Planning for a multi-functional secure and non-secure youth prevention through intervention collaboration and family court center

The Planning Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands Competitive Grant Program assists tribes in developing strategies to cost effectively plan facilities associated with the incarceration and rehabilitation of juvenile and adult offenders subject to tribal jurisdiction. Careful planning is critical to ensure that correctional facilities, when completed, are appropriately designed for the intended population, supportive of cultural and traditional values, safe and secure when completed, and in compliance with Bureau of Indian Affairs' standards regarding correction operations, programs and design.

The Northern Arapaho Tribe will use FY 2008 Planning Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands grant funds to create a Comprehensive Master Plan for a multi-purpose juvenile center with community based alternatives. The center will not only be multi-purpose, but a "one-stop shop" for services incorporating elements of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the American Bar Association Unified Courts project, proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice Family Justice Center Initiative. The goals of the facility include: 1) providing culturally - appropriate assessment, detention, intervention, and prevention to American Indian youth of the Wind River Indian Reservation (WRIR) in their local community and state; 2) providing maximum community protection to the WRIR and surrounding communities from violent juvenile crime and socially unacceptable behaviors; 3) providing detention and services in a manner this is accepting of and appropriate to tribal culture and traditions; 4) providing with staff secure substance abuse treatment and life skills training to American Indian youth; and 5) addressing the growing over representation of minority youth in the Fremont County Detention Center by providing comprehensive intake, assessment, and a continuum of service to juveniles facing incarceration.

CA/NCF