CITY COUNCIL PRESENTATION Charlottesville’s Capstone Project to Refine Probation Opal West, Hunter Smith, Martha Carroll, Christa Galleo, Marc Moore July 19th, 2021 What Is Probation Transformation? We Seek to Fundamentally Change How Systems View and Work With Young People, Their Families and Communities Casey’s Vision TRANSFORMING Transform juvenile probation into a purposeful intervention JUVENILE targeted to youth who pose significant risk for serious PROBATION reoffending. Partner with families and communities to promote personal growth, positive behavior change and long-term success (as opposed to surveillance and compliance), as a means to protect public safety — and do so in ways that promote racial and ethnic equity. Two key pillars: DIVERSION for more youth because most youth grow out of delinquent behavior without any intervention PROBATION for youth who pose a significant risk for serious offending without more guidance and support 3 Reinventing Probation Is Aimed at Connecting Youth With Opportunity and Fostering Youth Success  Limit probation to youth who have committed serious and repeat offenses and pose a risk to public safety.  Assign smaller caseloads of eight to 12 so probation staff can form close, caring relationships with all youth on their caseloads.  Facilitate a family-engaged case planning process.  Use incentives and opportunities to explore youths’ interests and develop their skills.  Build partnerships with families and community organizations to connect youth with positive role models and constructive activities in their neighborhoods. Lf-~ ~ 4 Technical Assistance from the Casey Foundation  Support the site in meeting their goals through: – Guidance on best practices and research alignment – Connections and networking to other sites doing promising/best practice work – Help in brainstorming new ideas, strategizing implementation, and acting as a “sound” board for innovation 5 National Network of Probation Transformation Building on the Vast JDAI Network, Probation Transformation Is Now Taking Root in Eight States WA Probation Transformation Sites NH  Caddo Parish (Shreveport), Louisiana OR  Charlottesville, Virginia (state pilot) OH  Marion County (Indianapolis), Indiana IN VA  Multnomah County (Portland), Oregon CA  New Hampshire  Ohio: Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), Fairfield County, Greene County, LA Lorain County, Lucas County* (Toledo), Montgomery County (Dayton) and Starke County (Canton) JDAI  Pierce County* (Tacoma), Washington Probation Transformation Pilots  San Diego, California New Probation Transformation Sites 7 Organizations Partnering with Casey on Probation Transformation  American Probation and Parole Association TRANSFORMING  Coalition for Juvenile Justice JUVENILE PROBATION  Council of State Government’s Justice Center  Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform  National Conference of State Legislatures  National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges/National Center for Juvenile Justice 8  Urban Institute Charlottesville’s Current Efforts  Engaged in five-part series of convenings led by the Casey Foundation – Average of 90 participants each session o Composed of system stakeholders o Community partners o Court practitioners – Judge, prosecution, and defense  Purpose: Examine current policies and practices of Probation/System and together propose solutions for better outcomes 9 Continuing Efforts:  Race Equity – Improve current practices through a race equity lens – How are the kids doing? And how are we (system) accountable?  In order to do this, we must: – Learn from those most effected by the system by including youth voice, family voice, and community voice – Focus groups, surveys, inclusion – Improve and emphasize family engagement – preserve and elevate family, empower families with what they need and want, include them in decision making – Change the culture of how, what, and the why of what we do 10 What We Hope For:  Better outcomes for kids, the kids who truly need intervention – Isolate probation and make improvements where indicated – Reduce violations that result in confinement and placement – Give young people opportunities to grow and thrive – Prepare them for healthy adulthood by supporting them through maturation 11 What’s Needed To continue our work…  Support— – Council can provide support through funding: o Community partners (including "non-traditional" programs/interventions) committed to probation transformation for local youth and families o Funding for needed training (initial and ongoing) to shift to new and better practices I.e. - family engagement training, equity training, data improvement/monitoring, adolescent development  Communication— – Connecting new and emerging partners with this group to deepen and broaden collaborative efforts 13