The Los Angeles County Juvenile Probation Outcomes Study P a g e | 1 JUVENILE PROBATION OUTCOMES STUDY February 2015 Authors Denise C. Herz, Ph.D. Kristine Chan, MSW Susan K. Lee, Esq. Melissa Nalani Ross, MPP Jacquelyn McCroskey, DSW Michelle Newell, MPP Caneel Fraser, Esq. A project of 2 | P a g e Acknowledgements First and foremost, we would like to thank The W.M. Keck Foundation and The California Wellness Foundation for funding the current study. Without their support, this study would not have been possible. We are also very grateful to Los Angeles County Probation Chief Jerry Powers and his management team (Assistant Chief Margarita Perez, Deputy Chief Reaver Bingham, and Deputy Chief Felicia Cotton) for partnering with the CSULA/USC research team, Advancement Project, and the Children’s Defense Fund to conduct this study. In addition to Probation’s support of the project, we would like to acknowledge the help provided by Carrie Miller, Manager of the Service Integration Branch in the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office, to secure approvals for the study as well as Phillip L. Browning, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS); Dr. Marvin Southard, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH); and Dr. Arturo Delgado, Superintendent of the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), for their support of the project and willingness to allow data from their agencies to be included. This study is a reflection of the commitment and hard work of many individuals working together. We are indebted to the staff from various agencies who worked tirelessly to provide data for the study and answer a number of our questions throughout the process. From Probation, we would like to acknowledge the leadership and invaluable assistance provided by David Mitchell (Bureau Chief, District 1), Marybeth Walker (Director, Camp Community Transition Program), Sandra Woods (Program Analyst), Sharon Harada (Bureau Chief, Detention Services Bureau), Felicia Davis (Director, Residential-Based Services), Laura Villalvazo (Special Assistant, District 1) and Joseph Nunez (Supervising Deputy Probation Officer, Juvenile Special Services Bureau). Additionally, we would like to acknowledge the hours spent reviewing case files and providing feedback by the following Deputy Probation Officers: Sutoya Allen Luverdia Miller Shandra Carruthers Latonya Nelson Marian Coronado Barry Reiner Tamala Crawford La Tonya Roebuck-Townsend Julia Esqueda Michael Varela Melissa Gonzales-John Wanda Williams Harold Lopez In addition to Probation staff, we would like to give our special thanks to the following representatives from DCFS, DMH, and LACOE. Without their support for the study and assistance, the extent to which we describe the life experiences of Probation-involved youth in this study would be severely limited. Kellie Figoten, Children Services Administrator I, System Improvement Section, Department of Children and Family Services Ming Lee, Research Analyst III, Bureau of Operational Support Services, Department of Children and Family Services P a g e | 3 JUVENILE PROBATION OUTCOMES STUDY Thomas Nguyen, Children Services Administrator I, Business Information Systems, Department of Children and Family Services Karen Streich, Ph.D., District Chief, Department of Mental Health, Juvenile Justice and Probation Camps/Halls Division Erica Reynoso, Ph.D., LCSW, Department of Mental Health, Juvenile Justice Mental Health Program Winnie Tung, Department of Mental Health, Juvenile Justice and Probation Camps/Halls Division Sipha Kim, Department of Mental Health, Juvenile Justice and Probation Camps/Halls Division Denise Miranda, Ed.D., Assistant Director, Division of Study Programs, Los Angeles County Office of Education Pam Gibson, M.Ed., Director, Division of Pupil Services, Los Angeles County Office of Education Chien-Yi Yang, Academic Counselor, Division of Student Programs, Los Angeles Office of Education Eileen Neal, Senior Division Secretary, Division of Pupil Services, Los Angeles County of Education This study would not have been possible without the tireless commitment of the Research Assistants who worked alongside the team of Probation Officers to collect data from extensive case file reviews: Sophia Alcaraz, Roxanne Calimeris, Adriana Campos, Jamie Fowler, Berenice Martinez, Robert Pardorla, Adriana Ramos, Jennifer Rubio, Maritza Sandoval, and Mary Stirchak. 4 | P a g e Research Roundtable The Research Roundtable was convened to advise the research team and Advancement Project on study design and implementation. Eminent Southern California researchers from a number of related disciplines reviewed study methods, initial findings, and overall conclusions of the study, while practitioners from partner departments shared information on current operations and data available in their department's information systems. The authors are grateful to each member of the Roundtable for their assistance in weaving together the best available information on Probation-involved youth. Co-Chairs Dr. Jacquelyn McCroskey Dr. Denise Herz John Milner Professor of Child Welfare Professor & Director School of Social Work School of Criminal Justice & Criminalistics University of Southern California California State University Los Angeles Research Roundtable Dr. Cuauhtemoc Avila Dr. Emily Putnam-Hornstein Assistant Superintendent Assistant Professor Department of Educational Programs School of Social Work Los Angeles County Office of Education University of Southern California Dr. Todd Franke Dr. Erica Reynoso Associate Professor & Department Chair Clinical Psychologist II Department of Social Welfare, Luskin School of Public Policy Juvenile Justice Mental Health Program University of California Los Angeles Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Dr. Sandra Graham Dr. Robert Rueda Professor & Presidential Chair in Education & Diversity Stephen H. Crocker Professor of Education Department of Education, Graduate School of Education & Rossier School of Education Information Studies University of Southern California University of California Los Angeles Dr. Karen Streich Sharon Harada District Chief Bureau Chief Juvenile Justice and Probation Camps/Halls Division Detention Services Bureau Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Los Angeles County Probation Department Dr. Susan Turner Dr. Karen Murrill Hennigan Professor, Graduate Director & Director of the Center for Assistant Professor Evidence-Based Corrections Department of Psychology, Dana & David Dornsife College of Department of Criminology, Law & Society, School of Social Letters, Arts & Sciences Ecology University of Southern California University of California Irvine Dr. Jorja Leap Dr. Avelardo Valdez Adjunct Professor & Director of the Health & Social Justice Professor Partnership School of Social Work Department of Social Welfare, Luskin School of Public Affairs University of Southern California University of California Los Angeles Ming H. Lee, MPH., L.Ac., Dr. Lois Weinberg Research Analyst III Professor Bureau of Operational Services Division of Special Education & Counseling, Charter College of Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Education Services California State University Los Angeles Dr. Denise Miranda Assistant Director Division of Student Programs Los Angeles County Office of Education P a g e | 5 JUVENILE PROBATION OUTCOMES STUDY Table of Contents Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1: Juvenile Justice Data Collection – Its Importance and Structure in Los Angeles County .................................................................................................................................. 14 How Are Juvenile Justice Related Data Collected in Los Angeles County? ....................................................... 18 Assessment of Los Angeles County’s Current Juvenile Justice Data................................................................... 21 Connections between Juvenile Justice and Other Agency Data Systems ........................................................... 24 Summary ........................................................................................................................................................................ 25 Chapter 2: Understanding the Demographic Profiles and System Experiences of Youth Exiting from Suitable Placement and Camp ......................................................................... 27 Study Methodology ...................................................................................................................................................... 27 Types of Data Used in the Study ............................................................................................................................... 30 Important Dates and Study Timeframes for Analysis ............................................................................................ 32 Description of Study Samples .................................................................................................................................... 35 Youth Risk Levels ........................................................................................................................................................ 39 Summary .......................................................................................................................................................................