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Juvenile Justice Family Partnership Efforts in Washington State and a Case Example in
Pierce County
Sarah Cusworth Walker, PhDa Charin Hedstromb
Shara Sauveb Asia Bishop, MSWa
Michael Pullmann, PhDa
aUniversity of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry bPierce County Juvenile Court
What is Family Partnership to you?
Why Court-Based Parent Support?
She’s where?
He did what?
Is she safe?
What is going to happen?
Will this ruin his life?
How long will this take?
The history and legacy of juvenile court does not typically attend to parents’ needs and concerns
• Parens patriae transferred responsibility to the court for managing youth behaviors
• Legal rights only apply to the youth as the identified defendant
• One of the most common confusions for parents is that the defense attorney is not obligated to inform or even talk to the parents about the case
Court-based Parent Support Seeks to Build an Environment of Trust and Care From First Contact through All Phases of the Court Process
JJ101 Family Partner Structure
Family Partner
Supervisor
Parent Partners
Representative of juvenile justice population in ethnicity, gender and language fluency.
Introduce themselves in court waiting rooms. Hand out resource materials Facilitate JJ101 orientation Connect families to community resources Assist court staff in explaining and engaging
The resource booklet is an interactive guide for families to use from arraignment through probation
* Intentionally inexpensive to reproduce * Developed with family members * Interactive * Consistently rated as useful by parents
A video ensures information is consistent and available in multiple venues (multiple websites, court-based)
Log sheets provide a record of services for quality assurance and evaluation
Rating the court as a “process of care” agency
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
Family Partner
Court Staff
JJ101 participation associated with increased self efficacy (sig) and decreased mistrust of the court (non sig)
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
NonJJ101day Full JJ101 Video only
Mistrust1
Mistrust2
Efficacy1
Efficacy2
*
Learned what terms mean: deferred disposition, arraignment, etc. I didn’t even know what the lawyers were saying.
Development Process
Needs Assessment
Oversight Committee Meetings
Materials Development
Recruitment and Training
Kick Off and Implementation
Parents, Youth, Defense Attorneys, Court Administration, Probation, Detention, Nonprofit, University, Mental Health Services.
The needs assessment can be completed multiple ways (survey, focus groups, community meetings). The essential element is getting voices of local parents represented in identifying gaps.
Funding and Sustainability
• Current King County JJ101 operating budget = $40,000 annually. Subcontracted to parent support organization Washington Dads
• Director
• Operations (accounting)
• Parent stipends, $17 an hour (in court 4 times a week)
• Printing costs and travel costs (state and national travel)
• Models for Change start up funds paid for program development and process evaluation
• United Way funds ($25,000) paid for a year of parent support
• Currently supported through Court Improvement Funds.
Probation Transformation Enhancing Family and Community Informed Practice in Pierce County
Project Focus Areas
1. Increasing family engagement with opportunities for families to use their voice and choice
2. Restructuring probation with services targeted to risk level
3. Building community partnerships to serve youth and families better
Increasing Family Engagement
• Creating a place for family input to improve the overall court experience
• Conducting a family-driven needs assessment of the court, which includes a family survey
• Convening a Family Council
Increasing Family Engagement
Pierce County’s family-run organization
Increasing Family Engagement
• Education about the court process
• Personal experience in the system
• Cultural/ethnic considerations
• Court hours
• Use of parent-peers
Family survey
Increasing Family Engagement
• Advisory group
• Organized forum for feedback
• Family and youth who have been through the system
• Intentional recruiting for diversity
Family Council
Increasing Family Engagement
Family Council
• Results of family survey
• Walk-through of court lobby to advise how to make it more family friendly
Restructuring Probation
• Low risk youth
• Families connect with relevant providers with minimal supervision of the court
Coordination of Services:
Restructuring Probation
• High risk youth
• Process guided by parent-peers
• Includes support people of the family’s choosing
• Addresses needs and builds on strengths
• Family defines what is important to them
Child & Family Team model:
Restructuring Probation
• Moderate and high risk
• Opportunities which appeal to youth and build on healthy interests
• Removing barriers to participation
Strength- and Incentive-based programming:
Building Community Partnerships
• Working with culturally credible organizations which support youth and families
• Collaborating with partners to increase success for youth of color
• Implementing COS and Strength/ Incentive-based programming
A Case Study of Juvenile Justice Family Partnerships in Washington State
Family Needs Assessment – Pierce County
Juvenile Court
Family Survey 0
4
8
12
16
20
ARY (at-riskyouth petition)
Becca/Truancy Probationviolation
To resolve andarrest
Other
What brings your child to court today?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
0 to 1 2 thru 4 5 thru 8 10+
Total times attended court
Par
tici
pan
ts, n
= 4
6
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Caucasian AfricanAmerican
NativeAmerican
PacificIslander
Mixed Missing
Race/Ethnicity for all Children of Survey Participants
Note: Participants listed all children in the household. Average age for all children listed was 15 years, range 7-18 years
Tota
l ch
ildre
n li
ste
d =
54
Tota
l en
do
rse
me
nts
= 5
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
I have theknowledge
needed to getthrough this
situation
I haveopportunities to
ask questions andget answers
My child'ssituation is being
handled fairly
I agree with thecourt's decisions
Court staff aretrying to assist my
family
Court staffconsider my input
Court staffrecognize my
child's strengths
Race andethnicity affect
the court process
n =
46
Personal Experience in the System not true
a little true
somewhat true
quite true
missing
Personal experience in system
1.5
2.5
2.6
2.6
2.7
2.7
2.8
3.0
3.0
3.0
3.2
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
Race/ ethnicity affect the court process
Agree with court's decisions
Court staff consider my input
Court staff recognize child's strengths
Knowledge/materials to get thru situation
Court staff trying to assist
Situation is handled fairly
Understanding of what may happen
Opportunities to ask questions
Understanding of court papers
Usefulness of help received
• No significant relationships between : • Number of times the family had attended court,
• Whether the family had a child who was nonwhite,
• Age of oldest child
And
• Knowledge/materials to get through the situation
• Opportunities to answer questions
• Sense that their situation was being handled fairly
• Agreement with the court’s decisions
• Feeling that court staff were there to assist them
• Court staff recognizing their child’s strengths
• Feeling that race/ethnicity affected the court process
• Understanding of what might happen in court
• Understanding of court papers
• Ratings of usefulness of the help they received from family partners
Parent Support Providers
Question No Not Sure Yes Missing
Did you speak with a Parent Support Provider?
11 (24%)
8 (17%)
24 (52%)
3 (7%)
How useful was the help you received?
m (sd)
1 = not very useful 2 = a little useful 3 = somewhat useful 4 = quite useful
3.18 (.90) On average, family members indicated that the help they received was somewhat to very useful
“Having a support provider is very necessary for parents and guardians; I really appreciate their service”
PROBATION OFFICER’S PERSPECTIVES ON INCREASING FAMILY PARTNERSHIP
Organizational and Staffing Needs
Services for Families • Transportation for youth • Bus cards for youth and
family • Funds to support family
emergencies • Funds for family activities
to build relationships in home
• Mentors for youth • Community closet and
family items (e.g, furniture) • Child care • Sports programs
Community Connections
• Trainings with Law Enforcement on collaboration
• Partnership with business owners to invest in kids
• Churches, community members, and law enforcement to enhance mission
Staffing Changes
• Staff specifically dedicated to building community partnerships
• Liaison to connect families with agencies
• Court shuttle for families in outlying county. Transport team.
• Special advocate for each probation youth
• Flexible schedules for probation
Meet families in community
• Satellite offices
• Computer networks
• Tablets for field probation
Reflections on Opportunities and Challenges in Pierce County
Acknowledgements
Pierce County TJ Bohl, Court Administrator Kevin Williams, Court Probation Manager A Common Voice Sherry Lyons King County Karen Trayler, JJ101 Director Bruce Knutson, Court Administrator Annie E Casey Foundation MacArthur Foundation Contact Information Sarah Walker [email protected] Charin Hedstrom [email protected] Shara Sauve [email protected] Asia Bishop [email protected] Michael Pullmann [email protected]
