Informed by research on “what works” in serving youth in custody, as well as professional standards and the field’s preeminent thinking on best practices, the Youth in Custody Practice Model (YICPM) initiative is designed to assist state and county juvenile correctional agencies and facility providers to implement a comprehensive and effective service delivery approach.
Utilizing the YICPM monograph as a roadmap, the Council of Juvenile Justice Administrators (CJJA), the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy (CJJR), and a team of consultants will provide participating agencies with 18 months of Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) to align core, research-based principles with everyday practice, and achieve more positive outcomes for youth, families, staff and communities.
The Youth in Custody Practice Model provides agencies with guidance on essential practices in four key areas:
- Case planning
- Facility-based services (e.g., education, behavioral health, behavior management, rehabilitative programming)
- Transition/reentry
- Community-based services
The enumerated practices stem from the view that services and approaches for post-dispositional youth and their families should be: research-based; developmentally appropriate; family-centered; individually focused and predicated on validated assessments; strength-based; trauma-informed; data-informed and outcome-driven; culturally responsive; and coordinated.
With support and guidance from CJJA and CJJR, the YICPM was authored by a team of national juvenile justice experts, including: Kelly Dedel, Ph.D.; Monique Marrow, Ph.D.; Fariborz Pakseresht; and Michael Umpierre, Esq.
“The Youth in Custody Practice Model (YICPM) technical assistance through the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform and the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators has been a very positive and productive process for our team here at the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services. Our goal entering the process was to achieve the next level of quality in the delivery of secure residential services. The YICPM process has provided us with the structure, support and guidance to do just that. It’s very interactive and the ‘compass’ is set by the customer. The YICPM team has experience and discipline related to setting goals and outcome measures that have helped us tighten up a number of our core residential practices. It’s been a great opportunity.”
Peter J. Forbes
Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Youth Services
“I am very honored and proud our department has partnered with the technical experts and specialists of the Youth in Custody Practice Model (YICPM). Our relationship has allowed us to gain the vital assistance and knowledge needed to enhance our abilities to better serve, respect, and care for our staff, youth, and communities we engage with each day. In fact, through our YICPM connection, our agency was able to change our Mission Statement to meet our code responsibilities through the state of Georgia and deploy a vitally needed Employee Engagement survey. Our team is very eager and excited to continue our important work with the YICPM. We are very confident it will pay huge future dividends for our organization to meet our goal of becoming one of the premier Juvenile Justice agencies in our country.”
Tyrone Oliver
Commissioner, Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice
Over three years ago, the San Diego County Probation Department’s Youth Development and Community Support Services embarked on a rewarding journey to realign our principles and practices in a rehabilitative way through our participation in the Youth in Custody Practice Model (YICPM). With CJJR’s and CJJA’s assistance, we were able to engage County leadership, juvenile justice professionals, and partners in helping us to enhance what we were doing well and to elevate our residential services making for a better environment for youth and staff engagement. The process included a review of existing operational practices and recommendations by experts on how to align our training, policies, and procedures with national best practices. We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to have been selected to participate and engage with subject matter experts and professionals from across the country.”
Adolfo Gonzales
Chief Probation Officer, San Diego County Probation Department
“The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice is proud to participate in the Youth in Custody Practice Model (YICPM) as it aligns with our efforts in recent years to strategically reform our state’s juvenile justice system. The partner providers piloting the YICPM have developed strategic plans to improve facility practice and better support staff, and have implemented new strategies to enhance the residential environment and the services provided to youth. In short, participation in the YICPM has allowed us to strengthen our service delivery, implement best practices, and moves us forward in our mission to have the most comprehensive juvenile justice system possible and provide optimal services for the youth in our care.”
Christina K. Daly
Secretary, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice
“The Youth in Custody Practice Model developed by CJJA and CJJR provides a comprehensive framework which greatly benefitted the Connecticut Judicial Branch in designing and implementing newly-mandated secure and staff-secure post adjudicatory treatment services for juveniles. The staff and experts on the technical assistance team are extremely knowledgeable in all content areas; adapt at connecting with staff and building staff relationships and rapport; and highly skilled in facilitating a productive process. The YICPM brought together individuals from all levels and disciplines, including facility administrators, front line workers, case managers, healthcare, education, and Probation to review best practices, highlight areas of success, and develop plans for areas needing improvement. The timing and experience of implementing the YICPM has been greatly beneficial to administrators and staff, and reassuring to external stakeholders. We look forward to monitoring the functioning and outcomes of Connecticut’s newly created residential treatment system for juveniles.”
Catherine Foley Geib
Deputy Director, Connecticut Judicial Branch Court Support Services Division
“As one of five private care management organizations contracted to deliver juvenile justice services in Wayne County, Michigan, StarrVista is always looking for ways in which we can provide services to our children and families that meet their risk and needs. Over the past year we have worked with the Youth in Custody Practice Model (YICPM) consultants who have guided us in assessing and enhancing our policies and practice. The YICPM initiative enables juvenile justice agencies to develop and refine policies and practice within a research-based structure. It is a blueprint that will result in improved outcomes for children and families while supporting and engaging staff. The YICPM is a ‘win-win’ on every level.”
Michelle Rowser
CEO, StarVista, Wayne County, Michigan
“Alameda County began an arduous process of self-reflection and assessing how to incorporate best practices in our facilities. The focus was on creating a system that provided continuity of care from the moment of contact at Juvenile Hall to supervision on Juvenile Probation. The Youth in Custody Practice Model (YICPM) process aligned with our goals and supported the development and implementation of a comprehensive system connecting not only our internal systems but also our partners. The technical advice we received from our participation in the cohort provided us with expert industry guidance on how to promote a cultural shift within our department. As a result of our participation with the YICPM team we have been able to have a systemic shift in providing services to our families and youth.”
Wendy Still, MAS
Chief Probation Officer, Alameda County Probation Department
“The Youth in Custody Practice Model (YICPM) has provided the Texas Juvenile Justice Department with a unique and structured method to not only take a very candid and critical look at how well we perform the most consequential aspects of our work, but also to determine what we will do differently and how we will implement the enhancements. The YICPM came along at a critical juncture in the reform effort in Texas and provided us the vehicle we needed to re-focus ourselves on those practices shown to produce the best outcomes and to do so in a way that will institutionalize best practice. As an agency, we could not have invested our time more wisely than to align our operations with this model.”
David Reilly
Executive Director, Texas Juvenile Justice Department