Forum Materials

Summary Thoughts Panel Discussion Notes (Word)

  1. Reducing Disproportionate Minority Contact

    Presenters
    James Bell, The W. Haywood Burns Institute, California

    Many Minnesota communities struggle with disproportionate minority contact. Bell will share the institutes’ innovative training model aimed at increasing the knowledge and understanding of racial and ethnic disparities for child serving agencies including probation, law enforcement, prosecutors, defenders and judges.

  2. Project Connect: Linking Youth with Mental Health with Community Providers

    Presenter
    Gail Wasserman, Ph.D., Center for the Promotion of Mental Health in Juvenile Justice, New York

    It is no secret a very high proportion of justice-involved youth have mental health issues. Wasserman will discuss Project Connect, an initiative to address the needs of justice involved youth with identified mental health issues. Project Connect promotes a cross-systems approach, focusing on appropriate mental health screenings, linking the results of screening to an identified action and ensuring the action is the best for the youth involved. Wasserman will provide results from their research, including best practices and components necessary for a successful cross-systems approach between corrections and mental health.

  3. Families Matter

    Presenter
    Trina Osher, Huff Osher Consulting, Inc., Maryland

    Outcomes for youth are better when families are engaged in the process, yet this can be difficult to achieve. Osher will share a framework and strategies for engaging families and sustaining that engagement. The approach engages families in a strengths-based manner on the conditions and capacities essential for successful family participation in a collaborative partnership with providers and professionals. The framework focuses on three key leverage points for engaging families and can be used by participants to develop an action plan tailored to the conditions and capacities of their own setting. Research will also be shared highlighting the importance of family involvement in achieving good outcomes for children and youth.

  4. Frameworks for Implementing, Sustaining, and Scaling-up Evidence-Based Programs: Lessons Learned in Washington State

    Presenter
    Elizabeth Drake, Washington State Institute for Public Policy

    Scaling up a successful program can be full of pitfalls, including loss of effectiveness and difficulty funding. In 1997, the Washington State Legislature passed the Community Juvenile Accountability Act with the goal of reducing crime through research-based programs. After a review of the national literature, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (Institute), in conjunction with the State’s 33 juvenile courts, selected four research-based programs: Aggression Replacement Training, Coordination of Services, Functional Family Therapy, and Multi-Systemic Therapy. An assessment tool was subsequently developed on a statewide level to screen for eligibility and refer juveniles to the appropriate program. In 2002, the Institute evaluated these programs to determine if they worked in Washington State. Findings indicated the programs reduced recidivism and were cost-beneficial to Washington State when implemented with adherence to the program model. Drake will share a framework and practical advice to successfully implement evidence-based practices. Challenges and activities related to the stages of implementation will be detailed in addition to the roles and functions of key organizations in Washington’s successful effort to reduce recidivism and costs to the state.

  5. Pennsylvania’s Principle of Aftercare: Reform Efforts within a County-Based System

    Presenters:
    • Autumn Dickman, Project Manager Pennsylvania’s Models for Change Initiative, Juvenile Law Center
    • Rick Steele, Aftercare Specialist for the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission and Center for Juvenile Justice Training & Research

    Pennsylvania is one of four core states chosen to participate in the MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change initiative. As part of Models for Change, Pennsylvania has embarked on comprehensive systems reform with a focus on aftercare. Like Minnesota, Pennsylvania has a de-centralized system of government, one of the biggest strengths of both juvenile justice systems, but a challenge for reform efforts. Dickman and Steele will describe strategies employed in Pennsylvania and successes achieved to date. They will also discuss elements of the Pennsylvania system in place prior to Models for Change that helped set the stage for successful reform efforts, including: a unified system-wide vision of balanced and restorative justice, the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission, and a strong partnership with the state SAG.

  6. Building a Stronger and Smarter Juvenile Justice System

    Presenter:
    Shay Bilchik, Director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute

    Policy expert, Bilchik, will describe how to use a multi-systems approach in building a stronger and smarter juvenile justice system. Bilchik will focus on the need for a continuum of care and services from early prevention programs to interventions for serious and chronic offenders. This work will be framed along the developmental and systemic arc that our children and youth follow as they grow into adults. Bilchik will highlight policies and practices that hold promise for achieving better outcomes for our young people. He will advance the position that if we work effectively across systems of care, supported by a strong workforce, we will have in place the stronger and more effective juvenile justice system we desire.

    Building a Stronger and Smarter Juvenile Justice System Session Notesl (Word)

  7. Dollars and Sense of Prevention Instead of Prison

    Presenter
    Trisha Beuhring, Ph.D., Institute on Community Integration, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota

    Common sense and research tell us that prevention will ultimately save money – but how can we get the community/legislators to support it? The benefit/cost tradeoffs of preventive interventions promise to change public perceptions about how best to deal with juvenile delinquency. However, benefit/cost research has also produced some surprising results. In some cases, ineffective programs are worth the investment (they are less expensive than other ineffective options). In other cases, effective programs are not worth the money spent (they don’t reduce crime enough to merit the cost to taxpayers). Beuhring will offer participants a guide to understanding why these unexpected results make sense, and how evidence of benefit/cost tradeoffs can be used to improve policy and practice. Policy makers will be introduced to a model legislative strategy for choosing a ‘diversified portfolio’ of cost-effective programs, along with caveats about what happens when model programs are taken to scale statewide. Practitioners will learn why they need to match the scope, intensity, and duration of a preventive intervention to their target population’s degree of risk for delinquency. The potential of risk-based interventions to reduce disproportionate minority confinement will be discussed using examples of interventions for preschool and elementary school children who are at extreme risk of escalating into delinquency. Limitations in what we know about evidence-based practices for highest risk children and youth will be highlighted (caveat emptor). References suitable for both academic and non-academic participants will be provided.

  8. Foundations for Excellence: An Overview of the Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines

    Presenter
    Honorable Korey Wahwassuck, Leech Lake Tribal Court

    The first organized effort by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to identify comprehensive and effective practice for the nation’s juvenile delinquency courts resulted in creation of the Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines: Improving Court Practice in Juvenile Delinquency Cases (the “JDG”). Based upon a wealth of experience and data, the JDG were created to improve juvenile delinquency systems and outcomes for the youth, families, victims, and communities they serve. The JDG provide a common vision and motivational framework for those working toward improvements in the juvenile delinquency system. Judge Wahwassuck will introduce the 16 Key Principles of the Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines and provide participants with a roadmap for improving their own juvenile justice systems.

  9. Schools as Nodes of Justice: Prevention and Capacity Building through Restorative Justice and Responsive Regulation

    Presenter
    Brenda Morrison, Ph.D., Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada

    Many people feel uncomfortable using the word “justice” in the context of school life; yet, as Eleanor Roosevelt (1953) argued there is an argument (and building evidence) that if we can achieve “justice” in those “small places, close to home”, such as schools and neighborhoods, we have a better chance for achieving justice for the community as a whole. Through bringing together the practice of restorative justice and responsive regulation in schools we have an opportunity to create a node of justice. This workshop will bring together the work of Lisbeth Schorr, Robert Putnam and Jane Mansbridge (Harvard University) and John Braithwaite and Clifford Shearing (Australian National University). Within this broad framework, a range of practices and evidence will be presented. Workshop participants will be provided with worksheets to begin mapping possibilities for Minnesota.

  10. JDAI and More: Strategies for Addressing Disproportionate Minority Contact

    Presenters
    • James Bell, The W. Hayward Burns Institute
    • Jim Payne, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
    • Angelique Kedem, Minnesota Juvenile Detention Alternative (JDAI) Coordinator
    • Freddie Davis English, Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (JJAC)

    Many communities struggle with disproportionate minority contact, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Bell will outline successful methods used by communities across the country to address disproportionate minority contact. Also, hear about the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), a national effort sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to reduce racial disparities and the number of youth held in detention and how Minnesota is implementing this specific initiative in three pilot counties, with plans to expand this project to other parts of the state.

  11. Minnesota Models for Serving Youth with Mental Health Needs in the Juvenile Justice System

    Presenters
    • Chris Bray, Minnesota Department of Corrections
    • Linda Hanson, Mental Health Coordinator, Dakota County Corrections
    • Ed Frickson, Ramsey County

    Learn what your neighbors are doing to address the mental health needs of juveniles. The goal of the Minnesota Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Initiative, a partnership between the Department of Corrections, the Department of Human Services Division of Children's Mental Health along with many state and local agencies, is to create system changes that will improve outcomes for justice involved youth with mental health or co-occurring disorders. The Initiative spent the last year examining what's working and areas for improvement in the state of Minnesota. This panel will share their recommendations for improving Minnesota's mental health screening and follow-up protocols as well as provide examples of successful practices in several Minnesota counties for serving youth with mental health needs who are also involved in the juvenile justice system. Presentations will focus on how counties incorporate the required mental health screening and assessment into their systems and the coordination between human services and corrections.

  12. Family Voices

    Presenters: System’s Involved Youth and Families

    Youth and families know what works and what doesn’t. A panel of youth and family members will share their insight and recommendations on what the juvenile justice system does well and how the system can improve engaging youth and their families to achieve better outcomes.

    Family Voices Session Notes Word)

  13. Challenges of Implementing Evidence-Based Practices with Youth of Color

    Presenter
    Ken Martinez, Mental Health Resource Specialist Technical Assistance Partnership for Children and Families Mental Health American Institutes for Research

    Disparities in mental health care for diverse populations are widening. Evidence-based practices (EBP) are seen as a solution to the misdiagnoses and poor outcomes that ethnically/racially diverse youth have encountered. However, EBPs could exacerbate and deepen existing inequalities without sufficient attention to the existing cultural knowledge, beliefs and practices that are respected, highly valued and considered "to work" within diverse communities. We must use best practices that work with youth of color and discover practices that are not considered "gold standard" empirically proven practices.

  14. Minnesota’s After Care System

    Presenters
    • Mike Boehm, Associate Director, Family & Children's Center
    • Terry Thompson, Director, Bar None Residential Treatment Services, Volunteers of America
    • Andrea Hendel, Bar None Residential Treatment Services, Volunteers of America
    • Angela Lettner, Olmsted County Juvenile Probation
    • Shelley Ford, Clay County Community Corrections
    • Sally Dandurand, Clay County Reentry Services

    Find out what local innovators are doing to improve aftercare. A panel of key players involved in Minnesota’s after care system will share successful local models and partnerships, as well as challenges in providing after care to juveniles leaving out-of-home placements.

  15. Integrated Systems in Minnesota

    Presenters
    • Susan Mills, Executive Director, Tri-County Community Corrections
    • Lucy Hayes, Children’s Mental Health, Senior Social Worker, Olmsted County
    • Cindy Powell, Senior Juvenile Probation Officer, Dodge Fillmore Olmsted (DFO) Community Corrections
    • Hillary Freeman, Minneapolis Police Department and Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches

    Everyone knows you need to collaborate to use resources effectively and achieve better outcomes for youth. Learn from panelists who have established successful collaborations between government departments, school districts, social service agencies, public and private nonprofit and community action agencies to improve communication, systems integration, service delivery for youth and successful grant project partnerships. An overview of the development of the North West Council of Collaboratives serving Polk, Norman, Red Lake, Marshall, Kittson and Mahnomen Counties will be highlighted.

  16. Successful Minnesota Prevention and Intervention Models

    Presenters
    • Jason Carver, Juvenile Supervision Center Program Manager, The Link
    • James Kambiri, Program Director, The Link
    • Honorable Richard G. Rancourt, Tenth Judicial District, Chisago District Court
    • Susan Carstens, Crystal Police Department

    Prevention pays! Hear successful prevention and intervention programs used to keep at-risk youth or justice-involved youth from entering or moving further into the system. The new Juvenile Supervision Center in Hennepin County will be highlighted.

  17. How Other States Fund Juvenile Justice Reforms

    Presenters
    • Autumn Dickman, Pennsylvania Models for Change Coordinator, The Juvenile Law Center
    • Elizabeth Drake, Washington Institute for Public Policy

    All these ideas are great, but where can we find the money? Panelists will share how their states utilized new and existing funding sources to create sustainability plans to reform their juvenile justice systems and implement evidence-based practices.

  18. Minnesota Schools: Keeping Youth out of the System

    Presenters
    • Stephanie Autumn, Technical Assistance Specialist, Safe Schools - Healthy Students, National Center for Mental Health Promotion & Youth Violence Prevention
    • Mary Leadem Ticiu, Assistant Principal, Stillwater Area Senior High School
    • Dave Kisch, School Resource Officer/Oak Park Heights Police Department
    • Vernon Rowe, Assistant Principal, Roosevelt Senior High School

    How can the school avoid being “part of the problem: in criminalizing student behavior? A panel of Minnesota school administrators will share successful alternative methods for expulsions, suspensions and referrals to law enforcement. Panelists will focus on the use of restorative practices and changes to school environments.

  19. "Who are the Youth in Minnesota's Juvenile Justice System?" - Revised

    Presenters
    • Chris Bray - Director of Juvenile Services, Minnesota Department of Corrections

  20. Small Groups Session Notes