Community Corrections

All About Community Corrections

Overview

The goal of the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections is to provide for public safety through a structured system allowing carefully graduated steps of reduced external structure toward juveniles’ successful reintegration to the community. Transition of youth to the community from Secure Care will be based on classification (risk level) and demonstrated attainment of competency levels and needs.

The Department provides a system of Case Management that contributes to the maintenance of public safety through comprehensive, juvenile-centered services. These services are provided in a partnership with the Case Manager or Parole Officer, the juvenile, his/her family members, and significant others. Case Managers require accountability that relates juvenile actions to outcomes and will provide linkage of juveniles to positive community structures.

Following their release from secure care, youth under the age of 18 receive community-based supervision and treatment through the Department’s statewide Community Resource Centers. Youth spend an average of 7.4 months on parole.

Case Management/Parole
 
Community Corrections is responsible for establishing and operating a system of community based programs to supervise and rehabilitate youth in the least restrictive environment, consistent with public safety and the needs of the youth.

Community Corrections utilizes a Case Management model to reduce the risk of delinquent activities and recidivism of committed youth on conditional liberty status. Case Management contributes to public safety, through comprehensive youth centered planning. Supervision and service provision staff assess and supervise each case to ensure that committed youth are receiving required services and intervention at a level of restrictiveness commensurate with their risk level in the community. This is provided in an atmosphere of mutual respect involving the committed youth, their family members, and significant others with staff in a partnership sharing responsibility. Accountability is expected relating youth actions to outcomes and in linking youth to existing community structures. Staff are expected to detect behavior that leads to delinquent activity and intervene before acts occur.

Transition from Secure Care to the community is facilitated by a multi-disciplinary team. Secure and parole staff work with the youth and treatment providers to extend the youth’s treatment into the community. Family Services Coordinators in Maricopa and Pima counties work with families to ease transition. While on parole, youth continue to receive case management and supervision from the Department’s Parole Officers.

ADJC contracts with various agencies throughout the state to provide services for youth and families. Residential Services, Therapeutic Group Homes, Non-Therapeutic Group Homes, Shelter Care and Counseling; Home Based and outpatients including Functional Family Therapy and Multisystematic Therapy are interventions available through ADJC or through collaborative case plans with other agencies.

Court Liaison

Court Liaisons are assigned to Juvenile Court Centers to provide a resource for Judges, Attorney’s, Probation and Detention Officers. Responsibilities include attend formal and informal staffing; provide information regarding ADJC programs; visit youth and parents of new commitments; troubleshoot issues between agencies regarding medical, transportation and parole violator holds; occasionally deal with youth who have returned to detention for further court hearings.

Community Based Services

Family transition provides a network of family services, including the coordination of individual, group, and family counseling (bilingual), and linkages with existing community social services. This program increases the number of youth who can be successfully placed home, rather than in residential placement, and links families with services which are at no cost to the Department.

Interstate Compact

Interstate Compact has the primary responsibility for promoting public safety, ensuring the welfare of juveniles, and protecting victims within the various states through control and regulation of the interstate movement of juveniles. Compacting states are required to provide the same level of care and supervision for ICJ youth as it provides to their own youth. In Arizona those standards mean youth from other states are provided excellent supervision. Arizona “imports” a far greater number of probation and parole cases than it “exports”. Case management of these youth are in conjunction with the supervision requirements from the state(s) of origin (sending state). In addition to adjudicated juveniles, the office provides for the safe return of youth who have runaway and/or have fled to avoid prosecution.

The original Compact was signed in 1955 and has over the years become outdated. A new Compact looms on the immediate horizon which will add more effective management and juvenile accountability. The new compact structure will also provide for greater flexibility for states to share and develop resources for youth needing Compact services.

Resource Centers

Resource centers have been established in Maricopa and Pima County. Such centers allow youth and family intervention via Parole Officers, Family Services Coordinators, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors.

Based upon the youth’s home location a Parole Officer is assigned to the youth. The Parole Officer will work with the facility Caseworker to develop a Continuous Case Plan and a transition plan prior to the youth’s release to the community. Once in the community the parole officer will continue to monitor the youth’s Case Plan.
 

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