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THE COLLABORATIVE
Building the Foundation for Detention Reform
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THE COLLABORATIVE SYSTEMS MODEL
The most effective approach toward establishing a good detention decision-making process begins with educating the stakeholders within the juvenile justice, education, mental health, child welfare systems, and other child service agencies both public and private. Over the years, it has become apparent that detention reform impacts stakeholders who may touch that youth. For example, a youth released back to the community will likely be attending school; or a child diagnosed with a serious mental health disorder arrested or referred for a delinquent act as a result of a manifestation of the disorder requires mental health services; or a youth in the care of the state social service agency may commit delinquent acts for any number of reasons related to separation from his parents and/or siblings. It is important to the youth's chance for positive advancement that the independent parts of the system work together to respond to the causes of his or her delinquent behavior rather then deny any responsibility for the youth.
A collaborative systems approach to developing a juvenile detention alternative initiative or program is premised on the notion that governmental agencies providing services to children and youth do so within a universally broken system of communication in which each agency operates within its own separate "silo" of agency rules, regulations, and mandates. Absent a system of communication, coordination, and collaboration, the silos operate independently of one another, often duplicating services and creating a chaotic environment for families receiving multiple services. The result is a "juvenile justice non-system" as characterized by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) in their "Pathways." It is essential to detention reform that communities identify the stakeholders and bring them together to discuss and develop an understanding of using good detention practices. The interaction of the stakeholders on a periodic basis promotes accountability and collective investment in the process and outcomes.
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THE CLAYTON COUNTY JUVENILE JUSTICE & CHILD WELFARE COOPERATIVE
To illustrate the Collaborative Systems Model (CSM), Judge Teske invited the leaders of each public and private child service agency to join a juvenile justice collaborative to assist the Court in providing oversight of the development and maintenance of the juvenile justice system in Clayton County. During May 2003, Judge Teske invited consultants from the Multnomah County Juvenile Court in Portland, Oregon to visit Clayton County and train agency directors, employees, citizen volunteers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, and court personnel on the concept of detention alternative programming and to facilitate the development of the Clayton County Juvenile Justice & Child Welfare Cooperative. The Annie E. Casey Foundation JDAI funded the technical assistance provided by the consultants. In advance of the conference, a media blitz promoted the juvenile detention alternative initiative and called on citizens to volunteer. The conference attendees decided to adopt a collaborative structure as shown on the right with a JDAI Coordinator managing a system that includes an Executive Committee that receives recommendations from Standing Committees. The Executive Committee consists of the agency director of all law enforcement, child welfare, mental health, public school system, and State Juvenile Justice agencies. Also included are the Chairs of each Standing Committee. Citizen Volunteers, trained and certified by the Court (see picture below of citizens taking oath), chair the Standing Committees, which provides for citizen input on the Executive Committee.
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