Arizona

April 2023 ARJE Arizona State Team

Contacts:

Roy Dawson, Executive Director, Arizona Center for African American Resources

Julie Hawkins, Executive Consultant, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

Raymonda Matheka, Director of Clinical Services Bureau/Psychologist, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

Amanda Parker, Judge, Maricopa County / State of Arizona

Steve Selover, Program Manager, Arizona Supreme Court

Crystal Singleton, Executive Consultant, Arizona Department of Child Safety

Jazmyn Taitingfong, Deputy Public Advocate, Maricopa County Office of the Public Advocate

Molly Vehon, Court Improvement's Program Development Specialist, Arizona Supreme Court Dependent Children's Services Division with the Administrative Office of the Courts

Rob Wyman, Senior Director, Casey Family Programs

Description: 

The Arizona State Team seeks to convene an organizing group of system representatives, including child welfare, the courts, youth justice, advocates, community partners, and the Department of Education, to develop technical education and training programs for their respective agencies aimed at improving how these systems serve communities of color in Maricopa County. 

2021 EIYF Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections Team

Contacts:

Daunn Barnaby, Lieutenant, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

Beth Broeker, Legal Systems Bureau Administrator, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

Brianna Collins, Mental Health Team Coordinator, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

Daniel Horacek, Youth Program Supervisor, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

Marcell Lewis, Youth Corrections Sergeant, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

Mike Lopez, Secure Care Program Administrator, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

Raymonda Matheka, Clinical Director, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

Jenine Wright, Interim Superintendent of Education, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

Capstone Description:

ADJC will meaningfully reduce or eliminate the use of isolation at Adobe Mountain School by enhancing its incentive structure for youth behavior and implementing intentional programming during youth idle hours.

2017 LGBTQ Arizona Team

Contacts:

Janette Bell, Program Administrator State of Arizona

Janet Garcia, Senior Director Casey Family Programs

Katherine Guffey, Chief Quality Improvement Officer Department of Child Safety

Beverlee Kroll, Policy Manager Department of Child Safety *Note: Beverly is retired and is no longer involved in the team's work.

Holly Reynolds, Contract Compliance Specialist Arizona Supreme Court

Megan Wilson, Provider Services Manager Department of Child Safety

Capstone Description:

The team aims to develop a statewide non-discrimination policy and other comprehensive policies for LGBTQ/SOGIE youth involved in the child welfare, behavioral health and juvenile justice systems.

Capstone Update (2018):

The team collaborated to assess existing non-discrimination policies, identifying strengths and weaknesses of the policies, evaluating the policies' alignment with Arizona's visions and language. As a result, the team has developed a draft of the non-discrimination policy, and the policy is currently under review for final revision. In addition, the team is working with the DCS Learning and Development Office to provide SOGIE training and support to implement the revised policies. The team plans on developing and administering a baseline survey to gauge partnering agencies' staff comfortability and competency working with LGBTQ youth.

2017 YIC Arizona DJC

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 

Capstone 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

Capstone 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.

2014 YIC Arizona Participant (State-level)

Contact:

John Vivian, Administrator - Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

Capstone 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.

July 2012 MSI (Public) Arizona Team (State-level)

Contacts:

Craig Blakey, Judge, Superior Court of Arizona - State of Arizona, Maricopa County

Chad Campbell, Director, Juvenile Justice Services Division - Arizona Supreme Court

Caroline Lautt-Owens, Director, Dependent Children's Services Division - Arizona Supreme Court, Administrative Office of the Courts

Stacy Reinstein, Deputy Child Welfare Administrator - Department of Economic Security, Division of Children, Youth and Families

Beth Rosenberg, Director of Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice - Children's Action Alliance

Sara Salek, Medical Director of Children's Services - Division of Behavioral Health Services, Arizona Department of Health Services

Katrina Suell, Community Services Administrator - Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

Capstone Description:

Create a cross-system discussion and training forum, map finances, analyze gaps, and develop a Cross-over Youth Practice Model.

Capstone Update (2015):

The team hosted an Interconnected Journey: The Impact of Multiple Systems Partnering for Progress in September 2012, and the information gathered served as a foundation for the AZ CYPM. Maricopa County served as the Capstone site, and the Capstone Project has become part of the AZ CYPM work.

2012 MSI Arizona Participant

Contact:

James (Jim) Lovett, Title I, Part D State Coordinator - Arizona Department of Education *Note* Jim has retired.

Capstone Description:

Wrote a whitepaper clarifying the confusion between Title 1A and Title ID.  This is intended to support the Arizona team that attended 2012 July MSI Public.

Capstone Update (2015):

Jim has joined up with the July 2012 MSI Arizona Team to help them with the CYPM work/Capstone. He did not pursue his original Capstone Project.

2017 RED Pinal County Team

Contacts: 

Celena Angstead, Division Director, Pinal County Juvenile Court Services

Cory Lustig, Research Analyst, Pinal County

Denise Smith, Juvenile Court Director, Pinal County

Daniel Washburn, Judge, State of Arizona

Capstone Description: 

Reduce disproportionality for African American youth at the arrest decision point by working with the Pinal County Sheriff's Office to pilot a pre-diversion program, improve relationships between community members of color, law enforcement, and juvenile court, and provide youth with opportunities for pro-social engagement in San Tan Valley.

2019 Update:

The team has strengthened their partnership with the Pinal County Sheriff's Office to move forward with their Capstone Project. Collaboratively, the team has developed a pre-diversion program and began its implementation in February 2019. As of October 2019, 30 youth have been referred to the program since February, and all 30 youth successfully completed the program with no reoffense. The team has also bolstered and expanded their mentoring opportunities and diversion programming in conjunction with the existing Redirection Program. The expanded curriculum includes topics on substance use, social media, goal-setting, etc. With the Sheriff's Office taking the lead, the team is also working with key stakeholders and community partners to hold community outreach events with the explicit goal of improving rapport between youth of color and justice staff. These events were well-attended with significant proportion of minority youth and families. Between 2017 and 2019, the team has observed a 15% decrease in the total number of arrests overall in Pinal County, and almost 30% decrease in the arrests on African American Youth (compared to 16% decrease of white youth). For their pilot site in San Tan Valley, the total arrest decreased by 27%, and about 38% decrease for African American youth (compared to 23% white youth).

2016 DIV Mohave County Team

Contacts:

Dale Herren, Deputy Probation Officer, Mohave County Probation

Terra Sears, Deputy Probation Officer, Mohave County Probation *Note: Terra Sears moved to the adult side of probation, and is no longer involved in the project.

Capstone Description:

Update and streamline the current diversion program in Mohave County and promote its use through:

1. Revising the diversion manual, workbooks, and forms

2. Conduct internal training on diversion protocols for all probation officers and offer training for partners in education on diversion process

3. Develop family surveys to continue improving the diversion program

2015 SJP Maricopa County Team

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

Cyndi 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.

Capstone 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. 

4. Increase school staff and school resource officers’ positive attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge of appropriate school disciplinary actions. 

Capstone 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.

2015 YIC Maricopa County Team

Contacts:

Kimberly Carroll, Mental Health Director, Maricopa County Juvenile Probation

Tad Gary, Chief Clinical Officer, Mercy Maricopa Integrated Care

Michaella Heslin, Deputy Chief Probation Officer, Maricopa County juvenile Probation

Eric Meaux, Chief of Juvenile Probation, Maricopa Superior Court

Chris Phillips, Director, Office of the Public Advocate

Holli Ann Sanger-Alarco, Program Manager, Juvenile Justice Services - Administrative Office of the Court

Karrie Steving, Children's System of Care, Mercy Maricopa Integrated Care

Judge Joseph Welty, Superior Court Judge, State of Arizona

Capstone Description:

To improve the residential treatment for non-sex offender youth in custody through:

1. Strengthening family engagement. 

2. Enhancing residential treatment process and outcomes.

3. Training for key partners.

2014 MSI Maricopa County Team

Contacts:

Deidre Calcoate, Bureau Chief of Permanency - Arizona Department of Child Safety

Shelley Curran, Court Services Administrator - Mercy Maricopa Integrated Care

Sarah Murillo, Division Director - Maricopa County Juvenile Probation

Dorothy Wodraska, Director of Juvenile Transition - Maricopa County Education Service Agency **NOTE** Dottie is retired but is still in contact with the Capstone team

Capstone Description:

Create a integrated case plan within the context of a team meeting (modeled after the multi-Agency Reunification Collaboration Project) and recommendation to the judicial officer for dually-involved youth.

2013 IS Maricopa, AZ Participant

Contact:

Derrick Platt, Regional Coordinator - Maricopa County Educational Services Agency

Capstone Description:

Develop MOUs and data sharing capacities.

Capstone Update (2015): The MOU and LOU were developed and are being executed with Maricopa County Education Services' collaborative justice partners and 41 community schools. In addition, Derrick and his team designed and implemented release of information and consent forms. As a result of improved data sharing, there is an increased discussion and communication on recidivism and system challenges within Maricopa County youth-serving agencies, as well as an improved efficiency to share educational records and enroll youth in schools.