Welcome to the Status Offense Reform Center’s Webinar

1. Welcome to the Status Offense Reform Center’s Webinar As you get settled, please use the polling function (on the right side of your screen) to signal your affiliation. • Schools • Juvenile Court • Probation • Law Enforcement • Family/Youth • Advocate • Community Service Provider If you’re having technical issues, please contact our colleague Hergit Stringa at (917) 359-8323.

2. Why Families Matter – Engaging Families for Better OutcomesModerator: Ryan Shanahan, Senior Program Associate, Vera’s Family Justice Program April 7, 2014 November 18, 2014

3. The Status Offense Reform Center • Vera’s Status Offense Reform Center (SORC) • Funded and supported by the MacArthur Foundation, as part of the Resource Center Partnership • www.statusoffensereform.org • Mission • To help policymakers and practitioners create effective, community-based responses for keeping youth who commit status offenses out of the juvenile justice system and safely in their homes and communities. • What does SORC provide? • A range of tools, resources, and information to help guide system transformation

4. Featured Resource: A Toolkit for Status Offense System Reform • Step-by-step guide outlining how to undertake a status offense reform effort • Module 1: Structuring System Change • Module 2: Using Local Information to Guide System Change • Module 3: Planning and Implementing System Change (coming this month) • Module 4: Monitoring and Sustaining System Change (coming soon – late Spring)

5. Our Presenters GRACE BAUER Justice for Families • JENNIFER GUNNELL, L.C.S.W. • SCO Family of Services LGBTQ Program

6. Family Justice Program • Vera’s Family Justice Program provides extensive training and strategic support to government and community partners to help them effectively draw on the resources of families and communities. These systemic interventions are designed to benefit people at greatest risk of cycling in and out of the justice system. •  The Vera Institute of Justice is an independent nonprofit that combines expertise in research, demonstration projects, and technical assistance to help leaders in government and civil society improve the systems people rely on for justice and safety.

7. Family Involvement in System Reform: Recruitment • Incentives • Create a youth / family council wherein youth recruit other youth / families recruit other families • Go through known and respected social service programs • Community colleges • Local businesses

8. Family Involvement in System Reform: Participation • Set the stage: • Non-judgmental atmosphere • No hierarchy / rotating facilitation • Convenient locations • Confidentiality and transparency up front • Draw out creativity: • Be prepared—have an agenda with framing questions and room for flexibility • Family Café modeled after the “World Café”

9. Family Involvement in System Reform: Follow-up • Ensure continued participation: • Social media page for feedback • Keep in touch • Thank you cards

10. FAMILIES UNLOCKING FUTURES SOLUTIONS TO THE CRISIS IN JUVENILE JUSTICE A REPORT BY FAMILIES ABOUT FAMILIES

11. More than 1,000 families surveyed across the country 24 focus groups conducted Nearly 300 media articles from 11 metro regions reviewed Literature review conducted examining alternatives to traditional school discipline procedures, court processing and adjudications Research Conducted

12. Summary of Findings 91% believe courts should involve families more in decisions about their child 18% of families report system professionals as helpful or very helpful 32% of families included in release planning 8 out 10 families not included in decision making for child 3 out of 4 families experience serious impediments to visiting

13. Family Involvement Matters: The Evidence  Maximizes kids chance of success  Lower rates of recidivism Improved working conditions Safer facilities Brings relevant/missing information to the table Increased options and resources Reduced use of more costly and restrictive services Families more likely to participate in treatment and follow-up care

14. Barriers/Challenges No Common Vision Lack of Authentic Dialogue Lack of Value Lack of Trust

15. Overcoming Barriers Individual Recognize Assumptions/Biases Challenge Practice Active Listening System • Create Space • Invite • Prepare Staff • Provide Accommodations • Enlist Experts • Value Perspectives

16. NOT Family Friendly It is our belief that the vast majority of parents care about their children, and parent them to the best of their ability. It is also our belief that some parents, due to their life experiences, current circumstances, skill level, socioeconomic status, degree of social support, special needs of their children, and other factors, could benefit from receiving additional information about effective parenting (e.g., child development and the changing role of parents), skill building, resources, and social support from both professionals and other parents. It is also our belief that the vast majority of children and adolescents want to please their parents, and are looking to them for love, approval, guidance, limit- setting, and consistency. When these needs are not sufficiently met, children may display problematic behaviors in order to call attention to these unmet needs.

17. Assess Family Friendly Language & Continuously Accessible Family Friendly Language & Continuously Accessible

18. Assess: Through the Family Lens • Family/Youth Input • Family/Youth Evaluation • Professional Development for Staff • Expectations of families/youth are clear • Family voice heard/valued in child’s case • Communication/Visitation, Flexible/Frequent • Family Barriers Addressed • Peer-to-Peer Support • Training Opportunities for Family

19. Family Solutions-Prior to Court • Give families timely notification of court dates • Establish public defender meetings with families prior to court hearings as a jurisdictional best practice • Hold court appearances when it is easier for families to attend hearings • Allow families to discuss their child’s case with probation staff, and to participate in discussions over what treatment, incentives/sanctions, supervision, or service plan will be recommended to the judge • Provide families with a clear and detailed orientation to the language and procedures of the court process

20. Family Solutions-Court • Provide families an opportunity to speak • Provide families a limited time window to know when their case will be heard • Eliminate burdensome fees and fines that hurt working families • Allow families to say goodbye to their loved ones when a youth is sent to a residential placement • Create a ‘jury duty’-like public service provision excusing families from work duties

21. Family Solutions, Family Voice Adopt Family Bill of Rights Right to Notification Families have a right to be notified anytime significant decisions are being made about their loved ones or questions are being asked that could result in their child's suspension, expulsion, arrest or prosecution. Rightto Participation Families have a right to participate and give input in these critical hearings and decision-making points. Given this right school disciplinary and juvenile justice processes shall be conducted using language and terminology families can understand. Rightto Peer Support Families have a right to the support of a peer who can support and assist families as they navigate too often hostile and exclusionary school disciplinary and juvenile justice systems. A peer is someone who has been through school disciplinary or juvenile justice processes with their own loved ones.

22. Family Solutions, Family Voice Adopt Family Bill of Rights Right to Contact Families have a right to see and otherwise be in contact with their loved ones. Thus, youth facilities shall be within 90 miles of the home, phone call costs shall not be exorbitant and provisions shall be made to support family visitation. Families shall not face fees and fines that further increase the cost of having a loved one in the system. Right to Influence--Juvenile Justice Policy Families shall be consulted and listened to when determining youth justice policy and practice. Local, state and national governments shall work to incorporate family’s meaningful participation in determining the direction of policy and practice.

23. Justice for Families Report: Families Unlocking Futures: Solutions to the Crisis in Juvenile Justice http://www.justice4families.org/download-report/

24. Family Therapy Intervention Pilot

32. Check out the “Disproportionate Impact” blog series on the Status Offense Reform Center website to learn more about how status offense systems impact youth of color, girls and LGBTQ youth: • http://www.statusoffensereform.org/tag/disproportionate-impact

33. Contact Information @SOreformcenter • Ryan Shanahan, Vera Institute of Justice rshanahan@vera.org • Grace Bauer, Justice for Families familiescantwait@yahoo.com • Jennifer Gunnell, SCO Family of Services LGBTQ Program jgunnell@sco.org

34. Questions???

35. Audience Poll How helpful did you find this webinar? • Very Helpful • Somewhat Helpful • Not Helpful

36. To access the Toolkit for Status Offense System Change and other resources, visit the Status Offense Reform Center at:www.statusoffensereform.org Thank you! Find us on twitter! @SOreformcenter