Data Analysis & Risk Assessments

Washington State Team (2021 EIYF) 

• Description: The Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families capstone proposal focuses on the data collection and quality assurance (QA) process to build upon the processes already implemented to reduce the use of room confinement and isolation. The QA process will ensure the accuracy of data and prompt wraparound support services.

• Contacts: 

  • Andre Clark, Juvenile Rehabilitation Supervisor, Green Hill School

  • Siobhan Copeland, Juvenile Rehabilitation Residential Counselor, Department of Children, Youth and Families

  • Andrew Fox, Senior Researcher, Washington State, Department of Children, Youth and Families

  • Jeff Indermark, Associate Superintendent, Green Hill School

  • David Lujano, Youth Program Manager, Mirya Roach

  • Debbie Lyne, Institution Program Administrator, Department of Children, Youth and Families, Juvenile Rehabilitation

  • Kiara Moses, Program Manager, DCYF-JRA

  • Beth Rogers, Integrated Treatment Model Consultant and Trainer, WA Department of Children, Youth and Families

  • Andrea Ruiz; Policy, Planning & Lean Administrator; WA Department of Children, Youth and Families

  • Hayley Umu, Juvenile Rehabilitation Psychology Associate, DCYF-JR

  • Lilli Wolfe, Juvenile Rehabilitation Supervisor, Green Hill School, Juvenile Rehabilitation, Department of Children, Youth and Families

Arizona DJC (2017 YIC)

• • Description: To revise assessment tools, improve program and service matching, and promote engagement by: 1) Evaluating the current assessment process to determine the flow of information and existing system gaps; 2) Setting concrete goals based on the evaluation results; 3) Implementing valid, reliable, and evidence-based assessment tools with measures to monitor implementation fidelity; 4) Consistently reevaluate and improve agency assessment strategies.

    • Update (2018): The team has developed a 7-step Work team to implement the Capstone Project. The team has reviewed the current assessment processes, and will provide recommendations to revise the assessment policies and protocols accordingly. To ensure implementation fidelity, the team plans to provide assessment administration training and has developed a plan to monitor the assessment process. 

  • Contacts:

    • Sandra Acosta, Community Corrections Bureau Administrator, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

    • Beth Broeker, Chief Hearing Officer, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

    • David Elia, Senior Research Analyst, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

    • Tamara Gallett, Secure Care Bureau Administrator, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

    • Amity Maxwell, Mental Health Team Coordinator, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

    • Doug Sargent, Inspector General, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections 

Philadelphia, PA (2016 YIC)

• • Description: Develop and implement an improved screening and assessment process for youth within the Philadelphia Prison System through: 1) Revisiting the use of the current screening tool, the unified Assessment Form (UAF), 2) Reviewing the Massachusetts Youth Screening Tool (MAYSI-2), the Youth Level of Service/ Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) and the CRAFFT as possible assessment tools to include within the screening process, 3) Integrating Trauma Empowerment and Recovery (TREM-A), life skills, drug counseling and other cognitive programming approaches into existing programming, and 4) Developing a peer group and family advisory board.

    • Update (2017): The team created a handbook that is tailored to their youth population and addresses the unique needs of youth, including the use of restorative practices, staff training, assessment processes, and facility programming. Effective July 2017, the the Youthful Offender Screening Instrument (YOSI) incorporates CRAFFT, and MAYSI-2 is offered to 215 youth in Seeing Red, a psychoeducation group that explores topics related to anger, boundaries, decision-making, communication, and self-esteem. Additional programmings have also been developed to address youth's needs, such as OPTIONS (a substance use educational program), Fatherhood Enrichment, CPR (cognitive behavioral modification program), etc. As of fall 2017, a total of 325 youth have received services. As part of the team's Capstone Project, there has also been an increase in training for facility staff, particularly on restorative practices. A total of 68 restorative circles have taken place, which contributed to the decrease in the use of punitive segregation (from 45 occurrences in 2016 to 12 in 2017).

  • Contacts: 

    • Deirdre Cummings, Lieutenant, City of Philadelphia

    • Stacey Holmes, Social Work Service Manager, City of Philadelphia

    • Lynn Johnson-Gleaton, Psychologist, City of Philadelphia

    • Claudette Martin, Deputy Warden, City of Philadelphia

Arizona (2014 YIC)

• • Description: 1) Determine the number of refractory children, 2) describe the characteristics of those children and develop a profile of the typical refractory child, 3) evidence-based interventions for them, 4) identify strategies to adapt interventions.

  • Contact: John Vivian, Administrator - Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

New Orleans, LA (2014 ISCP)

• • Description: Create a data dashboard that quantifies the juvenile justice system and child welfare system’s various decision points (by aggregating data from multiple agencies). In order to create the dashboard, they will first convene a board to determine who will be responsible for it, what data it will include, and how the data will be submitted to it, etc. They will also create common definitions, undertake data mapping to identify key decision points, and create an MOU between the agencies to support the dashboard.

  • Contact: 

    • Rachel Gassert, Policy Director-Louisiana Center for Children's Rights

    • Judge Ernestine Gray, Chief Judge - New Orleans Parish Juvenile Court

    • Sarah Schirmer, Criminal Policy Advisor, New Orleans Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice Coordination

Allegheny County, PA (2013 MSI)

• • Description: Analyze data to identify which criminogenic needs among child welfare-involved youth are most correlated with later crossover into juvenile justice. Then, use this to identify high-risk youth moving forward and determine which services to target them with.

  • Contacts:

    • Guido DeAngelis, Trial Judge - Juvenile Court - Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Administrative Office

    • Kristen DeComo-Jacobs, Multisystem Specialist - Allegheny County Department of Human Services

    • Jacki Hoover, Assistant Deputy Director Children Youth and Families - Allegheny County

    • Kerry O'Donnell, Falk Fellow - Falk Foundation

    • Tiffany Sizemore, Deputy Director, Juvenile Division - Office of the Public Defender, Allegheny County

West Virginia (2013 MSI)

• • Description: Develop assessment tool.

  • Contact: Kathy Szafran, President and CEO - Crittenton Services, Inc.

Southern Maryland (2013 MSI)

• • Description: Collect and analyze data on the effectiveness of Functional Family Therapy; determine what implications the results have on the services offered by their organization and possibly elsewhere throughout the state.

  • Contact: Michelle Nnorom, Functional Family Therapy Supervisor - Center for Children

New Hampshire (2012 ISCP)

• • Description: Begin a collaborative, longitudinal study between the NH Division for Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) and the NH Department of Corrections (DOC) to analyze adult recidivism rates among juvenile offenders.

    • Update (2015): The team has formed an ongoing information sharing team that meets monthly. The information sharing team has conducted a study to understand the characteristics of youth recidivism and developed a data sharing agreement between DCYF and DOC. In addition, the team has developed an information sharing guide, and the draft is circulating through DCYF's internal resources for feedback and review. Once the guide is completed, a plan will be put in place to include the guide in Core Academy training for newly hired staff.

    • Update (2024): The Bureau continues to share information with the child welfare agency to assist youth and young adults in locating and maintaining housing options with rental assistance, supportive services, or both. They meet regularly to troubleshoot and find more opportunities to serve youth and young adults in an integrated way.

  • Contact:

    • Jay Apicelli, Administrator, John Sununu Youth Services Center - New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

    • Kenneth Goonan, Planning Analyst/Data Systems - New Hampshire Division for Juvenile Justice Services

    • James Panzer, Juvenile Probation and Parole Officer IV - functioning as Policy Program Specialist - New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families

    • Nastia Anastasiya Vanyukevych, Senior Management Analyst - New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families

    • Heidi Young, Organizational Learning Team Lead/Program Specialist - New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families

Australia (Oct. 2011 MSI Public)

• • Description: Collect data on the crossover youth population and use it to streamline court procedures; create a protocol so the court system can better meet the needs of crossover youth.

  • Contact: Elizabeth Morris, Magistrate - Northern Territory of Australia Department of Justice

Boys Town, NE (Nov. 2011 MSI - Private)

• • Description: Analyze needs of crossover youth to improve and expand services (and reentry); inter-agency collaboration.

  • Contacts:

    • Lisa Batenhorst, Director Nebraska/Iowa Family Services - Boys Town

    • Brian Fox, Program Director - Boys Town

    • Nick Juliano, Director of Business Development - Father Flanagan's Boys Home, dba Boys Town

    • Margaret Vacek, Director of Strategic Contracts - Father Flanagan's Boys Home, dba Boys Town

Connecticut (July 2011 MSI - Public)

• • Description: Produce and analyze a data snapshot of Connecticut’s juvenile court-involved crossover youth to determine 1) if this population experiences less favorable outcomes; 2) what strategies could be put in place to better serve crossover youth (e.g., legislative reforms, data-sharing projects, Memoranda of Agreement, etc.); 3) their demographics and risk factors.

    • Update (2015): The team established an interagency dataset that included court data for child protection, status offense, and delinquency cases, as well as DCF child welfare data to identify the crossover youth population by establishing a birth cohort dataset for children born between 1996 and 2002. The team is in the process of analysis of the dataset, which will help provide a better understanding of the crossover youth population in Connecticut. As a result of the Multisystem Integration Certificate Program and Capstone Project, the judicial branch and DCF are piloting the Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM) at the Waterford Juvenile Court.

  • Contact: 

    • Elizabeth Duryea, Research Attorney III - Connecticut Judicial Branch, Court Operations Division

    • Catharine Foley Geib, Manager of Clinical and Educational Services - State of Connecticut Judicial Branch, Court Support Services Division

    • Valerie LaMotte, Policy Development Coordinator - State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

    • Fernando Muñiz, Chief of Quality and Planning - Connecticut Department of Children and Families

    • Melanie Rossacci, Court Planner II - State of Connecticut Judicial Branch, Court Support Services Division

District of Columbia - Federal Level (Oct. 2011 MSI - Public)

• • Description: Develop a national-scope body of information on childhood victimization to better guide decision making for abused and neglected children—whose needs, when left unaddressed, may result in juvenile delinquency.

  • Contact: Bethany Case, Visiting Fellow - U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime

Sedgwick County, KS (2010 MSI - Public)

• • Description: Validate an assessment tool designed to identify youth at high risk of crossing over; then, provide services for these youth.

    • Update (2015): As a result of the Capstone, Sedgwick County DOC has developed collaborative relationships with the new foster care agency. In 2016, Sedgwick County became a Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM) pilot site. Although the project was implemented and operated as planned for a period of time, there were significant leadership and personnel changes, and this team is no longer meeting. 

  • Contacts:

    • Dawn Befort, Project Coordinator and Cross Systems Planning Team Facilitator - Sedgwick County Permanency Coordinating Council

    • Bruce Brown, Public Service Executive 1 (Assistant Program Administrator) - Kansas State Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services, Division of Children and Family Services

    • James Burgess, Presiding Judge, Juvenile Court - 18th Judicial District Court, State of Kansas Juvenile Court

    • Mark Masterson, Director - Sedgwick County Department of Corrections, Sedgwick County Juvenile Detention Facility

    • Melody McCray-Miller, State Representative - Kansas State House of Representatives

    • Jody Patterson, Director - COMCARE Family and Children Services 

    • Donna Rozell, Chief Program Officer of Permanency Services - Youthville

Tennessee (2010 MSI - Private)

• • Description: Implement CASI, a quality assurance tool which determines whether mental health, substance abuse, and developmental delay/disability assessments pass the following questions: Are they good/validated assessments? Are the necessary people, including families, notified of results/recommendations? Are results used to match the youth with appropriate services?

  • Contact: Nancy Christian, President and CEO - The Florence Crittenton Agency, Inc.

Massachusetts (2010 MSI - Private)

• • Description: Take DDAP (a program intended to reduce the number of minority youth in pre-trial detention, instead keeping them in the community and connecting them to services, by making detention decisions based on risk assessment) as-is and also expand services to youth involved in the child welfare system; bring that DDAP to a new county in Massachusetts.

  • Contact: 

    • Alan Klein, Senior Vice President and COO - RFK Children's Action Corps

    • Christopher Montgomery, Program Director - RFK Children's Action Corps

Maryland (2010 MSI - Private)

• • Description: Collect data on transition-age female crossover youth in the state of Maryland.

  • Contact: Ayesha Bajwa, Director - Choices, Inc. - Maryland Choices

Florida (2009 MSI)

• • Description: Establish qualitative case review methodology to improve data collection and analysis and increase knowledge of the characteristics of crossover youth.

  • Contact: Nora Collins-Mandeville, Case Management Coordinator - Child and Family Connections 

Kansas (2009 MSI)

• • Description: Use past longitudinal data on youth who crossed over from child welfare to juvenile justice, to identify distinguishing characteristics of high-risk youth. Then, develop an assessment that you can use moving forward to identify youth at risk of crossing over, so that you can provide them with targeted, preventative services.

  • Contact: Linda Auld, Director of Contract Management - United Methodist Youthville, Inc.

California (2009 MSI)

• • Description: Help reduce crossover by focusing on the under 5 population in the child welfare system, providing early intervention services and decreasing group home care. Based on the Updates: Collect and analyze longitudinal data from the past to connect crossover to whether a youth in child welfare received an assessment early in life. Use this to encourage wide-spread use of the DSEP assessment under KidStart, an agency providing early intervention services for CW youth (then later also to their siblings, and then later to anyone) ages 0-5.

    • Update (2024): In May 2023, San Diego County's standard protection efforts underwent a major revamp, and prevention is now the core function. The Child & Family Well-Being Department (CFWB) is now a partnership of the Community-Based local First 5 organization and the Office of Child Safety. This shift has helped provide a network of community supports for youth and families. CFWB continues to screen all of their 0-5 year olds for developmental milestones and provides follow-up services to address any gaps.

As of July 2024, the Developmental Screening & Assessment Program (DSEP) expanded their screenings to include youth up to 12 years old. This has been helpful thusfar in connecting these youth with programming that addresses their needs. DSEP continues to refer families to support services, prioritizing services that are not on waitlists and can offer support in a timely fashion. As a result, DSEP does not currently refer youth to KidStart (which is currently on a waitlist), but KidStart continues to serve some CFWB foster youth.

• • Contact: Leah van Lingen, Child Welfare Services Policy Analyst / Legal Procedures Liaison - County of San Diego

California (2009 MSI)

• • Description: Establish mechanism to identify crossover youth; conduct YASI risk/needs assessment to identify common key factors to crossing over; publish results in white paper

  • Contact: Amy Seidlitz, Chief - California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation - Division of Juvenile Justice

Maryland (2008 MSI CPI)

*Note: This Capstone Project is no longer ongoing, as Marlana Valdez has retired from her position with the Maryland Office of the Attorney General.

• • Description: Collect and analyze data on crossover youth placement types and recidivism.

  • Contact: Marlana Valdez, Director, Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit - Maryland Office of the Attorney General