Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Agencies: Collaborating to Serve Dual Jurisdiction Youth Survey Report

• NCJ Number: 232846
• Author(s): John Petro
• Date Published: 2010
• Length: 15 pages
• Corporate Author: Welfare League of America (CWLA)
• Sale Source: Welfare League of America (CWLA)
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report from the Child Welfare League of America presents the results of a survey that examined States' efforts for providing collaborative and coordinated services to dual jurisdiction youth, those children with a history of maltreatment and delinquent behavior who have become involved with both child welfare and juvenile justice agencies.

Abstract

Survey results show that while a majority of States reported either formal or informal collaboration between juvenile justice and child welfare agencies in their jurisdictions, the needs of dual jurisdiction youth in a majority of these States were not being met by these agencies. Lack of funding was cited as the primary barrier for the existence of coordinated and collaborative efforts to serve dual jurisdiction youth. Other barriers included funding restrictions, problems with the organizational structure of the agencies, lack of clarity in the roles and responsibilities of the two agencies, and negative interagency dynamics. Data for this report were obtained from a survey, conducted between June and September 2005, which asked State level child welfare and juvenile justice administrators to identify any practices, programs, or policies to assist dual jurisdiction youth at the State level. The survey included questions about a State's funding strategies, barriers to collaboration, opinions and attitudes regarding dual jurisdiction youth, and any programs and practices the State may have for dealing with dual jurisdiction youth. The survey was completed by 70 percent of the possible respondents, with data obtained from 43 States, including the District of Columbia. Of the 43 States, 26 had respondents from both child welfare and juvenile justice agencies. Data from the survey indicate that while a majority of the States had some form of collaboration between child welfare and juvenile justice agencies, they were not effectively serving the needs of dual jurisdiction youth. Implications for future research are discussed. Tables and references