Key Questions for Community Leaders

  

The questions below, which are also listed at the end of each section in TCJC’s report, Community Solutions for Youth in Trouble, are helpful conversation starters for anyone interested in supporting juvenile justice programs in the community.

Mental Health and Trauma

  • How can our county revise the policies and procedures in our juvenile department to create trauma-informed facilities and probation programs?
  • Should our county join the Texas Front-End Diversion Initiative? How can we divert youth with serious mental illnesses away from secure facilities and connect them to community resources?
  • How can we improve collaboration between our juvenile department and mental health agencies in our area?

Pre-adjudication Secure Detention

  • How much does our county currently rely on secure detention? What is the average daily population in our secure juvenile facilities? How long does the average kid stay in secure detention before adjudication? How much does it cost our county to house a youth for one day?
  • How can we expand our community programs and reduce our reliance on secure facilities? What best practices identified in this report would benefit our community?

Community Alternatives to Secure Facilities

  • What community programs for youth in our county are currently supported by state funding? How are we evaluating the effectiveness of those programs? What information can we provide our legislators regarding the effect of those programs on public safety and cost savings?
  • How can we improve collaboration between our juvenile department and other local programs that serve at-risk youth and their families?

Family Involvement

  • What is our county’s visitation policy for youth in secure facilities? How can we increase opportunities for family visitation? How can we improve communication with families to help them better navigate the juvenile justice system? How do the policies in our juvenile department facilitate each family’s involvement in their child’s case plan?
  • What programs for families of at-risk youth are available in our county? Which proven family programs, such as those describe in this report, would benefit our community?

Seclusions and Restraints

  • How many injuries, restraints, and seclusions occur in our juvenile facilities? How do our policies take into consideration a youth’s past trauma or mental illness? How does our county define minor and major rule violations in our secure facilities? What best practices identified in this report would reduce injuries, restraints, and seclusions in our facilities?
  • Does our county require seclusion and restraint best practices in our placement contracts?

Prevention and Early Intervention

  • What prevention and early intervention programs for youth in our county are currently supported by state funding? How are we evaluating the effectiveness of those programs? What information can we provide our legislators regarding the effect of those programs on public safety and cost savings?
  • How can we improve collaboration between our juvenile department and other local programs that provide prevention services for at-risk youth and their families?

Assessments

  • What risk and needs assessment instrument does our county use? Was that instrument validated for juvenile populations similar to ours?
  • How is the risk and needs assessment integrated into youths’ case plans, including supervision and treatment decisions?
  • What training do staff receive on the purpose and use of the assessment instrument? What information do other stakeholders receive about the instrument?

Certification

  • How many youth are certified in our county each year? Are the certified youth disproportionately minorities? What rehabilitation programs do our certified youth receive in the adult criminal justice system?
  • Does our county have a diversion plan for youth who qualify for certification? Did our county exhaust all other options before certifying the youth we sent to the adult system?

Reentry

  • When does our county begin reentry planning for youth in our facilities? When are those plans finalized? Are youth able to make direct connections with community resources both before and after release? How does our juvenile department coordinate with schools to ease youths’ reentry after time in a secure facility?