Oakland Juvenile Justice Program Recognized
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Media Contact: Sara Serin-Christ Oakland Unite Communications (510) 238-3718 or
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News from:
Department of Human ServicesFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDecember 9, 2013
U.S. Department of Justice Recognizes Oakland’s Juvenile Justice Program for Innovation Program Achieves Groundbreaking, Real-Time Data Sharing
Oakland, CA – The U.S. Department of Justice recently recognized Oakland’s Juvenile Justice program for its innovative work in serving youth and reducing the likelihood of their re-arrest. On Wednesday, November 13, 2013, the Council of State Governments Justice Center released the report “Reentry Matters: Strategies and Successes of Second Change Act Grantees Across the United States,” highlighting Oakland’s program along with other successes.
Oakland’s Juvenile Justice Center (JJC) Wraparound Program has been able to successfully serve over 350 youth with a history of involvement with the juvenile justice system per year, providing individualized services to help youth get out of the cycle of incarceration and violence and back into school. Led by the Department of Human Services’ Oakland Unite Violence Prevention Programs and funded through local Measure Y and federal grant funding, the program is a unique partnership that provides services tailored to the needs of each individual youth. The partnership includes Alameda County Probation Department, Alameda County Health Care Services, Oakland Unified School District and community-based organizations.
In their press release the CSG Justice Center stated, “The publication features snapshots of grant programs around the country that illustrate the positive impact these initiatives have on successful reentry into the community by focusing on employment, education, mentoring, and substance abuse and mental health treatment.” For the full report go to: http://csgjusticecenter.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/11/ReentryMatters.pdf
A critical component to the success of Oakland’s program is the unprecedented data sharing that has been achieved across public system partners in the interest of meeting each youth’s real-time needs and circumstances. Case managers receive electronic updates through a web-based database on each of their youth’s Probation status, including risk assessment scores, court dates and charges, so that they may effectively support youth. The case management database system, developed by Cityspan Technologies, now includes automated nightly updates on youth’s school data as well. Case managers have access to real-time attendance and school performance data, allowing them to follow up with youth on a daily basis, and support them in meeting academic goals. Youth testimonials have consistently emphasized that when their case manager has supported them with knowledge of the details of their circumstances, they feel cared about; and this has made a critical difference. This type of data sharing between large public systems is extremely rare, and is a significant achievement for Oakland.
For more information please visit: www.oaklandunite.org # # # |
