Select Strategies and Outcomes from DMC Action Network and Replication Sites

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1 Select Strategies and Outcomes from DMC Action Network and Replication Sites Data Collection and Analysis Pennsylvania: Revised juvenile court data systems to collect race and ethnicity data separately. This reform allowed officials statewide to collect accurate information on the number of Latino youth in the juvenile justice system for the first time. Rapides Parish, LA: Modified arrest reports to capture zip codes in order to help identify areas where additional programs and resources for youth are needed. Union County, NC: Implemented the U.S. Census Bureau's two question format to collect race and ethnicity information separately and added questions at intake about youth's language preference. Reforms allowed officials to accurately count the number of Latino youth in the juvenile justice system and determine their families language needs for the first time. Kenosha County, WI: Modified its data system to capture information on the number of youth sanctioned to secure detention for probation violations and the reasons for sanctions. Hartford and Bridgeport, CT: Worked with the State Judicial Branch to develop a statewide automated tool, based on CCLP's Expanded Data Template, to report quarterly data at key decision points by race, ethnicity, gender, age and geography. This reform helps any jurisdiction in the state to evaluate and address DMC issues at the local level. Cultural and Community Responsiveness Baltimore City, MD: Developed a Community and Family Resource Center to link family members with services and encourage parents to take custody of youth referred to juvenile justice intake. During the first two years of operation, the program resulted in 78% of referred parents and caregivers agreeing to assume custody of intake referred youth and successfully linked 94% of referred families to community based resources. Philadelphia, PA: Developed a Minority Youth Law Enforcement training curriculum, which is taught to every cadet at the Philadelphia Police Academy (including Housing, School, and Public Transportation Police cadets). The curriculum is now being replicated in Allegheny County and Lancaster County, PA, and trainers are working with law enforcement organizations in Florida as well. In Pennsylvania, over 700 officers in Philadelphia, 40 in Pittsburgh and 30 in Lancaster have received training. Sedgwick County, KS: Incorporated cultural competence and diversity goals into the Department of Corrections' (DOC) overarching strategic plan, established the MEET model training for all staff, and integrated MEET goals and standards into performance evaluations for all staff. The composition of DOC staff now represents the composition of the community served, 91% of employees report feeling respected and heard in the workplace, and staff are now better prepared to provide culturally competent services to youth and families.

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5 Arrest and Pre Adjudication Policies and Programs Baltimore City, MD: Developed an award winning Pre Adjudication Coordination and Transition (PACT) Center as a detention alternative. In a city where 96% of youth entering detention are African American, 98% of youth served by PACT maintained scheduled court hearings and 92% completed the program without a rearrest. Peoria, IL: Developed a school based arrest protocol, balanced and restorative justice programming, peer courts and peace circles to address assault incidents at school. Officials saw a 43% reduction in school referrals to detention for African American youth. Berks County, PA: Developed the first detention screening instrument in the state, which became a model for other counties. Berks also developed Pennsylvania s first preadjudication evening reporting center (ERC). These and other reforms helped reduce its detention population by more than 60%. Since the beginning of the program in December 2008, all youth in the program have attended every scheduled court appearance, and 96.4% have avoided committing a new offense while in the program. Due to reductions in the detention population, in 2012 the County Board of Commissioners decided to close the detention center and contract with a local provider for the limited number of detention beds the county now needs. Lancaster County, PA: Instituted a detention risk assessment instrument and an evening reporting center as an alternative to detention for boys from the city of Lancaster. In its first year, the reforms led to a 12% drop in detention. Even while reducing the number of youth in detention, the County was able to reduce the percentage of youth of color in detention by 3%. Outagamie County, WI: Developed a Police School Resource Program to connect youth with services without formal system involvement. Outagamie saw a 20% drop in disorderly conduct arrests one year after implementing the program. By adopting datadriven strategies as part of the DMC Action Network, the county estimates saving $700,000 per year. In 2004, youth of color were arrested at a rate 2.8 times greater than white youth. This and other data driven strategies helped narrow this disparity to 1.8 by Kenosha County, WI: Implemented a detention risk assessment instrument and enhanced its array of community based detention alternatives, which reduced detention admissions for youth of color. Relative Rate Indices for African American and Latino youth admissions to secure detention dropped from 1.6 and 3.3 in 2007 to 1.0 and 0.9 in 2011, respectively. Jefferson Parish, LA: Adopted a detention assessment instrument, which helped reduce the parish's detention population by 40% from 2004 to 2010.

6 Post Adjudication Policies and Programs Berks County, PA: Implemented data driven practice reforms for post adjudication placement. Through the use of alternatives to out of home placement such as multisystemic therapy and instituting new options for handling probation violators, the County also reduced its out of home placements by 67%. The system realized a savings of $2 million per year. In 2011, 80.4% of the youth who exited the MST program had not reoffended, and 82% avoided a juvenile justice placement. Sedgwick County, KS: Implemented a system of graduated responses for youth on probation and developed a non residential weekend alternative to detention program as a way for judges to sanction youth who violated court orders. The program served 123 youth in its first six months, almost two thirds of whom were youth of color. The average daily detention population fell by 20%, from 75 in 2006 to 60 in This represents an annual savings of approximately $1.28 million. Due to the program's success, Sedgwick County has incorporated the weekend alternative to detention into its yearly juvenile detention operations budget. Rock County, WI: Developed graduated responses for youth on probation. Officials reported a 35% reduction in youth of color sanctioned to secure detention for probation violations, with the largest reduction reported for African American youth. Admissions to secure detention were down 45% overall. Union County, NC: Implemented graduated responses for probation violations. Officials saw a 67% reduction in the number youth detained for probation violations, which helped cut their detention population in half from January to June of Legacy Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency has funded implementation of detention assessment instruments and development of evening reporting centers in five other jurisdictions in Pennsylvania, as well as other innovations. The Juvenile Court Judges Commission and the Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers are engaged in ongoing efforts to implement a statewide Juvenile Justice System Enhancement Strategy that reflects many lessons learned from Models for Change projects, including those in Berks County. Kansas: Leaders in Sedgwick County are working with juvenile justice officials in Lyon/Chase, Riley, and Johnson Counties to develop support for replication of strategic, data driven reforms to address racial and ethnic disparities.