the two systems will work together to serve their youth and their family.
Definitions of terms used in each system
Description of the system’s process and accompanying timeframes
Descriptions of the roles and responsibilities of the social worker and the probation officer
Supports that the family and youth can expect from each system
Expectations of the family and youth 11

12. CYPM Practices
Throughout the Practice Model there are times when family meetings or multi-disciplinary teams are used to support the various decision- making processes outlined below:
During the diversion process (Phase I, Practice Area 1);
Prior to the court hearing (Phase II, Practice Area 1-4);
During assessment and case planning (Phase II, Practice Area 2-3);
During the ongoing assessment of progress (case plan review) process (Phase III, Practice Area 4); and
During all permanency and transition planning (Phase III, Practice Area 5). 12

13. CYPM Practices Disproportionality- focus on this issue by:
Developing cultural awareness and to scrutinize our own feelings and beliefs about ethnic and racial groups other than our own;
Understanding that what is important is recognizing and acknowledging these stereotypes and biases. Lack of understanding of how these biases are impacting your practice can create barriers to service deliver and each barrier could represent a lost opportunity to help;
Respecting the client’s perspective;
Avoiding judgment from bias, stereotypes, or cultural myths and;
Asking the family to explain the significance culture has for them, especially regarding family traditions, youth rearing and discipline practices, spiritual beliefs and traditions. 13

14. Phase I: Practice Area 1 Arrest, ID & Detention14

15. Arrest, Identification and Detention
Phase I, Practice Area 1:
Arrest, Identification and Detention
Create protocols that specify how client information databases can be searched to identify crossover youth.
Create a memorandum of agreement that describes the ability of child welfare and juvenile justice staff to share information about youth and families involved in both systems. These agreements may also include sharing of educational and behavioral health information.
Utilize validated screening and cross system assessment tools that can be used while the youth is in detention. 15

16. Phase I: Practice Area 2 Decision Making Regarding Charges16 16

17. Decision Making Regarding Charges
Phase 1, Practice Area 2:
Decision Making Regarding Charges
Conduct diversion meetings and pursue strategies to reduce youth crossing over into the juvenile justice system.
Partner on identifying and funding prevention services to ensure that crossover youth have access to services funded by both systems.
* Gap Analysis
* Phase I Implementation Plan 17

18. Phase II: Practice Area 3 Case Assignment & Planning18

19. Phase II: Practice Area 3 Case Assignment Assessment & Case Planning19

20. Phase II: Practice Area 3: Case Assignment, Assessment & Case Planning
Conduct an inventory of the assessment tools used in both child welfare and juvenile justice. (This will assist in the development of a consolidated assessment of the youth and family). Upon notification of a new crossover youth case, the newly assigned probation officer should immediately make contact with the assigned social worker. This contact should be made within three to five days. This level of contact may happen pre- or post adjudication. 20

21. Phase II: Practice Area 3: Case Assignment, Assessment & Case Planning
Complete a consolidated/joint assessment of the family and youth including
the following:
Review of behavior patterns over time;
Examination of the family strengths and protective factors;
Assessment of the overall needs of the youth and family that affect the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and youth in the family;
Consideration of contributing factors (caregivers) such as domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health, chronic health problems, and poverty;
Assessment of criminogenic factors including peer group, school performance, family dynamics, substance abuse, self regulation, history of delinquent behaviors; and
Review of information gathered through other assessments from partnering agencies (i.e. mental health, substance abuse) 21

22. Phase II: Practice Area 3: Case Assignment, Assessment & Case Planning
Development of an integrated case plan that:
Creates a direct link between the identified need areas and the goals, tasks, interventions and services.
Focuses interventions on assisting parents/caregivers to improve their parenting skills and the youth in changing his/her risk taking behaviors.
Are focused, time limited, behaviorally specific, attainable, relevant, and understandable to all and agreed to by the parent(s).
Provide the basis for understanding when the work is completed. Conversely, they provide the basis for deciding that sufficient change has not occurred so that permanency goals may be justified and pursued. 22

23. Phase II: Practice Area 3: Case Assignment, Assessment & Case Planning
Families should help guide the process of determining what interventions could best address their situation, within the context of a shared commitment to making necessary changes. This process should be transparent – the CW social worker/JJ case worker team should share the tools and information being used to build the service plan. There is an expectation that all jurisdictions will make a commitment to reduce its use of group care (including residential and institutional) for crossover youth. Residing in a family setting is ideal for all youth regardless of their current or past situation. 23

24. Phase II: Practice Area 3: Case Assignment, Assessment & Case Planning
Identify kin to care for crossover youth.
Strive to engage the family as soon as the youth is identified to the system.
Ensure that kin are given the same level of support as resource families.
Sites must implement one of the following Court models:
Dedicated court docket
One judge/one family
Multi-system planning and court reporting. 24