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Pueblo County, Colorado (2019 RED)
Description: The Pueblo County team seeks to reduce school citations for Hispanic students in Pueblo schools by utilizing a matrix that provides alternatives to citations, including school- and community-based supports. The project will include partners from Pueblo School District 60, Health Solutions, Department of Human Services, State of Grace, and Pueblo Municipal Court.
Contacts:
Michael Bayer, Director of School Culture Wellness and Safety, Pueblo City Schools D-60
Felicia Colorado-Ball, Crossover Liaison / Senior Caseworker, Pueblo County Department of Human Services
James Edgar, Supervisor Outpatient Services, Youth & Families Health Solutions
Suzette Keating, Child Welfare Program Administrator, Pueblo County
Kelsey Moore, Coordinator, Trestle, Inc.
Charlie Taylor, Police Captain, Pueblo Police Department
Steve Vigil, Probation Officer, 10th Judicial District, State of Colorado
Cheryl Vincent, High School Assistant Principal, School District 70
Hamilton County, Ohio (2019 Local SJPD)
Description: The team aims to create a supportive and equitable school environment for students exhibiting behavioral issues in school while maintaining student safety and well-being. Their strategies are twofold. First, to improve their current threat assessment techniques and protocols, the team will create a decision-making framework and relevant tools to divert low-risk youth. Second, the team will design an equitable decision-making model for school staff through rigorous data analysis and training, incorporating trauma-informed and culturally responsive approaches.
Contacts: Detailed team member contact information can be found here.
Cincinnati Public Schools
Northwest Local School District
Princeton City School District
Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati
Hamilton County Educational Service Center
Hamilton County Job and Family Services
Hamilton County Juvenile Court
Connecticut (2018 SJPD)
Description: The project aims to increase school-based diversion knowledge and buy-in, as well as to promote effective school-based diversion models. To achieve their goals, the team plans to create a state-wide school-based diversion inventory and to organize conversations on restorative practices with key stakeholders.
Contacts:
Tianna Hill, Project Coordinator, Child Health and Development Institute
Devon McCormick, Restorative Justice Project Manager, Tow Youth Justice Institute, University of New Haven
Patrice McCarthy, Deputy Director and General Counsel, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education
Daisy Ortiz, Program Manager, State of CT Judicial Branch - CSSD
Jill Ruggiero, Detective/Youth Bureau Sergeant, Westport Police Department
Lauren Ruth, Advocacy Director, Connecticut Voices for Children
Fulton County, Georgia (2018 SJPD)
Description: The Capstone Project focuses on reducing the number of students entering the school-to-prison pipeline by assessing students' needs and the needs of their families, connecting students to appropriate resources, and increasing protective interventions provided in schools and in the community.
Update (2020): The team has developed a trauma survey based on the ACEs study and is in the process of soliciting parental permission to allow student participation. In addition, protocols are put in place to link students to resources such as mentoring, tutoring, and school-based mental health services. Fulton County Schools and Atlanta Public Schools each conducted their own focus groups with students and parents to align support for the families; based on the focus groups' recommendations, the team has selected relevant staff trainings to implement, including trauma-responsive care, de-escalation techniques, self-care, classroom management, etc. Fulton County's partnership with YAP through the Safely Home grant is also integrated as part of the project to support court-involved youth in schools.
Contacts:
Jacquelyn Anthony, Social Work Services Coordinator Atlanta Public School
Maribel Bell, Director of Student Discipline Fulton County Schools
Kathy Brown-Bragg, Director of Child and Adolescent Services Odyssey Family Counseling Center, Fulton Schools
Jackie Cathey, Coordinator of School Social Work Services Fulton County Schools
Shannon Hervey, Student Discipline Coordinator Atlanta Public Schools
Darrell McDaniel, Captain/Police Officer Fulton County Board of Education
Janesta Nairn, Probation Officer Fulton County Juvenile Court
Tedra Perkins, School Based Mental Health Program Coordinator Odyssey Family Counseling Center, Fulton Schools
Renata Turner, Judge Fulton County Juvenile Court
Jefferson County, NY (2018 SJPD)
Description: The Jefferson County team seeks to help youth avoid risky criminal behavior, reduce time out of school, and make schools and communities safer through diversion programs with restorative justice strategies.
Contacts:
Judge Edward Klepacz, Town Justice, Town of Theresa
Carrie Mangino, Resource Officer, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
Scott McIntrye, Police Officer/School Resource Officer, Watertown Police Department
Tammie Miller, Director, Youth Services Division
Daniel Munroe, Head of Student Mediation, Indian River Central School
Tammy Patterson, Mediation Program Coordinator, Resolution Center of Jefferson and Lewis Counties
Jeanette Rushford, Principal, Jefferson-Lewis BOCES
Shane Ryan, Police Officer, Watertown Police Department
Peoria County, Illinois (2018 SJPD)
Description: The team will implement a restorative justice program, Peace Conferencing, for eligible youth, focusing on community engagement, restorative practices, and collaborative strategies with key partnering agencies.
Contacts:
Mark Bronke, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Peoria County
Brian Brown, Juvenile Detention Superintendent Peoria County
Lynne Fehr, Social-Emotional Specialist Peoria Public Schools
Kathleen (Katie) Kelly, Management Analyst--Grant Manager City of Peoria Police Department
Shawn Wetzel, Professional Standards Peoria Police Department
Nassau County, New York (2018 SJPD)
Description: The Capstone Project focuses on reducing inappropriate or disruptive behaviors that result in school suspension or youth arrest. The team will utilize a behavioral approach and graduated sanctions, create school-based community engagement opportunities, and implement restorative practices.
Contacts:
Barbara Blumenthal, Senior Probation Officer Nassau County Probation Department
Kellie Cook Mclaurin, Principal Nassau BOCES
Patrick Crea, Supervisor Nassau BOCES
Michael Jasmin, Program Coordinator Center for Court Innovation
Brianna Padilla, Prevention Social Worker HELP Services, Inc.
Arianne Reyer, Assistant District Attorney/ Director of Adolescent Diversion and Youth Court Nassau County District Attorney
Fairfield County, Ohio (2018 SJPD)
Description: To reduce the use of exclusionary discipline, decrease the number of referrals from schools to the juvenile justice system, and increase student success through developing a school-based Early Warning System, implementing a graduated discipline model, and collaborating with juvenile court, the prosecutor, school districts, and child welfare system.
Contacts:
Jennifer Beckley-Watson, Behavioral Health Lead Clinician Fairfield Juvenile Court
Scott Burre, Principal Lancaster City Schools
Genylynn Cosgrove, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Fairfield County Prosecutor's Office
Jeff Dixon, School Resource Officer Fairfield County Sheriff's Office
Rebecca (Becky) Edwards, Assessment & Intervention Center Director Fairfield County Juvenile Court
Nathan Hale, Director of Human Resources Lancaster City Schools
Steve Poston, Principal Lancaster City Schools
Terre Vandervoort, Juvenile and Probate Court Judge Fairfield County, Ohio
Summit County, Ohio (2018 SJPD)
Description: The team aims to reduce official court referrals and arrests by School Resource Officers and limit the use of punitive disciplinary actions by school administrators. The key strategy include streamlining resources and the Family Resource Center referral process, instituting a new citation process, and collaborating with the Summit County Juvenile Court, Akron Police Department, and Akron Public schools to ensure interventions are provided to youth and families.
Contacts:
Lisa DiSabato-Moore, Special Programs Administrator Summit County Juvenile Court
David James, Superintendent Akron Public Schools
Lisa Karas, Program Coordinator, The Family Resource Center Summit County Juvenile Court
Daniel Rambler, Director of Student Support Services and Security Akron Public Schools
Doug Sandor, Police Sergeant-Commander, School Resource Officer Unit City of Akron, Police Division
Linda Teodosio, Judge Summit County Ohio Juvenile Court
Andrew Ziccardi, School Climate Coordinator Akron Public Schools
Spokane County, Washington (2018 SJPD)
Description: With a focus on reducing the disproportionality in arrests and school exclusionary discipline, the team will address the school-to-prison pipeline issue by developing a school-based Restorative Alternative to Arrest Program for students who commit arrestable offenses within the Campus Resource Officer jurisdiction.
Contacts:
Lynn Erickson, Campus Safety Supervisor Spokane Public Schools
Carmen Pacheco-Jones, Adjunct Spokane Community College
Nicole Rosenkrantz, Community Partnerships Manager Spokane Public Schools
Julie Schaffer, Family/Student Support and Community Engagement Spokane Public Schools
Scott Stevens, Probation Unit Supervisor Spokane County Juvenile Court
Rosemarie Thurman, Managing Attorney TeamChild
Evanston, Illinois (2017 SJP)
Description: 1) Develop and execute a community symposium to education stakeholders on the interconnected components of discipline, justice, community outcomes, and the school-to-prison pipeline, which will lead to a dialogue and change process around school discipline and suspension policies. 2) Pilot a middle school to high school transition program, the Chesapeake Project, which will provide a continuation of services for at-risk students.
Contact:
Diona Lewis, Assistant Principal, Evanston Skokie School District 65
Pittsburgh Public Schools/Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (2017 SJP)
Description: The team plans to address the school-to-prison pipeline issue in Pittsburgh Public Schools by implementing alternatives to suspension in order to reduce out-of-school suspensions and preventing students from repeating negative behaviors, reforming the discipline and juvenile justice referral processes, and revising the student code of conduct.
Contacts:
Dara Ware Allen, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, Pittsburgh Public Schools
Meghan Black, Deputy District Attorney, Office of the District Attorney of Allegheny County
George Brown, Chief of School Police, Pittsburgh Public Schools
Melissa Friez, Assistant Superintendent, Pittsburgh Public Schools
Regina Holley, School Board President, Pittsburgh Public Schools
Kimberly Safran, Principal, Pittsburgh Public Schools
Pine County, Minnesota (2017 SJP)
Description: To reduce school-based citations into the juvenile justice system, increase attendance rates, and decrease the number of cross-systems youth through the use of restorative justice practices, staff training on trauma-informed care, creation of a multi-disciplinary school-justice partnership, and improved culturally sensitive interventions with native youth.
Update (2024): The team was successful in creating a truancy program that brought the Judge into local and Reservation schools to conduct court. Additionally, the team secured funding this past year for more Restorative Practices and plans to implement more programs.
Contacts:
Andrew Almos, Superintendent, East Central Public Schools
Carla Big Bear, Office Manager, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Terry Fawcett, Probation Director, Pine County Probation
Rebecca Foss, Director, Pine County Health and Human Services
Reese Frederickson, Pine County Attorney, Pine County
Stefanie Youngberg, Principal, ISD 2580
Mount Vernon, New York (2017 SJP)
Description: The Capstone Project aims to enhance the alternatives to long-term suspension options for students, and to develop a holistic reintegration process for students returning to their home school after long-term suspension. The team will utilize restorative justice practices and develop relevant programming that meets the educational, social, and emotional needs of students coming back into the local schools.
Update (2018): The Capstone Project will be implemented in the fall of 2018. Instead of only receiving two hours of education per day at a local library, students in long-term suspension will receive a full-day schedule with math, social studies, English, and science instructions. Additionally, a guidance counselor will be assigned to assist students with service referrals as needed. The team is working with the school district to formalize the reentry process to engage and transition youth back into the community.
Contacts:
Adrian Armstrong, Judge, NYS OSA/Mount Vernon City Court
Jennifer Carpenter, Sergeant, Mount Vernon Police Department *NOTE: Jennifer has retired and is no longer with the team.
Luther Garrison, Probation Officer, Westchester County Department of Probation
Arthur Muhammad, Youth Development Specialist, Mount Vernon City School District
Ulster County, New York (2017 SJP)
*Note: This project is no longer active.
Description: The team will reduce the use of out-of-school suspension and address racial disparities in school disciplinary practices. The strategies include expanding alternatives to suspension programming, policies, and procedures, creating a process for re-entry circles, and training all school staff on trauma-informed care, restorative justice, and adolescent development.
Update (2019): The team first piloted their Capstone Project in the Kingston School District and has expanded to Wallkill Central School district. Between October 2017 and September 2019, the team has conducted 15 trainings on restorative justice and trauma-informed care. They also provided additional trainings, such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support and restorative conferencing, to school staff as well as partnering agencies associated with the targeted school districts. To support policy and procedural changes, the Capstone members met with school district leaders to roll out restorative practices in schools, and Wallkill Central School District has released a new code of contact for the 2018/2019 school year to use restorative justice conferences as an alternative to suspensions. The team is working with the schools to design and implement reentry circles for students. Between 2017 and 2019, the team has seen a 25% increase in referrals to the One80 program (a case management program using restorative approach) from schools, and a total of 30 successful program completions.
Update (2024): The team secured two full-time Restorative Justice Facilitators for two school districts, but the project is now no longer active.
Contacts:
Mary Trish Cina, Probation Supervisor, Ulster County
Dana Katz, Assistant Program Director/Case Manager for One80 and STSJP, Family of Woodstock, Inc.
LeShawn Parker, Coordinator of Prevention and Safety, Kingston City School District
Jennifer Pineda, Program Director, Family of Woodstock, Inc.
Maria Scarangella, Case Manager, Family of Woodstock, Inc.
Jo Shuman, Mobile Mental Health Practitioner, Access Supports for Living
Robert Vosper, Town Justice, Retired
Rockland County, New York (2016 MSI)
Description: Improve short and long-term outcomes for crossover youth and high–risk youth in North Rockland and BOCES school systems by: 1) Creating a system of care with multi-agency staff who are trained to identify early risk factors; 2) Establishing guidelines/triggers that initiate the referral process for a cross-system coordinated service offered by Partnership for Safe Youth (PSY); 3) Developing protective factors that help stabilize a student’s academic performance and behavior in the community; 4) Working with partners to develop cross-system policies and practices.
Contacts:
Amy Albers, Assistant Superintendent, Student Services Rockland BOCES
Marion Edra Breland, Coordinator of Behavioral Health Implementation for Rockland County, and Director of Youth and Family Services for the Village of Haverstraw Rockland County & Village of Haverstraw
Sherri Eisenpress, Family Court Judge, Acting Supreme Court Judge New York State Office of Court Administration
Barbara Gavin-Green, Director of Social Services Rockland County Department of Social Services
Tina Guccione, Supervising Assistant District Attorney Rockland County District Attorney's Office
Susan Hoerter, Medical Director Rockland County Department of Mental Health
Mary Jean Marsico, Chief Operating Officer / District Superintendent Rockland Board of Cooperative Educational Services
Judy Rosenthal, Executive Director, Fiscal & Program Operations, DA's Office Rockland County
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (2016 SJP)
Description: To create a judicially led collaborative pilot program that improves attendance, behavior, and academic performance of juvenile justice-involved youth. The team will emphasize restorative practices and incorporate Judge Steven Teske's school-justice partnership model and the Carlynton School District pilot components into the pilot Capstone Project.
Update (2017): The team partnered with Woodland Hills School District as a pilot site for a pre-arrest diversion program. The core implementation team is collaborating with DHS behavioral health as well as law enforcement.
Contacts:
Sanjeev Baidyaroy, Data Analyst, Allegheny County Department of Human Services
Shawn Forbes, Assistant Chief Probation Officer, Allegheny County Juvenile Probation
Melanie King, Allegheny County Juvenile Justice Planner, Great Lakes Behavioral Research Institute
Marsha Landers, Crossover Systems Liason, Allegheny County Juvenile Court
Michael Loughren, School Principal, Carlynton School District
Sarah Marker, Case Practice Specialist, Allegheny County
Dwayne Woodruff, Judge, Pennsylvania Judiciary
Delaware (2016 SJP)
Description: To reduce out-of-school discipline in target schools within the Brandywine School District and improve educational outcomes for systems involved youth through training, developing MOU for data sharing, and connecting at-risk youth to school staff.
Update (2019): Brandywine School District now embeds trauma-informed trainings with all their staff routinely and continues to evaluate staff regarding their use of trauma-informed approaches and knowledge. The evaluations are institutionalized through their district-wide multi-tiered systems of support and PBS efforts. The team has also been working closely with four schools to become trauma responsive. Since inception of the Capstone Project, the team has launched the Delaware Compassionate Schools Learning Collaborative, organizing trainings for educators and professionals in child-serving fields, and helped organize a Compassionate School summer symposium to provide TA and support to schools that have begun to create a Compassionate School Framework. In addition, some members of the Capstone team also facilitated the creation of a Comprehensive Student Report, which tracks students' education outcomes as well as early warning signs for drop out. This report will be provided to the court during dependency/neglect proceedings. In conjunction with the team's work on trauma-informed environment, the Delaware Governor signed Executive Order #24 in 2018, which encourages state agencies to become trauma-informed and to support youth and families who have experienced trauma. Through grant support of Casey Family Programs and the implementation of Compassionate Schools Project, the team has found preliminary success. More specifically, youth in foster care has experienced a significant decrease in their average out-of-school suspensions. In 2014, students in foster care experience on average 3.3 out-of-school suspensions, compared to 2.19 for non-foster students. In 2016, the average out-of-school suspension rate per foster student dropped to 2.44, compared to 2.15 for non-foster students.
Contacts:
Heather Alford, Administrator of Office of Evidence-Based Practice, Division of Family Services, DSCYF
Barbara Crowell, Judge, State of Delaware Family Court *Note: Judge Crowell retired in June 2019 and is no longer involved in the Capstone Project.
Eliza Hirst, Deputy Child Advocate, Office of the Child Advocate
Rachael Neff, Court Improvement Coordinator, Family Court
Kirsten Olson, Chief Strategy Officer, Children & Families First
Trenee Parker, Director, DSCYF/DFS
Megan Pell, Instructional Coach, University of Delaware
Denver, Colorado (2016 SJP)
Description: Address the lack of consistency in educational planning and promote educational planning through collaboration, training delivery and consultation for court-involved youth in Douglas County.
Update (2017): Douglas County has instituted a full-time Educational Navigator, who will provide direct educational planning for child welfare youth removed from home. Additionally, Douglas County Human Services has implemented new practices for Best Interest Determination Procedures, which include sending a notification email to the school district CWEL and the Education Navigator. Douglas County also now has an Education Action Team. The members meet monthly to examine current system procedures, address service gaps, and work with key stakeholders to encourage consistency in upholding new procedures. Amy has also worked with Douglas County to complete the final draft of the County Guide for Educational Planning and launched a website for free education stability consulting.
Contact: Amy Bishop, Education Advocate, Center for Governmental Training
Hartford, Connecticut (2016 SJP)
Description: Provide individual, competency-based opportunities to at-risk children involved with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) in Connecticut through developing a sustainability plan for Unified School District #2 Virtual Academy.
Contact: Christopher Leone, Superintendent of Schools, CT Department of Children and Families
Montana (2016 SJP)
Description: To reduce the transfer of youth to the juvenile justice system for school-based offenses by conducting detailed assessment to identify current trends, establishing standardized disciplinary procedures that incorporate trauma sensitive and culturally appropriate interventions, developing a Strategic Planning Document, and launching a pilot program focused on targeted behavioral interventions.
Update (2024): The Flathead County Team remains grounded in an enduring referral process between Youth Court Services, city/county law enforcement, local school districts, statewide partners, and the Center for Restorative Youth Justice (CRYJ) to divert youth to community-based programs. Their original Capstone began as a pilot project at one Kalispell high school for first-time drug and alcohol offenses, but has since expanded to include all first-time misdemeanor/status offenses at all three Kalispell high schools, another local high school, and four local middle schools.
In addition, school administrators can directly refer youth with non-delinquent offenses to CRYJ, and a coordinated reintegration meeting occurs between youth and their referring party upon CRYJ completion. Other jurisdictions in Montana have reached out to the team in hopes to mirror their program as well as for guidance on forming school-justice partnerships more generally. In 2025, CRYJ plans to offer services in Missoula, MT as a pilot for scaled program replication.
In 2023, referrals to the SJP program made up 43% of all youth court referrals, and youth in the SJP program had a recidivism rate of 10% as compared to a recidivism rate of 23% for all Flathead County youth. The number of Kalispell youth receiving out-of-school suspensions has decreased from 208 youth in 2017 to 82 youth in 2023.
Contacts:
Dave Bailon, Vice-Chairman of The Montana Youth Justice Advisory Council, Youth Justice Volunteer Center for Restorative Youth Justice
Kate Berry, Restorative Justice Practitioner & Student Advocate, Center for Restorative Youth Justice
Cassi Carr, Deputy Juvenile Probation Officer & School Liaison, Judicial District 11, State of Montana
Cory Clarke, Police Officer/School Resource Officer, City of Kalispell
Mark Flatau, Superintendent, Kalispell Public Schools
Shareen Springer, Executive Director, Center for Restorative Youth Justice *Note: Shareen is no longer involved in the project.
Nicolle Roth, Social Worker, School District 5
Lisa Wolfe, School Counselor, Kalispell School District
Oklahoma (2016 SJP)
Description: Develop an annual quality-training program for the judiciary and other juvenile court stakeholders on the educational rights of students with special education needs.
Update (2017): In 2016, the team planned the Wrightslaw Special Education Conference with over 200 attendees. In 2017, the team planned a 2-day Enhancing Educational Success for Children and Youth in Care Conference, with a total of over 120 attendees. These conferences focused on training biological parents, foster parents, DHS caseworkers, Office of Juvenile Affairs workers, attorneys, judges, and therapists.
Contacts:
Kate Dodoo, Appellate Staff Attorney, Oklahoma Supreme Court
Julia Sterr, Programs Field Representative, Oklahoma Department of Human Services
Joy Turner, Attorney, Oklahoma Disability Law Center
Melissa White, Superintendent/Director of Education, Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs
Oregon (2016 SJP)
Description: The Youth Crime Prevention (YCP) Capstone Project aims to eliminate chronic absenteeism in Yamhill County and promote active parent engagement by:
1. Assisting youth in overcoming barriers that prevent them from returning to school.
2. Supporting the educational needs of youth and providing wraparound services as they return to and re-engage in school.
3. Providing professional development trainings for key staff to develop skillsets to better serve transitioning youth, focusing on trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices.
Update (2017): The YCP is promoting and funding various initiatives that actively engage parents and community, as well as efforts that offer training on the needs of justice-involved youth for parents, educators, and interested community members. The team is working with the pilot school districts to develop an MOU.
Contacts:
Dana Carelle, Probation Manager, Department of Community Justice, Juvenile Division
Sam Ko, Educational Specialist, Oregon Department of Education
Scott Ryan, Principal, Multnomah Education Service District
Anya Sekino, Juvenile Crime Prevention Manager, Oregon Youth Development Council
Blake Whitson, Research Analyst, Oregon Department of Education
Spokane County, Washington (2016 SJP)
Description: To improve exclusionary disciplinary outcomes for youth in the Spokane Public School System by creating a pilot feeder school continuum including a high school, middle school and elementary school, changing policy, procedure and decision making processes that reflect or support implicit bias, and broadening community collaboration and partnerships in conjunction with the development of MOUs with participating agencies.
Update (2017): The team organized training in restorative practices, de-escalation techniques, and cultural competency for Spokane Public School (SPS) Campus Resource Officers, developed initiatives to build relationship between police officers and youth on probation (e.g., "Youth & The Force"), and facilitated SPS adopting new safety policy and procedures to reduce campus arrest. Within one year of policy change, there is over 85% reduction in school arrests. The team is working closely with the school district to continue data collection and analysis, and to utilize findings to change policies and practices.
Contacts:
Wendy Bleecker, Assistant Professor/Program Director, Whitworth University
Bonnie Bush, Juvenile Court Administrator, Spokane County
Jennifer DeRuwe, Officer, Spokane Police Department
Gwen Harris, Director of Student Services and Option Schools, Spokane Public Schools
Valerie Marshall, Social & Health Program Manager, Washington State DSHS
Kathleen Sande, Institutional Education Program Supervisor, WA Superintendent of Public Instruction
Lisa Wolph, Racial & Ethnic Disparities Program Coordinator, WA State Office of Juvenile Justice/DSHS
Hamilton County, Ohio (2015 SJP)
Description: To decrease the use of suspension and expulsion, and increase the use of positive interventions for youth at-risk of entering and becoming involved in the juvenile justice system through a three-tiered system approach:
Tier 1: Comprehensive review and reform of current practices to improve school climate & create subcommittees to focus on different aspects of the project.
Tier 2: Create interagency agreements to share information and facilitate the school district identifying and supporting at-risk students.
Tier 3: Develop a diversionary court (SAFE Council) to decriminalize truancy and disruptive behaviors in school.
Capstone Update (2017):
The team has successfully instituted a diversionary court in February 2016 for youth involved in disorderly conduct and truancy cases in the Northwest Local School District (NWLSD). As of January 2017, the team has expanded the diversionary court meetings from twice a month to four times a month. In the 2016-2017 school year, a total of 194 youth are involved in the diversionary court. 64 youth have been dismissed from the program. Of these 64 youth, 48 (75%) of them have successfully completed the program.
To strengthen behavioral health services for students, the team has formed partnerships with three local mental health or social services providers to offer services such as individual therapy in schools and mentoring programs, as well as begun drug treatment partnerships to allow students to enter treatment in lieu of expulsion. In addition, there is now a NWLSD social worker who has access to the juvenile court system database. The social worker is able to monitor youth who are involved in both child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and work with both systems to develop service plans for these youth.
Recognizing the importance of agency culture change and staff buy-in, the team has also been working diligently to train their staff. So far, over 70% of the NWLSD staff has been trained in restorative justice practices, and the leadership is currently looking to develop trauma-informed training.
Contacts:
Pauletta Crowley, Director of Community & Student Services, Northwest Local School District
Dean Doerflein, Officer, Colerain Township Police Department
Elaine Fink, Managing Attorney, Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio
Lindsey Gibson, School Social Worker, Northwest Local Schools
Carla Guenthner, Chief Magistrate, Hamilton County Juvenile Court
Susan Smith, Principal, Northwest Local School District
Darrell Yater, Assistant Director of Curriculum and Special Education, Northwest Local School District
NYC, New York (2015 SJP)
Description: Creating a program (9 x 9) to promote and support over-aged students in 7th and 8th grades in nine middle schools in District 9.
Update (2017): The program, 9 x 9, was launched in August 2017 to support overage middle school students in District 9 to transition to high school through leveraging intensive academic supports, family engagement, and interagency coordination.
Contacts:
Judge Gayle Roberts, NYC Family Court
Kassa Belay, Community Liaison, Administration for Children's Services (ACS)
Dorald Bastian, Principal, NYC Department of Education (DOE)
Ramon Garcia, Assistant Commissioner, NYC Police Department
Ashley Grant, Staff Attorney, Advocates for Children
Stacie Hare, Youth & Young Adult Coordinator, Human Resources Administration
Ifeoma Ike, Senior Advisor, NYC Center for Economic Opportunity/Mayor Office of Strategic Planning
L. Kelly Johnson, Deputy Director, School Safety Division, Community Affairs Bureau, NYPD
Joshua Laub, Director of Youth Development, DOE OSYD
Julie Peterson, Senior Program Officer, Pinkerton Foundation
Lily Shapiro, Senior Policy Advisor, Commissioner of NYC Department of Probation
Jordan Stockdale, Program Director for School Climate, Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice
Christopher Tan, Agency Attorney (Juvenile Justice), ACS
James Waslawski, Principal, New Directions Secondary School
San Diego, California (2015 SJP)
Description: To provide supportive education services to re-engage students who had a change of placement or were out of school for behavioral health or truancy reasons. The project will facilitate the coordination between Child Welfare Services (CWS) and San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) by linking CWS’ placement change meetings with SDUSD’s Check and Connect program to ensure that youth’s education goals are supported.
Update (2017): Although the Check and Connect program experienced a funding cut and is no longer part of the Capstone Project, the education liaisons (onsite at Child Welfare offices) continue to collaborate with SDUSD to serve probation youth in out-of-home placements. The education liaisons attend MDT meetings weekly for targeted youth to ensure that education remains on the forefront of the youth's plan. In addition, the liaisons play a critical role in providing youth with resources and addressing many of their concerns.
Contact: Leah van Lingen, CWS Policy Analyst, County of San Diego
Denver, Colorado (2015 SJP)
Description: To develop training content for a multi-disciplinary work group to address the school-to-prison pipeline issue. The work group will include local law enforcement agencies, school resource officers (SROs), school administrators, community-based advocacy group staff, and youth-serving state agency staff.
Update (2017): Janelle and her team has expanded the training audience to a school-community training that include multiagency representatives, including juvenile justice, mental health, and social services. They developed training curriculum to address how best to approach school-based incidents. The first "trial run" started in the summer of 2017 in the second largest school district in Colorado, Jefferson County School District.
Contact: Janelle Krueger, Program Manager, Colorado Department of Education
Victoria, Australia (2015 SJP)
Description: Seeks to draw a greater emphasis on delinquent youth’s education needs and outcomes through the development and piloting of an education checklist for magistrates.
Contact: Jacqueline Anders, Manager, Student Engagement, Education Justice Initiative
Maricopa County, Arizona (2015 SJP)
Description: To improve school climate through creating an advisory board and revising school policies and procedure manuals from two pilot schools in Maricopa County, AZ. The main goals of the project include: 1) Reduce the number of out-of-school suspensions and expulsions, 2) Reduce the number of criminal referrals, 3) Increase referrals to alternative to suspension programs, and 4) Increase school staff and school resource officers’ positive attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge of appropriate school disciplinary actions.
Update (2017): The team is working with the Phoenix Union High School District and Cartwright Elementary School District as pilot sites to implement the Capstone Project, and as of 2016, is planning to create an advisory Board, which include administrators, parents, and students from the school districts. In 2017, the team has created a Student Handbook but is making additional changes so it’s more user friendly, using more restorative language. Additionally, they are in the process of hiring restorative justice coaches to lead professional development trainings for teachers.
Contacts:
Michael Bane, Juvenile Probation Officer, Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Department
Elizabeth Beringhaus, Division Chief Juvenile Crimes, Maricopa County Attorney's Office
Sean Connolly, Police Commander, City of Phoenix
David Hintze, Attorney, Maricopa County Public Defender
Paul Johnson, Regional Transition Coordinator, Maricopa County Education Service Agency
Kristan Kurtz, Director of Safe Schools and Academy for Success, Cartwright Elementary School District #83
James (Jim) Lovett, Title I Part D State Coordinator, Arizona Department of Education
Angie Pogue, Director of Literacy/Prevention, Maricopa County Education Service
Cynthia Tercero, Dropout Prevention Coordinator, Phoenix Union High School District
Dorothy (Dottie) Wodraska, Director of Juvenile Transition, Maricopa County Education Service Agency *NOTE* Dottie has since retired from her position, but she is still an active participant in this Capstone Project.
Mahoning County, Ohio (2015 SJP)
*Note: This project is no longer active due to changes in the school district.
Description: To improve the school climate within the Youngstown City School District by engaging students, parents, community members, and school staff.
Contacts:
Judge Theresa Dellick, Juvenile Judge, Mahoning County Juvenile Court
Larry Ellis, Association President, Youngstown City Schools
Joe McGeorge, Executive Director, Warriors, Inc.
Jennifer Merritt, Director of Alternative Education, Mahoning County Educational Service Center
Williams Morvay, Chief of Security, Youngstown City School District
Duane Piccirilli, Executive Director, Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery
Nick Santucci, Education and Workforce Manager, Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber
Milton Walters, Assistant Superintendent, Youngstown City Schools
Douglas County, Nebraska (2015 SJP)
Description: To decrease the overutilization of out-of-school suspensions and expulsions for youth on probation. The main components of the project include: 1) Cross-system planning through the development of a formalized collaborative response to problem behavior; 2) Service mapping, enhancement, and expansion; 3) Linking targeted youth to appropriate services; and 4) Training on trauma-informed and restorative justice practices, and Critical Incident Training for school-based frontline staff.
Update (2018): The team has developed robust partnerships with many key stakeholders and adjusted system protocols to improve communication and collaboration between agencies. For example, the team created a proactive, formalized process to share information and build protective factors around youth on probation to reduce the likelihood of youth being rearrested. and The team has implemented the Capstone Project at two pilot sites within the Omaha Public School system. At the pilot schools, the SJP Core team, including SROs, school administrators, school counselors, and probation officers, meet weekly to discuss high-risk, system-involved students, focusing on the current status of the youth and how to keep them on a positive trajectory through wraparound services. Each identified student has a designated adult in the school building assigned to check-in regularly to provide support. In addition, there are restorative justice circles held in one of the pilot schools (the alternative school). There was a 41 percent decrease in Misdemeanor Arrests b SROs in 2016 - 2017 school year, compared to 2015-2016. There was also a 50 percent decrease in the total number of SRO arrest in the 2016-2017, compared to the previous 2015-2016 school year. The team has also observed an increase in supportive relationships between school staff and students.
Contacts:
Jennifer Brockman, Supervisor of Special Services, Westside Community Schools
Judge Elizabeth Crnkovich, Judge, Separate Juvenile Court *Note: Judge Crnkovich is retired and no longer involved in the project.
Greg Gonzalez, Deputy Police Chief, City of Omaha Nebraska
Sarah Hayek, Project Coordinator, Nebraska Families Collaborative
Michael McGee, Police Captain, City of Omaha, Nebraska
Beth Morrissete, Board of Education, Westside Community Schools
Amber Parker, Program Manager, Douglas County - Operation Youth Success *Note: Amber has changed position/agency and is no longer involved in the Capstone Project. She is currently with City of Omaha, Mayor's Office
Darci Poland, Chief Deputy Probation Officer, Nebraska State Probation
Cara Stirts, Deputy Douglas County Attorney, Douglas County Attorney's Office
Amy Williams, Supervisor of Alternative Education, Omaha Public Schools
Lancaster County, Nebraska (2014 RED)
Description: Implement a school-based diversion program; Diversion services include a case manager, drug and alcohol counseling, individual and/or family therapy, cognitive classes, pro-social activities, organized group activities, school supported services, and restorative practices.
Capstone Update (August 2017): Although the diversion program is at the beginning of its implementation stage, it has served 27 youth, and the Capstone team has made changes to the program policy to ensure minority youth weren't inadvertently being excluded due to prior history of system involvement. The diversion fees have been lowered by 75%, and duration of waiting to get families to sign a diversion case plan is shortened from an average of 6 weeks to 1 week.
Contacts:
Jeff Chambers, Project Director - Center on Children, Families, and the Law at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Roger Garcia, Executive Director - El Centro de las Americas
Lori Griggs, Deputy County Attorney - Lancaster County Attorney’s Office
Alicia Henderson, Chief Deputy County Attorney, Juvenile Division - Lancaster County Attorney’s Office
Sara Hoyle, Juvenile Justice Coordinator - Lancaster County
Linda Porter, Juvenile Court Judge - Lancaster County
Michelle Schindler, Youth Services Center Director - Lancaster County Juvenile Detention Center
Jason Stille, City of Lincoln, Police Department - Captain
Racine County, Wisconsin (2014 RED)
Description: Implement a school-based diversion program at one pilot high school. Eligible offenses include, but are not limited to disorderly conduct. Diversion services include mentoring. Only first-time offenders are eligible.
Contacts:
Melvin Hargrove, Pastor - Zoe Outreach Ministries
Margaret Johnson, Local Attorney Manager - Wisconsin State Public Defender
John Jude, Judge - Racine County Circuit Court
Brian Smith, Mount Pleasant Police Department - Captain
Johnson County, Iowa (2013 RED)
Description: To reduce racial and ethnic disparities in Disorderly Conduct charges in schools through re-defining protocols for school staff to contact law enforcement for youth’s problem behaviors, implementing a uniform set of graduated sanctions for in-school behaviors to limit law enforcement intervention, and creating a community-based diversion program (LADDERS) to address youth’s problem/disorderly behaviors (includes youth from school settings as well as communities).
Capstone Update (2019): The Capstone Project was implemented at the beginning of 2013-2014 school year. In 2012, there were 40 arrests in schools for disorderly conduct, of which 30 (75 percent) were African American youth. In 2014, there were 18 arrests for disorderly conduct, of which 9 (50 percent) were African American youth. In terms of the diversion efforts, there was a total of 95 referrals to the diversion program in between 2014 and 2019; 70 out of the 95 referred youth were African American, and all have successfully completed the diversion program with about 14% reoffense rate (13 out of 95 youth reoffended). Since the inception of the LADDERS, school arrests for disorderly conduct have reduced by over 60 percent; arrests of African American youth have reduced from 75 percent to 67 percent; charges of African American youth reduced from 90% to 50%. The development of this “first-of-its-kind-in-the-state pre-charge” diversion program was recognized in the local newspaper in 2014: http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/johnson-county-diversion-program-to-offer-youth-a-chance-to-avoid-court-20140626
Contacts:
Kevin Bailey, Detective - Juvenile - Iowa City Police Department *NOTE* Kevin Bailey was promoted to Sergeant with the Iowa City Police Department.
Sara Barron, Community Relations Director - Big Brothers Big Sisters of Johnson County
Deborah Minot, District Associate Judge - State of Iowa
Joan Vandenberg, Youth and Family Development Coordinator - Iowa City Community School District
Christopher Wyatt, Johnson County Juvenile Court Services Supervisor - State of Iowa-Johnson Co. Juvenile Court Services *NOTE* Christopher Wyatt was promoted to Chief Juvenile Court Officer in the 6th Judicial District.
Brooklyn, New York (2013 MSI)
Description: Work to reduce suspensions to reduce opportunities to offend.
Contacts:
Jill Adams, Project Coordinator - Crossover Youth Practice Model *NOTE* Jill is no longer with the Capstone team.
Naomi Cavanaugh, Director of Juvenile Justice Permanency Planning - New York City Children's Services
Martin Feinman, Attorney In Charge - Legal Aid Society
Joshua Laub, Director of Youth Development - NYC Dept of Education - O.S.Y.D.
Myra Radden, Director - New York City Department of Probation
Jeannette Ruiz, Supervising Judge - NYS Office of Court Administration
Aimee Sklar-Calogero, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Division Chief - New York City Law Department, Family Court Division
Daniel Turbow, Judge, Family Court - Family Court of the State of New York, County of Kings
Brian Zimmerman, Attorney for Child/Assigned Counsel - 18b/assigned counsel
Washington (July 2012 MSI - Public)
Description: Early identification and prevention of school dropouts; Map schools' current early warning systems (identifying youth at risk of dropping out, such as crossover youth), and improve upon them with evidence-based best-practices.
Contact: Kelly Goodsell, Manager, Interagency Relations - Puget Sound Educational Service District
Arkansas (Oct. 2012 MSI - Public)
Description: Diverting school-based offenses.
Contact: Jerry Walsh, Chief Executive Officer - South Arkansas Youth Services, Inc.
Betty Hopkins, IA (Oct. 2012 MSI - Public)
Description: Facilitate multi-agency, multi-sectoral collaborative with the intent to reduce law enforcement responses to elementary schools; introduce an information sharing agreement that is currently being reviewed by various stakeholders; develop referral and resource guide to divert school-based offenses.
Update (2013): Betty met with leaders from the Cedar Rapids Community Schools to start discussion on how to better respond to struggling students in elementary schools in the jurisdiction. She also convened a meeting to bring together Cedar Rapids schools, law enforcement, human services, juvenile court office staff, ad local mental health and behavioral health providers to better support youth in the community through interagency collaboration. An interagency committee, A-MAC was established, and different work groups were identified. A-MAC also developed a quick reference guide for school administrators to access along with criteria for transitioning students in and out of placements and other services in schools.
Contact: Betty Hopkins, Juvenile Court Officer IV - State of Iowa
Shalinee Hunter, CA (2008 MSI CPI)
Description: Foster partnership between the state corrections standards authority and schools to educate and begin to address DMC.
Contact: Shalinee Hunter, DMC Coordinator/Corrections Consultant and JJ Specialist/Title II Lead, Corrections Standards Auth., CA Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation
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