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Addressing the Needs of Multi-System Youth:

Strengthening the Connection between Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice

The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps are pleased to invite you to a one-day symposium on Thursday, March 1, 2012 from 8:30am to 5:00pm (continental breakfast and registration begin at 8:00am) at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center in Washington, DC. The symposium, Addressing the Needs of Multi-System Youth: Strengthening the Connection between Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice, will bring together practitioners, policymakers, consumers, researchers, advocates, foundation program officers, and students from across the country interested in learning about and adopting policies and practices designed to better address the needs of youth known to multiple systems, particularly the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

The symposium, supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change Initiative, will feature presentations on policies, programs, and practices that have successfully prevented youth from crossing between the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, reduced the placement of youth in the child welfare system in out of home care (particularly congregate care), and enhanced the role of education in achieving improved outcomes for youth at risk of or who have “crossed over.” Presenters will also highlight ways that the child welfare, juvenile justice and related systems can work together more broadly to best serve youth once they have “crossed over.” These strategies include joint case assessment processes, coordinated case planning and management, the pooling of resources across systems, and enhanced efforts to maintain connections for these youth with their families and achieve greater levels of stability and permanence in their lives.

This symposium will also coincide with the release of a paper of the same title, Addressing the Needs of Multi-System Youth: Strengthening the Connection between Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice. The paper will provide a framework for jurisdictions to utilize in their efforts to prevent youth from crossing over between systems and ensure that all youth who are served by both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems experience them with fairness and equity, and in a manner that helps to provide for their safety, well being and permanence, while also protecting public safety. The paper is authored by:

• Denise Herz, Professor, California State University Los Angeles
• Phil Lee, President, Results Leadership Group, LLC
• Lorrie Lutz, President, L3P Associates, LLC
• Macon Stewart, Program Manager, Georgetown University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform
• John Tuell, Co-Director, MacArthur Foundation Models for Change: Systems Reform in Juvenile Justice Initiative, Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps
• Janet Wiig, Co-Director, MacArthur Foundation Models for Change: Systems Reform in Juvenile Justice Initiative, Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps

The authors of the paper, along with Edward Kelley, President and CEO of RFK Children’s Action Corps, and Shay Bilchik, Director of the Georgetown Public Policy Institute’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, will present at the symposium with the following confirmed panelists: 

• Frances Allegra, Chief Executive Officer, Our Kids of Miami-Dade/Monroe, Inc.
• Sara Boylan, Director, Denver Collaborative Partnership
• Honorable Darlene Byrne, Judge, 126^th District Court in Austin, Texas
• Maryam Fatemi, Deputy Director, Department of Children and Family Services for Los Angeles County
• Carla Guenthner, Chief Magistrate, Hamilton County Juvenile Court
• Bruce Knutson, Director, Juvenile Court Services, King County Superior Court
• Mick Moore, Assistant Superintendent for Interagency Relations, Puget Sound Educational Service District

We very much hope that you will be able to participate in this symposium. Please RSVP by January 31, 2012. Please note that there is no attendance fee for the symposium.  Please register early because space is limited and participants will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. Once the capacity of the venue has been met, everyone who registers will be placed on a waiting list and will be notified of their status. Therefore, please do not make travel arrangements until you receive a confirmation or waitlist email from Sorrel Concodora, Program Manager at the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform. Any questions should be directed to Sorrel Concodora at sac234@georgetown.edu.

If you are traveling from out of town, we have reserved a small room block at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center (http://www.acc-guhotelandconferencecenter.com/) for the night of February 29 at a rate of $159/night plus tax. To make a reservation, please call 1-888-902-1606 and identify yourself as part of the CJJR Systems Integration Symposium. The room block will be released on February 6, so please make your reservations early.

We look forward to initiating this dialogue with you and to working together to achieve better outcomes for America’s at-risk children, youth, and families.