Massachusetts

2017 RED MA DYS 

Contacts: 

Christian Bijoux, Project Coordinator Consultant, MA Department of Youth Services

Lynsey Heffernan, JDAI State Coordinator, MA Department of Youth Services

Ruth Rovezzi, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Youth Services

Ja'Net Smith, Regional Director, Department of Youth Services

Capstone Description:

Reduce the overrepresentation and length of stay for youth of color in residential placement. More specifically, this effort will include:

1. Redesigning the agency's classification policies and procedures.

2. Adapting a structured decision-making tool.

3. Developing a training development team.

4. Developing reporting structure and supervision guidelines.

Capstone Update (2019):

The team has conducted 12 focus groups across the state to collect feedback regarding the agency's classification policies from DYS staff, youth, and families. The team is currently drafting new policies based on focus groups' feedback, and the initial classification policy is set to complete by the end of 2019. The team has also partnered with UMMS and Dr. Gina Vincent to provide training and ensure implementation fidelity in using the YLS/CMI tool. In addition, training curriculum related to race and ethnicity, such as racial trauma and implicit bias, is in the process of being updated, and all DYS employees will be trained before July 2020. The team has collected baseline data based on their current classification policy, and they will continue monitoring the classification data once the policy is rolled out.

2013 ISCP Massachusetts Team (State-wide)

Contacts:

Amy Karp, Training Director - Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services

Melanie Malcolm, Child Welfare Data Analyst - Massachusetts Trial Court

Ilene Mitchell, Case Manager - Massachusetts Trial Court

Sally Padden, First Justice of Essex County Juvenile Court - Massachusetts Trial Court

Andrew Rome, Deputy General Counsel - Department of Children and Family Services

Craig Weller, Supervisor of Data Analysis and Reporting - Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Capstone Description:

To develop a confidentiality and information sharing guide and conduct a multi-disciplinary research to study education stability and outcomes for children involved in the MA CW systems. Project includes revising existing MOUs with partner agencies and using the findings to help identify policy implications.

Capstone Update (2016):

The team worked with the RFK National Resource Center to develop the guide and is in the process of completing the draft. The team also released an RFP to study educational experiences and outcomes for students involved in juvenile dependency proceedings in MA, and is working with the School of Social Work at Boston University to analyze data.

2013 YIC Massachusetts Team (State-wide)

Contacts:

Nancy Carter, Director of Residential Operations - Commonwealth of MA. Department of Youth Services

Monica Ferraro, Regional Clinical Coordinator - Department of Youth Services

Robert Graham, Director of Residential Services - Commonwealth of MA. Department of Youth Services

Capstone Description:

Turn pre-existing monthly meetings into training opportunities and develop service matrix.

2011 MSI (Public) Massachusetts Team 1

Contacts:

John Brennan, Regional Director - Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Youth Services

Craig Curtin, Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region - Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Youth Services

Capstone Description:

Train defense attorneys and others on the risks of detention for crossover youth to encourage them to pursue detention alternatives.

2011 MSI (Public) Massachusetts Team 2

Contacts:

Jonathan Simmons, Integrated Clinical Specialist - Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Mental Health

Robert Turillo, Assistant Commissioner of Program Services - Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Youth Services

Capstone Description:

Develop a protocol for joint planning for youth involved in the juvenile justice and mental health systems to ensure that services are coordinated and more effective.

2010 MSI (Public) Massachusetts Team (State-wide)

Contacts:

Jeanne Tomich, Assistant Director of Clinical Services - Massachusetts Department of Youth Services 

Yvonne Sparling, Director of Clinical Services - Massachusetts Department of Youth Services

Capstone Description:

Survey families about  satisfaction regarding child welfare services and use to inform future direction/trainings.

Capstone Update (2016):

The team developed a family survey that included 3 categories: assessment, residential, and community. 100 families completed each category anonymously, and the Department of Youth Services has adapted the family survey template to do a youth survey assessing how well DYS youth are aging out of the system and their experience with the re-entry process. DYS is working to develop a survey that can be embedded into the practices so that collecting feedback from families becomes a routine and consistent process. As a follow-up, the team has been working with Harvard students to continue exploring and developing best family engagement practices.

2009 MSI Massachusetts Team

Contacts:

Lisa Belmarsh, Director of Policy and Training - MA Department of Youth Services

Peter Forbes, Assistant Commissioner for Operations - Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Capstone Description:

Reduce the number of youth who are involved with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) from entering Department of Youth Services (DYS) detention facilities by (1) reducing the number of DCF youth who are genuinely low risk from entering DYS detention facilities, and (2) decreasing the amount of time DCF youth spend in DYS detention placements by collaborating with DCF to expedite placement options.

Capstone Update (2014):

The Capstone Project served as a strategic planning exercise that would guide Massachusetts' efforts to implement the vision of a MOU between DYS and DCF. As a result of the project, DCF and DYS have successfully worked together to enhance data collection efforts to identify child welfare involved youth that enter detention, and identify their placements prior to detention. Weekly inter-agency meetings have been established to expedite case plans for child welfare involved youth who enter pre-trial detention and weekly and quarterly reports have been developed to allow leadership to see trends and develop strategies for preventing placement in detention in the first place. For instance, leadership is now able to determine if a high number of youth from a particular placement are entering detention so they can work with that placement to prevent more youth from being detained. Further, as part of this Capstone’s intersection with the state’s implementation of JDAI, DYS is working with the Juvenile Court and the Office of the Commissioner of Probation to explore diversion and other alternatives to detention that can further contribute to preventing child welfare involved youth from being detained. For instance, a pilot project has placed over 70 child welfare involved youth in foster care placements instead of detention.

2008 MSI CPI Massachusetts Participant

Contact:

Barbara Kaban, Deputy Director/Director Res. And Policy - Children's Law Center of Massachusetts

Capstone Description:

Research penetration of CW-involved youths into MA juvenile justice system, then compare that to non-child-welfare youth. Use this research to increase awareness of crossover youth in her jurisdiction and to sponsor a Skadden fellowships. 

2009 MSI Cape Cod Participant

Contact:

Jennifer (Jenn) McNulty, Assistant District Attorney - Cape and Island District Attorney

Capstone Description:

Identify crossover youth before their arraignment in juvenile court and reverse the policy that prohibits the sharing of this information with district attorneys and defense attorneys.

2011 MSI (Public) Essex County Team

Contacts:

Ruth Budelmann, Juvenile Justice Program Director - Essex County District Attorney's Office

Mariellen Fidrych, Assistant Director of Juvenile Justice - Essex County District Attorney's Office

Meghan Meagher, Juvenile Justice Program Manager - Essex County District Attorney's Office

Capstone Description:

Reduce the number of youth coming into contact with the courts by: 

1. Training juvenile justice staff in the DA’s office on crossover youth.

2. Engaging youth and families in diversion programs. 

3. Help counselors better understand their role in the diversion program.

4. Track outcomes of these effects to continue to improve over time.

2010 MSI (Private) Lancaster Team

Contacts:

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

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

Capstone 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.

2008 MSI CPI Norfolk County Team

Contacts:

James Poirier, Clerk-Magistrate - Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Sandra Sullivan, Assistant Chief Probation Officer - Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Capstone Description:

Youth mentorship program with college student mentors as Diversion Program.

2013 MSI Suffolk County Participant

Contact:

Elizabeth (Beth) Bouchard, Support to End Exploitation Now (SEEN) Coordinator - Children's Advocacy Center of Suffolk County

Capstone Description:

Expand the current database for crossover youth and improve the services provided to those who are commercially sexually exploited in Suffolk County, MA. The main components of the project include:

1. Convene subcommittees to address issues related to runaway youth at risk of commercial sexual exploitation.

2. Improve and expand the data collection system.

3. Create practice guidelines to work with runaway youth.

4. Enhance current training with updated data, and train key stakeholders regarding commercially sexually exploited children.

Capstone Update (2015):

Beth helped create a Missing and High Risk Youth Subcommittee, comprised of CSEC-specific youth-serving agencies and developed a draft standardized checklist to track CSEC risk factors for referred youth. The checklist was being reviewed by the committee, and the final product will be used at intake. The draft checklist allowed the organization (Support to End Exploitation Now Coalition, SEEN) to expand its database. Although in the draft form, the checklist has been used to record information on over 130 cases referred to SEEN. There is a plan to develop practice guidelines and protocols to work with youth at-risk of CSEC.