| The OJJDP Court Coordination Program Availability of Training and Technical Assistance |
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The program is based on the successful Wraparound Milwaukee model, which establishes that services should be provided to children on an individual needs-driven basis rather than a “one-approach-fits-all” model. Wraparound initiatives sponsored by state social service, education, and mental health agencies (such as such as Wraparound Milwaukee and the Alaska Youth Initiative) have had significant success providing placement, treatment, and services to youths known to the juvenile court (NMHA, 2004; Burns and Goldman, 1999). Each child’s plan is focused on areas of need of the individual child, such as school attendance, substance abuse, resolving family issues, or other variables. The program’s success lies in coordinating services and resources from different programs. It is a means to “jump start” this coordinated team based approach to service delivery in localities throughout the country. CCP can be scaled to meet expected caseload size. Smaller localities can reallocate existing staff resources on a part-time basis to handle CCP duties while larger localities may want to hire a full time CCP Coordinator. Desired outcomes of CCP include improved efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery, reduced costs, increased speed in successfully closing cases, reduced duplicative services, decreased disproportionate minority contact, and a reduced recidivism rate for comparable juveniles appearing before the court. A successful 3-year pilot of CCP was completed in five sites in FY2010 (Cleveland, Ohio; Miami, Florida; Portland, Oregon; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Albany, New York). Four of the five programs participating in the pilot program have met one of the great challenges of all new programs: securing funding to sustain their services at the conclusion of the grant cycle. A cross-site evaluation was conducted of the CCP sites. Preliminary findings from the pilot sites showed major reductions in arrests while youths are in the program, major progress in mental health indicators, and over a two-thirds reduction in substance abuse. The process evaluation has found that four of the five programs have sustained continued program funding as well as sustained funding for the Court Coordinator position. A replication manual has been produced and can be used as a blueprint for sites receiving T&TA. Availability of Technical Assistance and Training OJJDP is making CCP training and technical assistance (T&TA) available through DSG, Inc. T&TA can help communities and localities to develop a program to more effectively coordinate services available to juveniles through the juvenile court system. TA can be provided on-site, at a conference, or by phone. DSG will assist localities in targeting delinquent youth who are in foster care or at risk of removal from the home. In this period of reduced funding at the state and local levels, sound programs with the potential to reduce spending are critical. With reduced staffing levels it is difficult to put the necessary resources into creating a “wrap-around” model of service delivery on a communitywide basis. CCP can leverage the judge’s authority to get a program up and running quickly to deal with multi-agency/multi-problem. CCP can be the vehicle to enhance the influence of the court and put the juvenile court judge in the position of change agent as they lead the community in an effort to establish a recognized “best practice” such as wraparound. Localities receiving CCP T&TA will receive the replication manual and evaluation instruments to conduct their own evaluations of CCP in their community. The expected outcomes of implementing CCP are:
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For more information on how you can get receive training and technical assistance
on the Court Coordination Program, or for more Information, contact
David Marsden
Project Director
Development Services Group, Inc
Phone: 301-951-0056
dmarsden@dsgonline.com
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