Hennepin County JDAI 2011 Annual Report

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1 Introduction The Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) is at the end of its sixth year in Hennepin County. Hennepin County, Ramsey County and Dakota County partnered with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to bring the initiative to Minnesota in Annie E. Casey introduced JDAI in 1992 to support their mission to build a juvenile justice system that is equitable, efficient and effective in maintaining public safety, fostering healthy youth, and creating positive community outcomes through systemic reform. Annie E. Casey did not intend for JDAI to be just detention reform, but a way to infuse the JDAI philosophy and principals throughout a jurisdiction s entire juvenile justice system. The detention crisis was very real, and all of our explicit goals for JDAI were focused on the detention problem itself reducing overcrowding and preventing the unnecessary confinement of kids, says Bart Lubow, senior associate at the Foundation and initiative manager for JDAI. But internally we always knew that JDAI was a really good way to stimulate positive change throughout the juvenile system. JDAI is based on a simple and straightforward set of beliefs that: Juvenile justice should help court-involved youth overcome their problems, build on their strengths and succeed in life. Confining youth and removing them from their homes and communities is not therapeutic, and youth should always be placed in the least restrictive alternative that is consistent with public safety. Parents, family members and youth themselves must be respected in the juvenile justice process and engaged as partners. Community organizations and residents can and should play an important role in guiding youth away from delinquency and toward success. The juvenile court and corrections process must make every effort to ensure that all youth are treated equally and not disadvantaged based on their ethnic and racial backgrounds. Over the past six years the collaborative work of the Juvenile Court, Juvenile Probation, Juvenile Detention Center, Department of Community Corrections & Rehabilitation (DOCCR) Administration, County Attorney and Public Defender s offices, community members and other key stakeholders have demonstrated that interagency collaboration and data-driven policies can reduce the number of youth in secure detention without sacrificing public safety or court appearance rates. During this time, Hennepin County has made a significant reduction in the number of youth held in the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC), as well as a reduction in the number of youth being referred to an out-of-home placement, and an increase in the number of youth referred to community-based resources to help redirect youth from being pulled deeper into the system. Hennepin County s work with JDAI has helped dispel the perception that, by locking up significantly fewer youth, the initiative would jeopardize public safety and unleash a juvenile crime wave across the county. By implementing JDAI, this initiative saved Hennepin County taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars by reducing the operating costs of the JDC, closing unoccupied mods and reducing the number of personnel needed to run the facility. 1

2 Many of the cost savings were redeployed to communitybased resources and other programmatic efforts that are more cost-effective and have proven to be more effective in treating lower risk youth. Hennepin County has realized a 63-percent decrease in the average daily population (ADP) of youth being detained daily in the JDC from 2005 through The ADP decreased by nearly 13 percent from 2010 to The ADP in 2011 has been approximately 35 youth compared to 95 youth in There has also been a large reduction in the number of youth admitted to the JDC annually. In 2005, the average number of youth admitted was approximately 4,500. In 2011, 1,874 youth were admitted a 58 percent reduction since Through the end of 2011, more than 600 youth have been referred to alternatives, such as the Community Coaches Program, Safe Shelter, and Evening Reporting Center (ERC). It is clear that after six years of dedication to the development of alternatives, JDAI is more than detention reform. In 2011, Hennepin County has taken deliberate steps to infuse JDAI principals in the day-to-day delivery of services to delinquent youth and their families has sparked new efforts, such as the creation of the Parent and Family Engagement Committee, which educates families about our juvenile system, creates a more family-friendly system, gives community and families a voice in decisions concerning their children, and empowers parents to show up for court hearings, intakes and other appointments. JDAI has expanded the scope of the Eliminating Racial Disparities Committee to look at the effect of law enforcement decisions and charging practices of the County Attorney s Office on Hennepin County s disparity issues. Also, in 2011, JDAI began working on the Crossover Youth Practice Model to look at how the county can better serve youth who are dually supervised by both juvenile corrections and human services has expanded the work being done within Hennepin County JDAI and will continue to expand efforts to make the county s juvenile justice system fair and equitable for disadvantaged youth and families. JDAI Committee Structure Executive Steering Committee The Executive Steering Committee (ESC) serves as the governing body of the JDAI collaborative and makes final policy recommendations to its members. The mission of the governance structure change was to clarify roles and responsibilities of committee members in making recommendations and implementing policy changes; create a committee comprised of diverse stakeholders, including line staff; and establish an institutionalized vehicle for communicating subcommittee work, findings and recommendations to the ESC Committee. The ESC took a huge blow last July when judges Tanya Bransford and Lucy Wieland stepped down as co-chairs. Judge Bransford had been the chair of JDAI since the initiative was implemented in January of Her dedication, passion and leadership will be missed as one of the leaders of the JDAI initiative. Both Judge Wieland and Judge Bransford will continue to be champions of this initiative and will continue to actively participate in the Steering Committee and some of the JDAI subcommittees. In September of 2011, Jerome Driessen, area director of Juvenile Services, and community leader Sam Simmons replaced Judge Bransford and Judge Wieland as co-chairs of the ESC. However, shortly after this decision was made, Driessen resigned as area director to take a new role as division manager in the Hennepin County Department of Special Projects. The leadership that Driessen has provided over the past few years has been invaluable to the success of this initiative. Driessen has been a true champion and demonstrated unquestionable commitment to youth and their families within the juvenile justice system. Sam Simmons will continue his role in leading and overseeing the work of JDAI subcommittees in implementing plans for the coming year. Simmons is a licensed alcohol and drug counselor and behavioral consultant with more than 22 years of experience in program development, group facilitation, and curriculum development specializing in the areas of violence abatement, trauma, chemical dependency and working with African American men and youth. He is an active board member of 100 Men Take a Stand for domestic peace and the Minnesota Father & Families Network, and is currently working with Family & Children s Service to develop a healing curriculum for African men. In January of 2012, Jerald Moore, Hennepin County s site coordinator for JDAI, joined Simmons as co-chair of the ESC. Parent and Family Engagement Committee The Parent and Family Engagement Committee, implemented in October of 2010, was co-chaired by Hennepin County Acting Corrections Unit Supervisor Reggie Hall and JDAI Community Liaison Leonel Dorvil in The committee s mission is to work with Hennepin juvenile justice stakeholders and members of the county s diverse communities to improve communication, education 2

3 and service delivery to clients and families. The committee seeks ways to engage parents and families as full partners from a youth s initial juvenile justice system contact until he or she is discharged. During the past year the committee has taken tremendous strides in accomplishing its goal of working with diverse communities to improve communication, education and service delivery to clients and families. The first thing the committee did was establish a strong membership list of county staff from judges, attorneys, supervisors and line staff. Then the committee added approximately seven committed community leaders from diverse Hennepin County communities. Communications Committee The Communications Committee was also implemented at the end of 2010 and continued its work in The committee garners support for JDAI by engaging the public through community outreach and information sharing; and developing strategies to engage, educate and receive feedback from our diverse county community stakeholders. The committee was instrumental in planning and developing a JDAI orientation for systems stakeholders who are new to Hennepin County. This orientation provides the history of JDAI, reform efforts and current practice. Eliminating Racial Disparities (ERD) Committee The mission of the ERD Committee is to examine court and county decisions for youth involved in the juvenile justice system to ensure fair treatment of youth of all races and ethnicities. To address one of the primary JDAI goals, the ERD Committee creates recommendations that will eliminate racial disparities at certain decision points and disproportionate minority contact in Hennepin County. In April of 2011, Paula Haywood, MSW, replaced Brian Smith and joined co-chair Peter Rosenblatt, Executive Director of the Link, as co-chair of the ERD Committee. Haywood currently works for Hennepin Count Human Services and Public Health Department as a regional site area manager assigned to the north and northwest areas of the county. Her duties include working to extend county services and community partnerships to regions closer to where clients live. Rosenblatt and Haywood both have extensive experience in programming for at-risk youth and are committed to the mission of the ERD Committee. Case Processing and Alternative to Detention Committee The Case Processing and Alternative to Detention Committee was dissolved in July of JDAI leadership decided that the vast majority of the work of this committee has been completed and that we would meet on an as-needed basis. Crossover Youth Project In July of 2011, Hennepin County sent a group of delegates from Hennepin County s Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice departments to Georgetown University to learn about the issues that relate to youth who cross over from the human services system to the delinquency system, and to get knowledge and foundation on how to develop and implement a multi-systems approach to intervening with crossover youth. The team was represented by the Hennepin County juvenile presiding judge, area director for DOCCR, area manager of HSPHD, lead Hennepin County attorney, and the lead Hennepin County public defender. The Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYMP) was developed by the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform in an effort to document research and best practices related to improving outcomes for youth who are dually involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, in partnership with Casey Family Programs, is supporting implementation of this model in many jurisdictions across the country through the provision of technical assistance from its staff and expert faculty. A crossover youth is a youth that has an open case in HSPHD and has either been admitted to the JDC, referred to the County Attorney s Office for delinquency charges, or is on supervised probation. In July of 2011, Hennepin County JDAI Site Coordinator Jerald Moore was identified as the project lead for the Crossover Youth Project. The JDAI team will provide coordination, strategic planning and leadership to support other juvenile justice and human service stakeholders in implementing strategies to offer more effective services to youth who are dually supervised. This proposed plan is to identify and implement strategies for coordinating case management services for youth. The goal is to improve family engagement and targeted interventions that promote safe, stable and supportive environments for youth to prevent them from multiple placements and penetrating deeper into the juvenile justice system. Therefore, it is necessary to create a shared vision through a greater level of collaboration among the Bench, HSPHD, DOCCR, educational system and other juvenile service partners. 3

4 New programs, policies, tools and developments Hennepin County Children s Mental Health Collaborative (CMHC)-LCTS Funds On Sept. 27, 2011, the JDAI team submitted a proposal to the CMHC to allocate funds provided to DOCCR from Local Collaborative Time Study (LCTS) funds. JDAI s goal was to submit a proposal to provide evidence-based community resources that are both gender-responsive and culturally specific. On Oct. 19, the CMHC Governance group approved the CMHC Executive Committee recommendation to fund the proposal submitted by JDAI/Juvenile Corrections. The following recommendations were approved and supported by the CMHC. Amicus Radius Program The CMHC approved $35,000 to be allocated for the Amicus Radius program. The Radius program provides gender-responsive services to adolescent girls on probation in Hennepin County. The program provides a 14-week psycho-educational group, individual counseling, family support, and referral to outside resources that may be appropriate in addressing any additional needs. The overall desired outcome for the Radius program is to assist girls with living a healthy, successful, productive and law-abiding life in the community. Psychological evaluations The CMHC approved $130,000 to be allocated for psychological evaluations for youth detained in the Hennepin County JDC. It is essential that the appropriate youth are being held in the detention facility and that there are no unnecessary delays for youth receiving services or being released. Youth detained in the detention center are frequently in need of mental health assessments. Often these assessments need to be completed in an expedited manner to be available for court hearings at which disposition decisions will be made, or to help youth gain access to appropriate programs or placements in a timely fashion. Expedited psychological services are essential in avoiding delays in the youth receiving disposition, going to placement, or going home. DOCCR and HSPHD are collaborating together to contract with qualified community-based agencies to provide diagnostic assessment and psychological testing for youth with open cases in Juvenile Probation and/or Human Services who are detained in the JDC. Psychological evaluations and services (Juvenile Supervision Center) The CMHC approved $250,000 in funding for diagnostic assessments and mental health services for youth brought to the Juvenile Supervision Center. The Request for Proposals for community-based providers was distributed in January of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) The CMHC approved funding for MST services in the amount of $150,000. Multisystemic Therapy is an intensive family and community-based treatment program provided for youth with complex clinical, social and educational problems (e.g., violence, drug abuse, school expulsion). MST therapy intervenes in a youth s life to address and support their relationships with their families, school, peers and community, using the strengths of each system to facilitate change. The major goal of MST is to empower parents to gain the ability to address the needs of their son/daughter who is exhibiting high-risk and illegal behaviors; and to empower youth to cope with family, peer, school and neighborhood factors that place them at risk for further involvement in illegal behaviors. MST therapy is provided as a home-based model that helps overcome barriers to service and increase family involvement. Paula Schaefer Transforming Services and Transforming Lives training The CMHC approved funding in the amount of $5,000 to contract with Paula Schaefer to provide gender-specific training. Hennepin County will utilize the training facilitated by Paula Schaefer to support DOCCR and HSPHD in establishing a comprehensive continuum of genderresponsive services for girls who are under court supervision and who are at risk of harming themselves or others. Court Outreach Worker Policy (COW): In February of 2011, the court implemented a new affidavit that is signed by the Court Outreach Worker (COW) and reflects the efforts made to locate a child to inform them of their next court date. If a child fails to appear and this affidavit has been provided to the court, the court will then schedule a new hearing and the youth will be assigned to a Community Coach. If the Community Coach is unable to bring the youth to court, then a sign and release warrant is issued for the youth. The affidavit saves resources because it bypasses the need to utilize the Sheriff s Office for these services. 4

5 Juvenile Court A&D scheduling procedure: To expedite scheduling of detention and review hearings for youth detained in the detention center, the court implemented the following procedures in March of The administrative clerk who is assembling the detention calendar identifies all A&D cases on the detention calendar that do not have a corresponding new charge. The clerk then s the judge of record, probation office, public defender, and county attorney to request available times within the next seven days for a potential hearing. If the case does not resolve at the next scheduled detention hearing, the court clerk utilizes the responses that he/she has received to schedule the next hearing. Before leaving the courtroom, a hearing date is set on the judge of record s calendar within seven days if the youth is in custody. Evening Reporting Center: In February of 2011, Hennepin County Juvenile Probation opened its second ERC in Brookyln Park. Hennepin contracted and partnered with The Link to open this ERC. The ERC is a highly accountable service directing youth towards compliance with court/probation requirements. The ERC is a four-month program and offers programs and services designed to build assets in youth and provide them with structured and positive activities during the times that are highest for youth crime. The ERC, which implements a strengths-based practice to intervene, address and prevent delinquent behavior is being utilized as an alternative to youth being placed out of the home. The ERC is located at the Edgewood Elementary School at 6601 Xylon Ave. in Brooklyn Park, and serves primarily youth who reside in the northwest suburban region, including the areas of Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center. This the second ERC that has been opened by Juvenile Probation, the first being Shiloh Temple in north Minneapolis. There were plans outlined by Juvenile Probation leadership to open a third ERC in south Minneapolis; however, due to the low population counts at the two existing ERCs, the decision was made to not provide funding for the third ERC. Juvenile Probation has made efforts to divert southside youth to the two existing ERCs. In 2011, the Edgewood location has had 60 youth referred to the program and 51 youth who have entered the program (nine youth never made it to an intake meeting). The Edgewood ERC has been able to graduate youth from the program as of May Since this time, 17 of the 51 participants have graduated from the ERC. In 2011, 25 youth were discharged from the program, eight of whom have been reordered to the ERC. Currently, the ERC has nine youth active in the program at the start of 2012 and six youth are pending intake. The Shiloh Temple location has had 81 youth referred to the program, and 65 youth have entered the program. Of the 65, 13 have graduated. Ten youth never made it to an intake meeting, 29 youth were discharged from the program, 23 are currently active at the start of 2012, and six youth are pending intake. Evening Reporting Center Apprehension and Detention Warrants: On May 17, 2011, Jerome Driessen, area director for Juvenile Services implemented a new warrant policy that allows probation officers to issue a warrant for youth who are unsuccessfully discharged from the ERC. A number of youth referred to the ERC were not complying with the court order to participate in the ERC, and therefore not reporting to the intake process. There were also many youth who were not successfully participating in the program. It was decided by county leadership that to hold youth accountable for not participating in the program, probation officers would issue a warrant to have a youth held in the detention center for noncompliance. Ethnicity in MAIn: In December of 2011, Hennepin County Juvenile Services took huge steps to identify other ethnicities in the MAIn data management system. Prior to the change the only ethnicities being tracked were Latino/ Hispanic youth, non-hispanic/latino, and youth with an unknown ethnicity. The old version of identifying race in MAIn did not have the ability to distinguish between Somali and black youth. Therefore, the JDAI Data Committee requested Policy, Planning and Evaluation (PPE) staff to have more detailed information collected in reference to a youth s ethnicity. The MAIn vendor agreed to add this field to their data fields, which was made available in December. With this addition to MAIn, juvenile services can track whether a youth identifies with another ethnicity, such as Somali, Hmong, or a specific American Indian tribe. Capturing more detailed information will aid in targeting culturally specific juvenile programming and understanding the specific makeup of the different populations. University of St. Thomas Community Justice Project The Parent and Family Engagement Committee began working with law students from the University of St. Thomas Community Justice Project to develop a survey for parents going through the court process. Focus groups with community representation were conducted in early December 2011 to develop sample questions for the survey. With this information, Hennepin County plans to implement a survey around Parent and Family Engagement and barriers for families getting and staying involved with their child in the juvenile justice system. 5

6 Parent and Family Engagement Committee video The Parent and Family Engagement Committee is working with Hennepin County Public Affairs to develop an informational video and brochure for parents and families going through the court system. The video will explain the courtroom process and look at the system from the viewpoint of the individuals involved, such as detention center staff, probation officers, judges, attorneys, public defenders and families. The video is expected to be released in February of EJJ family event The Parent and Family Engagement Committee also helped to spark a community engagement event. A pilot event was held that targeted youth on Extended Jurisdiction Juvenile (EJJ) probation and their families. This event allowed families to meet with probation officers and other system members and ask questions. The event provided food and a basketball game with the youth and their probation officers. Overall, this event was a success, and Hennepin County is in the process of creating similar events. Hennepin County Attorney s Office studies A principal goal of JDAI is to eliminate racial disparities that may exist within the system. Marcy Podkopacz, Ph.D., director of the Research Division and Business Practice Unit for Minnesota Fourth Judicial District Court, completed an arrest-to-charge analysis in 2010 in which she identified two areas with racial disparities. Podkopacz examined all juveniles arrested and brought to the JDC by law enforcement (during April 7, June 30, 2009, there were 1,199 juveniles) and found that statistically significant differences existed between arrested minority and white youth and whether their cases are formally charged, as well as statistically significant differences by race for how offense categories change from arrest to charge. Minority youth arrested for a mandatory hold offense end up charged with a non-mandatory hold offense 23 percent of the time while this same scenario occurs for white youth only 16 percent of the time (200 cases out of the 1,199). The ERD Committee has a commitment from law enforcement and the County Attorney s Office to examine, identify and eliminate this disparity. The proposal is to do this through case review. At the end of each month, the JDC would forward the names and case numbers of those juveniles who are arrested but not charged (group A) and the court research team will forward those juveniles arrested for a mandatory hold offense but charged with a non-mandatory hold offense (group B) to the County Attorney s Office. The County Attorney s Office will track and review these cases and attempt to identify trends, categories and/or common issues. If any specific issues training or otherwise are identified, the county attorney would contact the police agency involved in the case and follow up to address the issue(s). The county attorney would also work with the departments on a training session and/or potential policy or practice changes in these areas at some point if common issues emerge. The county attorney would report quarterly to the ERD Committee on cases reviewed and general issues identified. In approximately 18 months, an additional study would be conducted to determine if the racial disparity regarding arrest and charging had been reduced or eliminated as a result of these efforts. The ultimate goal would be if the County Attorney s Office identified an issue, that the issue could be addressed by training and/or policy changes. In 2011, the County Attorney s Office also received a grant from the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (JJAC) to study decision points within law enforcement and the County Attorney s Office to determine whether these policies and practices may contribute to disproportionate minority contact (DMC). The County Attorney s Office has proposed looking at diversion or prosecutorial charging decisions to determine if similarly situated youth are treated similarly by law enforcement and prosecutors. Social service warrant policy changes In May of 2011, DOCCR implemented a new option for girls picked up by law enforcement for social service bench warrants. DOCCR contracted with St. Joe s to provide shelter placement for youth picked up for a warrant issued by a social worker pending their next hearing. These youth are eligible for release to shelter rather than automatically being held in the detention center. By implementing the new warrant policy, detention resources can be used for the most at-risk and violent offenders rather than for social service youth who are oftentimes a danger to themselves more than they are to the general public. 6

7 One of the major changes to the new policy is how judges issue social service warrants. When a warrant is requested by a social worker, it must document any Hammergren warnings on record (a warning to the youth that if they do not comply with the judge s order they will be held in contempt of court); the youth s run history to include date(s) and location(s) from where the child ran; the less restrictive placement alternatives, if any, that have been attempted; and a specific description regarding how the child is a danger to him/herself or to others. There also must be a post-detention plan detailing what would happen to the youth after they are released from placement. In May, a box was added to the warrant authorizing direct release to the shelter. If a juvenile is apprehended on a social service warrant authorizing direct release, detention staff will contact the shelter s general intake number and indicate they have a female in custody on a social service warrant that specifies direct placement to shelter. St. Joe s will arrange either Harbor Shelter or Bar None shelter to arrange transportation to their shelter within two hours of being brought to the JDC. The admissions staff will schedule a hearing as a walk-in on the detention calendar two to three days after arriving at shelter. Shelter staff will then transport the youth to court. Since May of 2011, this process has limited the number of social service youth detained in the detention facility. JDAI stakeholder orientation On Oct. 26, 2011, the Hennepin County JDAI team facilitated a stakeholder s orientation for new members on the JDAI Executive Steering Committee, JDAI subcommittees and other stakeholders interested in learning more about juvenile justice reform. The orientation was designed to give new stakeholders the framework toward building a more effective juvenile justice system. The orientation covered the early efforts of JDAI, why changes were needed in juvenile services, current efforts and the impact and importance of JDAI on our system and community. This orientation was held in the north Minneapolis community at the Urban Research and Outreach Engagement Center. JDAI newsletter Beginning in September of 2010, JDAI staff continued the JDAI quarterly newsletter as a vital tool for communicating with stakeholders. The newsletter communicates updated information about goals, current initiatives and achievements, and is used as a tool for engaging internal and external stakeholders, as well as community members throughout Hennepin County. JDAI staff, in collaboration with the Communications Committee, will continue to produce the quarterly newsletter in Alternatives to Detention Mentoring Peace Through Art Mentoring Peace Through Art (MPTA) began in 2004 under the artistic direction of Bush Artist Fellow Jimmy Longoria to provide innovative art programs that help address problems within the community. MPTA identifies and develops youth as functional leaders by establishing an environment of personal responsibility. MPTA is a work program combined with restorative justice components designed to give back to the community by producing murals to deter gang graffiti in communities where gang presence is prevalent. In April of 2011, the Hennepin County JDAI partnered with Jimmy Longoria and Connie Fuller to provide services to at-risk youth court-ordered to complete community service or work squad. The program was designed to teach youth discipline, leadership, listening skills, work ethics, teamwork and accountability. Before beginning the summer program, Longoria made it known that MPTA is first and foremost a work program, and not to be confused with a therapeutic art program. Longoria emphasized that youth needed to be on time, dressed appropriately and prepared to work hard. Youth were expected to work full days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. During the day, they were required to prepare the work site, dig trenches, remove trees around the site, prep the wall for painting, coordinate daily job tasks and site cleanups, maintain and operate equipment, adapt the design supplied by the artist to the space being painted, and then paint the mural. By the end of the summer, an average of 81 percent of the assigned community service hours were completed by the youth referred. Community Coaches The Hennepin County Community Coach Program utilizes community-based providers throughout Hennepin County to make contact with and provide support for: Lower-risk youth who are brought to the JDC and are eligible to be released to the program. Youth who fail to appear for their scheduled hearings. Youth who have failed to complete Sentencing to Service (STS) or community service hours. Youth who need assistance in completing their courtordered evaluations. 7

8 Since program implementation in July of 2009 through the end of 2011, more than 800 youth have been referred to the Community Coach Program. In 2011 alone, 291 referrals were made to Community Coaches. In 2011, the Community Coaches helped youth attend approximately 79 percent of their scheduled court hearings. The Community Coaches had a difficult time locating youth with STS referrals, and getting youth to comply. Overall, 30 percent of the youth referred to the Community Coach Program successfully completed (all hours of STS, or Community Services) their STS obligation. Safe Shelter The Hennepin County Safe Shelter Alternative to Detention allows youth who are admitted to the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) for qualifying first-time probable cause domestic assault cases to be released to either The Bridge for Youth or St. Joseph s Home for Children pending his/her detention hearing. Since implementation in July of 2009 through the end of December 2011, there have been 535 youth brought to the detention center for misdemeanor domestic assault, and 193 of these youth were admitted in Since implementation, approximately 75 percent of youth admitted were released to the Safe Shelter alternative. Since implementation: Seven youth failed to appear for their scheduled court hearing after absconding from shelter. Eight youth came back into the detention center after being terminated from the shelter placement. No youth have committed an additional offense between release to the alternative from JDC and returning to court for a detention hearing. Court Outreach Worker In October of 2009, as part of the Court Outreach Worker policy outlined earlier, the position of the Juvenile Court Outreach Worker was established. The JCOW notifies the child and parents of rescheduled arraignment hearing dates, addresses barriers to compliance that may exist, provides information regarding the court process, responds to questions and concerns the youth or family may have, coordinates transportation as necessary, and provides support during the court hearing. In 2011, results show that: The Court Outreach Worker has been able to establish contact with approximately 75 percent of the referrals. Fifty-one percent of the youth referred to the JCOW have successfully attended their scheduled arraignment hearings. Staff positions Community alternatives liaison: On March 28, 2011, Leonel Dorvil was hired as the new community alternatives liaison. Dorvil works closely with our juvenile justice partners and the community to identify detention alternatives, culturally specific community resources, and assist in coordinating the current detention alternatives. He is the link between our diverse Hennepin County communities to engage and educate the community about JDAI. Planning analyst: On August 15, 2011, Andrea Mastro started as the planning analyst with JDAI. Prior to Andrea starting full-time in her new role, Andrea volunteered with JDAI for approximately two years. Mastro s responsibilities are to plan and direct the development, implementation and evaluation of research and statistical projects as it relates to JDAI and juvenile justice reform. She works collaboratively across all departments and divisions and provides expertise regarding all aspects of database development, data gathering and analysis. Data benchmarks In 2011, key JDC statistics continued to drop as a result of new policies, programs and tools. Total average daily population (ADP): Pre-JDAI, the Juvenile Detention Center s ADP was 95 youth. At the end of 2010, the JDC ADP was 40 youth. In 2011, the ADP was 35 youth a 12.5-percent annual decrease and a 63-percent drop since the year prior to JDAI implementation Average daily population in JDC

9 Average daily population by gender: The ADP of both males and females has decreased significantly since JDAI began. Compared to 2010, 10 percent fewer males were booked at JDC (1445 male youth) and the ADP for male youth decreased by 16.6 percent (29.7), while 1.4 percentfewer females were booked at JDC (429) in However, the ADP for girls increased from 4.2 in 2010 to 5.3 in Total annual admissions: In 2005, pre-jdai, 4,500 youth were admitted to the JDC. In 2010, 2,044 youth were admitted to the JDC. In 2011, 1,874 youth were admitted an 8-percent annual decrease and a 58-percent decrease since the start of JDAI Average daily population by race: The ADP by race has decreased steadily since pre-jdai in Since 2006, the detention center ADP presented: 60-percent fewer African American youth. 43-percent fewer American Indian youth. 75-percent fewer white youth. Admissions to the JDC On average, the 2011 daily population consisted of 71-percent African American, 7-percent American Indian, 12-percent white, 8-percent other, and 2-percent Asian youth. Annual admissions by race: Since pre-jdai (2005) numbers, annual admissions have decreased across all races. American Indian youth have decreased by 55 percent. Asian youth have decreased by 86 percent African American youth have decreased by 56 percent. Compared to 2010, 14-percent fewer American Indian, 6-percent fewer African American, 26-percent fewer Asian, and 18-percent fewer Hispanic youth were booked in detention in There was a 4-percent increase in white youth booked into the JDC from 2010 to American Indian Admissions to the Juvenile Detention Center by race Pre-JDAI (2005), 2009, 2010, 2011 Asian Black/African American Average length of stay (ALOS): Before JDAI, youth stayed at the JDC for an average of 7.54 days. In 2010, ALOS was 7.4 days. In 2011, ALOS was seven days a 7-percent decrease since before JDAI was implemented. Probation violation and bench warrant admissions: From 2007 to 2011, 66-percent fewer youth were admitted to the JDC on an apprehension and detention (A&D) order and 10-percent fewer youth were admitted to the JDC on an A&D warrant from 2010 to From 2006 to 2011, 73-percent fewer youth were admitted on a bench warrant. Forty-four-percent fewer youth were admitted to JDC on a bench warrant from 2009 to Looking ahead to 2012 Looking ahead to 2012, JDAI will continue to collaborate with our juvenile justice stakeholders to broaden the juvenile justice reform to enhance our parent and family engagement. Our aim is to: Educate families about our juvenile system. White Hispanic Other Make our system a more family-friendly system. Give community and families a voice in decisions concerning their youth. Get parents to show up for court hearings, intakes and other appointments. White youth have decreased by 64 percent. 9

10 Hennepin County JDAI looks forward to working with the police and County Attorney s Office to look at the decisions that police make and the charging practices of the County Attorney s Office and the possible effect that it has on Hennepin County s disparity issues. JDAI will collaborate with our juvenile justice partners to deliver a service model that will deliver better service and produce better outcomes for youth who are dually supervised by juvenile corrections and human services. JDAI also is committed to the following goals moving forward in 2012: Reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. Increase community engagement by continuing our work in the Communications and Parent and Family Engagement committees. Reduce bench warrants by assisting youth and families to appear for court; reduce wprobation violation warrants by use of the response grid. Improve the service array for special-needs populations by working with Hennepin County on initiatives for girls, youth who sexually offend, youth with mental health concerns and developmentally disabled youth. Monitor the use of out-of-home placement. Evaluate programs and decision-making by the analysis of data through a race, ethnicity, gender, geography and offense (REGGO) lens. Use a compiled list of Hennepin County juvenile resources to locate community-based, culturally specific opportunities for youth in their neighborhoods. Obtain secure sustainable funding for programs realizing successful outcomes. In 2011, there have been many accomplishments, thanks to the dedicated work and collaboration of the Juvenile Court, Juvenile Probation, Juvenile Detention Center, DOCCR Administration, community partners, and other key stakeholders. We must continue to educate our respective organizations and the community as a whole about our initiative and the values it embraces to ensure justice for all youth and to build on the strengths of youth and their families with community-based, culturally competent services. Contact information: For additional information regarding JDAI, contact: Hennepin County JDAI Site Coordinator Jerald Moore Jerald.moore@co.hennepin.mn,us 10