the evolution of the court coordination program (ccp) thinking small

‘Thinking Small’ May Be the Best Way to Accomplish Something BIG!

The Evolution of the Court Coordination Program (CCP)

You Will Hear Shortly From… Dave Marsden, CCP Project Director,

DSG, Inc., Bethesda, Md.

Alice Galloway, Court Coordinator, Albertina Kerr Centers, Portland, Ore.

Crystal Curry, Court Coordinator, Orleans Parish Juvenile Court, New Orleans, La.

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Image: Dave Marsden

Image: Alice Galloway

Image: Crystal Curry

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Dave Marsden, of DSG

Dave is the CCP Director and has been involved in juvenile justice work for 40 years. He is a former Probation Officer, Group Home Director, Detention Center Superintendent, and Chief Deputy and Acting Director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice. He has been with DSG since 2002 and previously served as OJJDP’s Targeted Community Action Program initiative Director. Dave is also a member of the Virginia State Senate.

The Beginning

CCP started as a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to Development Services Group (DSG), Inc.

The goal was to establish five pilot programs in1. Albany, N.Y.2. Cleveland, Ohio3. Miami, Fla.4. New Orleans, La.5. Portland, Ore.

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Image: U.S. map

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Sites Were Provided $120,000Over 3 Years to…

Leverage authority of the Juvenile Court Judge to hire a Court Coordinator Court Coordinator would work directly with

Judge Court Coordinator would work with 20 to

25 multi-problem/multi-agency involved youth who needed wraparound-type services to prevent them from Further penetrating into the juvenile

system Entering expensive residential care

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CCP Purpose

To leverage the authority of Juvenile Court Judges to facilitate the coordination and delivery of services for youths who have multiple problems and require the attention of multiple agencies

To communicate the Judge’s priorities to the service-delivery community

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Goals of CCP

Improve community problem-solving capacity.

Ensure needed service delivery to targeted CCP youth.

Reduce expensive residential placements of targeted youth.

Enhance judicial communication and leadership to the service- delivery community.

Role of the Judge

Oversees selection of Court Coordinator Determines selection criteria of target

population Becomes an exclusive judicial agent for CCP

youth, unless otherwise agreed Adjusts target population as circumstances

dictate Meets regularly with Court Coordinator, who

attends judicial proceedings for CCP youth

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Image: Judgepounding gavel

Leveraging the Judge’s Authority

Judge must continually communicate his/her expectations to the service-delivery community.

CCP must be seen as emanating from Judge.

All CCP materials/communications should bear Judge’s name.

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Image: Judge sitting at desk

Role of the Court Coordinator

Selects and negotiates with agencies and private entities for service delivery

Conducts regular visits with youth and family to determine need for services

Monitors treatment service plan; holds vendors or agencies accountable for agreed-upon activities under the authority of the Judge

Modifies plans as needed

Reports to the Court/Judge

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Establishing Judge–Coordinator Relationship

Judge and Coordinator should plan together.

Must be seen as focused and in sync with each other.

Must plan with stakeholders jointly. Judge must establish legitimacy of the

Coordinator. Judge must transition his or her authority

to the Coordinator to maximize leverage.

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Image: Judge talkingwith Coordinator

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CCP Has Been a Great Way to…

Expeditiously target youth for services

Jump-start a wraparound-type service-delivery system quickly

Communicate priorities of the Court to the service-delivery community and larger community

Have Judges display visible leadership

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Alice Galloway, of Portland, Ore.

Alice Galloway is the current Court Coordinator at Albertina Care Centers, Portland, Ore. As an independent consultant, she launched a state agency, developed social service programs, and assessed the service needs for children and crime victims in Oregon. Her strategic plan for Oregon’s special needs adoption program received national attention for its outcomes. As Executive Director of the Oregon Children’s Foundation, Alice spearheaded a statewide early literacy program.

PORTLAND, ORE., COURT COORDINATION PROGRAM (CCP)

LESSONS LEARNED

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The First Steps

Understand what the “system of care” has to offer (helping resources).

Locate family. Find a visible, respected, and influential

champion. Assemble a multi-agency team to review

cases and share ideas. Develop or “borrow” a universal release of

information for caregiver signoff.

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The Plan

Think outside the box when putting the team together.

Assess the strengths and needs of the youth and family.

Have youth-guided planning. Allow families to drive the decision-

making process. Expand the possibilities by having

“natural support.”

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Lessons Learned

Outcomes are significantly improved because of a single-plan approach.

Locating appropriate placements takes time.

Don’t work the case; work with the family and youth.

Family voice is absolutely necessary. If you want successful clients, ask them

what they need. Fully involve educators in the team

planning process.

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Advice for Other Communities

Involve family early and often—huge payoff for doing so.

Maintain a manageable caseload to build relationships and monitor progress.

Collaboration works, but it takes time and effort.

Youth and family involvement changes the way systems respond to their needs.

Don’t get stuck thinking that a specific agency or person has the solution.

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Crystal Curry, of New Orleans, La.

Crystal Curry is the current Court Coordinator in the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court, New Orleans, La. Previously, she had 18 years of service in nursing care and social service experience in geriatrics and mental health counseling for youths and adults in residential hospitals. She has also worked with community-based programs dealing with homeless populations, teen mothers, food banks, and rental assistance efforts.

ORLEANS PARISH JUVENILE COURT COORDINATION PROGRAM (CCP)

DUAL JURISDICTION

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CCP in New Orleans, La.

Started out as a pilot program in Judge Ernestine Gray’s section.

Original start date was October 2005—this was delayed because of Hurricane Katrina.

With the uncertainty and ongoing recovery efforts, the pilot program did not start until 2006.

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CCP in New Orleans, La. (cont’d)

Currently there are six Judges elected in the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court.

Two are assigned to the Child Protection Division; the remaining four are assigned to the delinquency division.

Any of these Judges can make referrals to the program.

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New Orleans CCP Outcomes

Anticipated outcomes of youth participation in the program include but are not limited to Earlier service prevention Better participation and attendance at referred

services Improved school attendance/behavior/grades Improved family relations Association with positive peers Prosocial activities, including volunteer opportunities Improved cognitive skills

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New Orleans CCP Outcomes (cont’d)

Completion of case plans Job skills development, training, and appropriate

employment Reduction in arrest (recidivism) and substance

use

The kind of services needed to achieve anticipated outcomes among youth participating in the program include housing, mental health, education, recreation, and cultural enrichment.

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CCP Process in New Orleans

The vision of the project is to work with a population of youth over whom the Court has dual jurisdiction, in both delinquency and dependency matters.

The target group selected was 13- to 16-year-old males and females with multiple adjudications.

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CCP Pilot Modifications During the course of the pilot program,

some changes took place to maximize the youth being served: New protocols were put in place to service

youths who were at imminent risk of being removed from the home.

The Judge must still determine that the child is before the Court for a dependency issue or is before the Court for adjudication as a delinquent.

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CCP Process in New Orleans

Prior to or subsequent to any finding, the Judge may refer the case to the Court Coordination Program for immediate service delivery that is deemed appropriate by the Judge or Coordinator.

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Reimbursement for CCP Services

For purposes of continued funding for the Court Coordination Program, the cost of certain case services could be submitted for reimbursement under Title IV–E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) as an effort to avoid out-of-home placement.

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Success of CCP in New Orleans

There were 30 youths involved in the Court Coordination Program by the end of the pilot.

During the pilot program, only three youths recidivated. Two were misdemeanor charges, and one was a felony.

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Success of CCP in New Orleans (cont’d)

The pilot program was a 3-year grant that ended in 2009. The Orleans Parish Juvenile Court secured funding to continue the Court Coordination Program and extended the services to all six sections of Court.

Today, there are 38 youths in the Court Coordination Program.

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CCP Achievements

All five pilot sites targeted youths of concern in their community.

All five pilot sites initially obtained sustaining funding to keep the program in place after the federal grant expired.

A cross-site program evaluation was completed.

Process evaluations were also conducted to determine whether improvement in case coordination took place.

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Lessons Learned

The CCP model Fits smoothly into a wraparound

context Can be an inexpensive program

to focus care in highly targeted ways

Avoids duplication and ensures that youths “get what they’re supposed to get”

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Lessons Learned (cont’d)

CCP is an efficient way to attract stakeholders to a team-oriented process.

Judge’s involvement heightens awareness of the need for accountability in government agencies, community partners, and families.

That Was Then…

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…And This Is Now

Localities may have difficulty hiring and paying for full-time Court Coordinators.

Budget cuts have affected juvenile justice at all levels.

Practitioners are juggling more balls with fewer people, creating time constraints.

Therefore…

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Use CCP, and Use What It Can Do, as a Tool—not as a Program

Microtarget a small group of cases (six to eight) before the Court.

Concentrate on cases that are hard to serve in the existing community-services network.

Get service agencies (public and private) to agree to help with these few cases. Assisting in a limited number of cases will

not threaten existing agency missions.

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CCP as a Tool (cont’d)

Have Judges leverage their authority or influence to ensure agency assistance.

Targeting a small number of cases should not trigger service-delivery agencies’ alarm about using scarce resources.

Avoid asking an organization to help in a way that limits their capacity to accomplish their larger mission.

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‘Right Sizing’: CCP Is Scalable

CCP can be scaled to meet needs of any sized locality: Large jurisdictions may choose to

employ a full-time Coordinator if resources permit.

Smaller jurisdictions may wish to reallocate a staff member part-time to coordinate CCP efforts.

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Reallocation of Resources

Local government can reallocate a certain percentage of a caseworker’s time to the Court Coordinator’s duties.

Coordinator can continue with existing case worker responsibilities, although in a reduced capacity.

The same number of cases will be served by the locality, but in a reorganized way that is more tightly focused.

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Keep Wraparound Alive!

When handling youths in a wraparound collaborative, some kids may fall through the cracks. Therefore, Keep targeting… Keep communicating… Keep improving… Maintain your community’s

momentum (or get some started)!

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Training and Technical Assistance

DSG (for Development Services Group, Inc.) can provide onsite training and technical assistance to localities who have a Judge willing to move forward with CCP.

For further information, please email Dave Marsden at dmarsden@dsgonline.com

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Questions?

Dave MarsdenCCP Project Director Development Services Group, Inc.7315 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 800 EastBethesda, Maryland 20814 Phone: 301–951–0056dmarsden@dsgonline.com

Alice Galloway: galloway@northwest.comCrystal Curry: ccurry@opjc.com

For more information on CCP, visitwww.dsgonline.com/ccp