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Making the Juvenile Justice - Workforce System Connection for Re-entering Young Offenders: A Guide for Local Practice |
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From Center for Law and Social Policy: This guidebook is designed to provide advice from the field to communities who are interested in pursuing more formal connections-or strengthening existing connections-between the workforce and justice systems. It draws on experiences in eight communities and focuses on on-the-ground challenges and solutions related to blending the cultures, adapting programming, engaging employers, and meeting performance. CLASP's mission is to improve the economic security, educational and workforce prospects, and family stability of low-income parents, children, and youth and to secure equal justice for all. As part of its commitment to disconnected youth, the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) has been focusing on communities that have made progress in connecting the different youth-serving systems at some scale. It was important to demonstrate success in terms of the numbers of youth who were positively engaged and making progress, and in reduced recidivism---doing so strengthened the bond between the two systems. While the weight of the mayor or an intermediary can help mobilize community leadership, it was not necessary in all cases. The partners were advised that most information can in fact be shared, provided relevant waivers and staff confidentiality agreements are in place. Once these issues were addressed, the Workforce Investment System partnered with the juvenile justice system to collaboratively invest $280,000 to procure and install the web-based Integrated Services Information System (ISIS) to both refer, track, and monitor outcomes of probationreferred youth. Communities reported that over time, the court and probation staff developed a good sense of which youth could best benefit from referral to their programs. Some agencies---for example, in Southeast Arkansas---hosted day-long workshops that introduced their programs to the justice community. One respondent indicated that their job was to deprogram all the behaviors that get reinforced when youth spend time incarcerated and repeatedly under the jurisdiction of law enforcement and the correctional system.
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