Saying YES to a Better Future

Community BreakfastPresentation

2009 Legislative Session

CTJJA – Who Are We?

A group of organizations and individuals working statewide

to reduce the number of children and youth entering the

juvenile and criminal justice system and to advocate a safe,

effective and fair system for those involved.

How do we do what we do?

• Legislative Education & Advocacy

• Community Organizing

• Strategic Communication

• Local, State, National Partnerships

Raise the Age CT - passed in 2007!• www.RaiseTheAgeCT.org

Families With Service Needs (FWSN) – passed in 2005, implemented in 2007!

In-school suspension – passed in 2007!

Raise the Age – not scheduled for implementation until January 1, 2010.

FWSN – only 4 of 10 Family Support Centers funded.

In-school suspension – delayed implementation until 2009, many concerns from local school districts.

Risk of further threats and delays this year.

Getting to YES

• The YES Campaign!

With Youth Empowered to Succeed,You Ensure Public Safety

• Say YES! to strong families. Continue to support the changes to Family With Service

Needs policies and practices. First, appropriate funds to establish full spectrum of Family Support Centers, providing crisis intervention and ongoing support, statewide.

With Youth Empowered to Succeed,You Ensure Public Safety

• Say YES! to engaging schools. Support initiatives to improve the school community and

boost student engagement and citizenship. These include truancy prevention and alternatives to unproductive discipline tactics like suspension.

With Youth Empowered to Succeed,You Ensure Public Safety

• Say YES! to safe communities. Pass legislative changes to fully fund and implement

Raise the Age. We know that the juvenile system does a far better job of reducing recidivism, offering better prospects for our young people and reducing crime in our communities.

How do these three issuesfit together?

Healthy familiesEngaging schoolsSafe communities

FWSN

SchoolsJuvenile Justice

FWSN

Large referral source into system

Suspension and expulsion predictors of J.J. involvement

Approximately 47% of FSWN referrals result from truancy*

Youth in the FWSN system are at high risk for entering the delinquency system.

Direct connections

*Source: 2008 FWSN Advisory Board Report

Selling Connecticut on Investing in Kids

• Supporting kids in their homes, schools and communities is proven to work.

• It is exponentially cheaper than incarceration and other high-end interventions.

• Even in a bad economic climate, services that help kids today and save money tomorrow must be a priority.

Families With Service Needs

• Legislation was passed in 2005 to overhaul the FWSN system. Those changes went into effect in 2007 and appear to be very effective.

• Family Support Centers were mandated to serve every community in CT. Right now, there are 4 centers serving only 39 of CT’s 169 towns and cities.

From June 2007 to July 2008 FWSN referrals dropped 38% overall

Court Location 10/06 – 9/07 10/07 – 9/08

Bridgeport 412 327

Danbury 86 69

Hartford 376 262

Middletown 227 156

New Britain 305 250

New Haven 480 259

Norwalk 64 66

Rockville 226 123

Stamford 128 69

Torrington 119 64

Waterbury 592 261

Waterford 382 198

Willimantic 240 131

Total 3637 2215

FWSN Data

FWSN Information

One of the main goals in changing the law was to make sure youth and families could get the services they need without ending up in the deep-end of the system

Between Oct. 06 and May 07 1,515 youth were adjudicated FWSN (deepest end)

Between Oct. 07 and May 08 95 youth were adjudicated FWSN (94% drop)

FWSN Information

Where they exist, Family Support Centers are working well and are working at capacity.

Most families are involved for approximately 6 months.

In a lot of cases, it takes the first few months to simply meet the family’s basic needs (housing, employment) so that the process of working on mental health, truancy, out of control behaviors can begin effectively.

Family Support Centers’ clients are about 50 / 50 male/female, 81% minorities and their average age is 14 and a half years old.

YES, we have work to do.

• Fund Family Support Centers to serve every community, as required by law.

• Support efforts to reduce truancy, the root of about half of all FWSN referrals.

• Encourage real, effective collaboration among state agencies.

School Issues Why does CTJJA care about school issues?• Youth who are successful in school are more likely to

graduate and less likely to get in trouble with the law.

• When youth are suspended or expelled their rates of dropout and arrest increase substantially.

• Schools are one of the largest “feeders” of referrals into the juvenile justice system (actual arrests of students on campus, Family with Service Needs referrals).

• Kids who become involved in the juvenile justice system often have a very hard time getting re-engaged in school when they return to the community.

Your School District and Suspensions

• Statewide, the average rate of K-12 students who are suspended is 7%

• In New Haven that rate is 17% (one of the highest rates in the state)

Data from Missing Out: Suspending Students from Connecticut Schools, August 2008, Connecticut Voices for Children (Taby Ali and Alexandra Dufresne, J.D.).

YES, we have work to do.• Oppose further delays to the out-of-school

suspension law.• Support schools that build positive

cultures.• Support no-cost legislation that helps to

re-engage youth in schools.• Tell your legislators and local school

officials that you care about keeping kids in school.

No-CostSchool Legislative Proposal A

• Problem: Youth attempting to return to school after an out-of-home placement are immediately expelled for the same offense that led to their out-of-home placement.

• Statutory solution: If the student seeks to re-enter the district after having been in an out-of-district placement as a result of an expellable offense, the district must allow the student to re-enroll and cannot move to expel the student for that offense.

• Cost: Zero Dollars

No-Cost School Legislative Proposal B

• Problem: Children trying to enter school who have been in an out-of-home placement or who have moved from one placement to another are facing long delays and registration difficulties.

• Statutory Solution: Schools must admit these children within two days of their registration. Children returning to the district after being placed out-of-district by a state agency will not have to complete the full registration process because the state and facilities require that they be up-to-date medically. 

• Cost: Zero Dollars

No-CostSchool Legislative Proposal C

• Problem: Schools have been denying youth credit for school work they do while at CJTS.

• Solution: Education credits youth earn while at CJTS (Unified School District #2) must be accepted by any school district the student enters after leaving CJTS.

• Cost: Zero Dollars

No-CostSchool Legislative Proposal D

• Problem: The role, responsibility and training requirements of School Resource Officers is not always clearly defined and is not standardized from district to district. This leads to confusion, lack of consistency and difficulty evaluating SRO effectiveness.

• Solution: Standardize the roles, responsibilities and training of SRO’s statewide.

• Cost: Zero Dollars

Raise the Age

Connecticut is one of only three states to treat all 16- and 17-year-olds as adults, no matter what their offense. This affects about 10,000 youth every year with many long-term, negative consequences for our youth and communities.

Raise the Age• In 2007, Raise the Age legislation passed:

The law says that 16- and 17-year-olds accused of all but the most serious crimes will return to juvenile jurisdiction effective January 1, 2010.

• CSSD has begun to make systemic changes and to test programs and services specific to this population.

• However, the majority of funds to implement Raise the Age have not yet been allocated.

Raise the Age – Getting to 2010Raise the Age will not happen unless the juvenile justice system is equipped to handle 16- and 17-year-olds:

• Court space

• Probation Officers

• Programs and Services (prevention, early intervention, community-based, residential, re-entry)

• Local costs – police

This means some statutory changes and budget allocations.

Raise the Age SolutionsStatutory Changes:

• Police release youth on their own recognizance

• Motor vehicle violations and infractions remainin adult court

Budget:

• All spending is on the chopping block in the upcoming session. Those who opposeRaise the Age will use the budget crisisto try to kill the reform.

YES, we have work to do.

• Ask your legislator to fully fund and implement Raise the Age.

• Support the entire YES agenda, which will limit the number of children and youth in the justice system.

What can you do about it?

• Join the YES campaign– Wear a button– Become a chairperson– Join our listserv– Attend advocacy gatherings

Visit www.SayYesCT.org

Healthy Families, Engaging Schools, Safe Communities