Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2023, $750,000)
The Clark County Department of Juvenile Justice Services (DJJS) is committed to system reform and implementing programmatic changes to improve outcomes for youth. DJJS and relevant stakeholders initiated a comprehensive review of the probation system in partnership with the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation in May 2017. While the department has successfully identified immediate opportunities for the probation system to be reformed and improved through enhancing policy and practices, the need to address the gap in effective transitional and clinical services for justice-involved youth exiting care and returning to home and the community remains. Case management services are needed to assist youth and young adults in following through with aftercare and clinical plans (i.e., medication management, therapy, 12-Step groups where appropriate, and mental health counseling).
Justice-involved youth in Clark County experience challenges, as they often lack the skills needed for successful reintegration and follow-up with services. Many youth return to unstable home environments and struggle to remain in school or find meaningful employment as they have often experienced trauma coupled with mental health disorders or substance abuse issues (or both). As a result, many youth do not follow through with mental health recommendations, recidivate, and fail to remain in the community and at home successfully.
DJJS will partner with JusticeWorks YouthCare to implement the Clark County Reintegration Program in Las Vegas, Nevada, to ensure successful home and community reentry and reduce recidivism for youth exiting Spring Mountain Youth Camp placement. The project applicant is Clark County DJJS, JusticeWorks will be the subcontractor providing service components. We aim to keep youth functioning in the community by helping them complete and follow up with clinical services and develop strategies to avoid high-risk behaviors while promoting competency skills and character building. Youth will benefit from the research-informed Aggression Replacement Training (ART) program, where they will experience positive adult-youth interactions, healthy peer feedback loops, and learning opportunities to address the developmental tasks of their age. Case management services will include, but not be limited to, assistance with medication management, making mental health and/or substance abuse appointments, transportation when needed, filling out medical assistance forms, and educating youth on the importance of maintaining their aftercare plan.
The goals of the program are to: (1) improve follow-up and completion of clinical services and achieve superior outcomes once youth and young adults return to the home and the community, and (2) enhance the juvenile justice system's capacity to achieve its mission by incorporating research-informed practices with fidelity at every stage of the juvenile justice process. Specifically, the program consists of four major components: 1. A psychometrically sound assessment tool - Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI); 2. Research-informed, Aggression Replacement Training (ART); 3. Blended Service Coordination; and 4. Integration of Community Resources and Supports.
DJJS requests $750,000 in funding to support the Clark County Youth Reintegration Program through the Office of Justice Programs Improving Adult and Crisis Stabilization and Community Reentry Program.