NCJ Number
154068
Journal
The Exchange Dated: (Summer 1994) Pages: 2-7,11,16
Date Published
1994
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The Arizona Communities for Youth Project has developed three model community networks to eliminate the jailing of runaway and homeless youth in adult jails and lockups and in juvenile detention centers; other similar projects in Florida, Michigan, California, and Massachusetts are described.
Abstract
In Arizona, networks operate in an urban and a rural setting, while a third serves three cities. In each community, programs for runaway and homeless youth work directly with local law enforcement officials to assess the service needs of youth, establish formal policies and procedures for diverting status offenders from detention, and promote the use of community-based alternatives to incarceration. Tumbleweed in Phoenix, Open Inn in Tucson, and the Empact Suicide Prevention Center in Tempe participate in the project. Tumbleweed has established a mobile outreach capability, including a van equipped with a police radio, that enables personnel to monitor and respond to police calls regarding young people. In addition, police alert project staff when youth are involved in status or minor offenses or who come to the attention of police without being involved in an offense. The Open Inn network of community services includes a transportation service and a holdover program for at-risk youth who come in contact with law enforcement. The goal of the Empact Suicide Prevention Center is to increase police officer knowledge of alternatives to detention for young status offenders and at- risk youth. In Florida, the Metropolitan Dade County Department of Justice Assistance has implemented Project LEARN (Law Enforcement and Runaway and Homeless Youth Network) to facilitate cooperation between runaway and homeless youth service agencies and law enforcement agencies. The Michigan Network of Runaway and Homeless Youth Services works with five pilot sites to enhance relationships between runaway and homeless youth programs and law enforcement agencies. In California, the Larkin Street Youth Center has implemented TASK (Together Assisting Street Kids) in collaboration with the San Francisco Police Department's Juvenile Division. Project PROTECT (Police and Runaway Organizations Training Effective Collaborative Teams) in Massachusetts promotes collaboration in rural and urban settings to increase access to services for juvenile status offenders.