Juvenile Justice Initiative

Youth violence continues to be one of the major health and safety problems affecting young people in Oakland and Alameda County.

  • Research shows that youth with five or more arrests have a greater than 90% likelihood of being arrested again, unless they receive appropriate intervention services.
  • Seven out of ten youth are rearrested within one year of being released from out of home placements.
  • According to a recent analysis of 2003 Oakland Police Department data, arrests of youth under the age of 25 represented 32% of total arrests.
  • Youth 17 and under were arrested for violent offenses at a higher rate than youth 18-25.
  • A trend analysis of victim data from 1999-2003 revealed that youth under 25 represented over 50% of felony assault victims, 38% of misdemeanor assault victims, 42% of homicide victims, 32% of robbery victims, and over 60% of forcible rape victims.

In order to tackle the roots of violence among and against youth, Safe Passages developed the Juvenile Justice Initiative. The initiative seeks to implement a system of graduated supports and sanctions for youth offenders that engages Oakland's multiple public systems and communities.

Since 2002, Safe Passages has brought together key agencies, such as: the Alameda County Juvenile Court, the Probation Department, the Public Defender's Office, the District Attorney's Office, the Oakland Police Department, and various community-based service providers to develop comprehensive programs to give youth offenders a critical second chance to get their lives back together.

The Youth Offender Policy Committee has overseen the development and implementation of three key strategies:

  • Pathways to Change Program
  • Project First
  • Oakland Police Department Early Diversion Program

These initiatives serve to prevent youth from entering the juvenile justice system and to reengage repeat youth offenders in school and positive work experiences.

Pathways to Change Program in Oakland

Intensive Case Management Model

As a teenager, Anya was involved in prostitution in Oakland and had little family support. She was also not attending school on a regular basis. In January 2006, Anya was referred to Pathways to Change where she met Sandra, a Case Manager who worked with Anya on her self esteem, developed incentives for meeting goals, and helped her reconnect with family members. By July, Anya was maintaining a 3.0 grade point average at school and was no longer involved in prostitution. She is now living with family members, has not been re-arrested and works a part-time job at a local restaurant.

Anya is one of many success stories of The Pathways to Change program, now implemented in Oakland by The Mentoring Center. It pairs repeat offenders with case managers who serve as mentors and role models while providing on-going supervision through the court process. Case managers develop individualized release plans that they present to the Court that link young offenders with the resources they need. The individualized plans are designed to help stop youth from re-offending by connecting the youth to quality programs and caring adults.

Case plans may include: educational programming, after-school activities, drug/alcohol treatment, counseling, anger management, life skills development, job training/placement, and family support services. Case Managers, hired and contracted by the lead agency, The Mentoring Center, through a network of community service providers, are given a caseload of no more than 10 youth. Case managers become mentors to these youth and work with them on a daily basis to ensure that they are complying with the case plan that has been developed for them.

The Program to date has produced excellent results, boasting a 50% reduction in re-offences and improved school attendance rates. According to the Mentoring Center, approximately 70% of Pathways to Change clients have improved school attendance since January of this year. This includes students who were not enrolled at any school when they began Pathways to Change.

"I'm very impressed with the dedication of the Pathways to Change counselors who work with the kids and families. The kids seem to enjoy them, and they get good results."

- Commissioner Mark Kliszewski, Alameda County Superior Court, Juvenile Division

Project First in Oakland

Helping First Time Youth Offenders Stay Out of the System

Existing data on first time youth offenders in Oakland and Alameda County presents compelling argument for intervening quickly with these youth. An analysis of Alameda County Probation Department data reported that:

  • Approximately 4 out of 10 first time offenders will commit another crime within a year of being released from juvenile hall or probation.
  • First time youth offenders constitute 65% of the juvenile arrests in Alameda County.
  • Recidivism rates for youth on court-ordered informal probation is over 45% and recidivism rates increase significantly for youth once in court-ordered placement, to over 70%.
  • In July 2003, the City of Oakland updated its Violence Prevention Plan, which compiled information on existing violence prevention programs and concluded that there were little to no resources for first-time offenders.

In an effort to develop a best practice, research based program in Oakland, Safe Passages worked with the Oakland Police Department in the implementation of Project First. The project combines several program components derived from national model programs cited by the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJDP) including the Repeat Offender Prevention Program (ROPP). Recent evaluations of this program in several cities show that youth who are taught of their strengths, develop empathy, learn how to anticipate the outcomes of their actions, and to see alternatives to negative behavior, are more likely to do better after leaving a juvenile institution. Evaluations comparing ROPP youth to youth receiving probationary services only, showed that ROPP juveniles:

  1. Made more immediate improvement in grade point average,
  2. Significantly increased their completion of court-ordered obligations for restitution, work, and community services, and
  3. Had significantly fewer of the high sustained petitions for new offenses.

In Oakland, this model has been adapted and goes by the name Project First. It offers assessment, case management and intervention services to first-time offenders on Court Ordered Informal Probation and their families. A multidisciplinary team provides intervention services that include mentoring, counseling, education/vocational services, and after-school enrichment activities. Parent counseling/education and support groups are also provided.

Case management is a significant component of Project First, as case managers broker services for youth and their families based on needs identified at the initial assessment while maintaining one-to-one contact with the youth on their caseload. Youth participate in any number or combination of activities, such as Positive Minds mentoring group, family counseling, after-school enrichment activities, and/or academic tutoring on a weekly basis. Additionally, the project offers Parent Education and Support groups.

Safe Passages and the Oakland Police Department have partnered with the following community service providers in the development and implementation of this program: The Mentoring Center, Center for Family Counseling, Covenant House.

Oakland Police Department Early Diversion Program

Providing Positive Alternatives for Youth

Under the Juvenile Justice Initiative, Safe Passages is also developing efforts to reduce Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) in Alameda County. DMC refers to the overrepresentation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system. The racial disparity among incarcerated youth in California and Alameda County is evidenced through the following data:

  • African Americans youth are more than 5 times more likely than white youth to be committed to the California Department of Corrections.
  • Latino youth are 3 times more likely than white youth to be committed to the California Department of Corrections.
  • African American and Latino from Alameda County are over represented in:
    • the number of referrals made to probation,
    • bookings to juvenile hall,
    • commitments to Camp Sweeny and
    • confinement to CA Department of Corrections.
  • From Oakland, only African American youth are confined at CA Department of Corrections.

In order to develop an alternative to arrest and incarceration of high risk youth in Oakland, Safe Passages and the Oakland Police Department are developing implementing a police administered early diversion program in Oakland.

Diversion programs administered by police departments have proven successful in cities across the country. For example:

  • The Civil Citation Program in Hillsborough County, Florida, enables law enforcement officers to avoid taking the youth into custody; instead of arresting a youth for a no serious crime, police officers can issue a sanction of up to 40 hours of community service. This program has served as an effective response towards this community's efforts to reduce DMC.
  • The City of Berkeley also commissioned a study of its police department administered early diversion youth program in 1998. This study found that of the 1058 youth arrested in Berkeley that year, 676 or 64% of the youth were diverted to various programs operated by their Youth Services Detail and other community-based organizations.1

1 Berkeley Police Department (1998), http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/police/department/youthservicesdetail/ysd9.html
(accessed September, 2006).

In 2007, Safe Passages will be working closely with partners, including the Oakland Police Department and the Department of Human Services, to develop, evaluate, and track program development process.

How are We Doing?

Pathways to Change

Safe Passages and The Mentoring Center have focused on building solid relationships with the Alameda County Juvenile Court, Probation Department, District Attorney's Office, the Public Defender's Office and the City of Oakland to ensure support for Pathways to Change. While this program has been administered by The Mentoring Center for two years, Safe Passages continues to play the crucial role of convening the various public partners, expanding the collaborative partnerships and providing technical assistance to program implementers.

The Mentoring Center reports the following for 2005-06 implementation year:

  • Enrollment in the program during 2005-06 was 135 youth; bringing the total of youth served in the program to 291 since 2003.
  • The court acceptance rate of youth to the program is at 80%, compared to 60% last year.

In addition, preliminary outcome data suggests that the program is successful in keeping youth out of the juvenile system and getting them into a more productive track. A 2005 study found that there had been a 45% decrease in recidivism (re-offenses) during a 6-month follow-up period with clients who had completed the program. Youth who are referred to the Pathways to Change program are 53% less likely to re-offend.

In addition to measuring recidivism, Safe Passages is also monitoring other factors that keep youth on the right track, including: attachment to caring adults, good school performance, and involvement in after-school programs. In a study conducted in 2005, 36 Pathways to Change youth were tracked across three school semesters, from Fall 2003 through Fall 2004. The study showed that the suspension rate of Pathways to Change youth dropped by 78%.

Program Outcome Evaluation Data

Project First

During 2006, 40 youth completed the program. Exit surveys conducted at the end of the year showed that EVERY graduate to date claims that because of the Project First program:

  • "I have a better understanding of who I am and what I can do."
  • "My ability to take responsibility for my behavior and actions is better."
  • "My determination to graduate from high school is better."

In addition, graduates report that:

  • Their absence from school went from about half the time to never.
  • Their relationship with their parents/caregivers had significantly improved, with 80% rating their relationship as "great" by the time of graduation.

Also, graduates that reported drug/alcohol use at program intake showed dramatic decreases: from "always" and about half the time, to "never" or almost never.

Partners

Public Agencies

Alameda County:

  • Probation Department
  • Health Care Services Agency
  • Superior Court
  • District Attorney's Office
  • Public Defender Office
  • Social Services Agency Interagency Children's Policy Council (ICPC)

City of Oakland:

  • Department of Human Services
  • Oakland Police Department

Community Service Providers

  • The Mentoring Center (lead agency)
  • Center for Family Counseling
  • Covenant House Oakland
  • East Bay Asian Youth Center
  • George P. Scotlan Family Youth Center
  • Leadership Excellence
  • Oakland Unified School District
  • Pacific News Service
  • Youth Alive!