Juvenile Justice/Youth Initiatives

The strategic planning section provides project management, facilitation, and analytical support for King County’s efforts to develop coordinated and effective responses to youth and families in crisis. Much of its work related to juvenile justice and other youth-serving systems falls under two major initiatives:

Juvenile Justice Operational Master Plan: Since 1998, King County Juvenile Justice System and its partners have been systematically examining and improving practices and programs under the framework of the Juvenile Justice Operational Master Plan (JJOMP). The JJOMP process brings together a broad-based group of youth-serving government and non-profit agencies, elected officials, and community members to find better ways to promote justice, protect the public, reduce overrepresentation of youth of color, and help youth in trouble make responsible choices. These stakeholders are also part of state-wide and national learning communities to share best practices. Since its inception, the JJOMP process has emphasized the use of data to drive collaborative decision-making and quality research and evaluations to monitor outcomes. The range of improvements and programs include state-of-the-art assessment tools, research-based treatment programs, and therapeutic courts. The working groups under JJOMP continue to evaluate efforts, test new approaches, and respond to emerging needs.

King County Systems Integration Initiative: Since 2004, a coalition of agencies from juvenile justice, child welfare, mental health, and education systems have been working to overcome the fragmented responses for serving youth and families that are involved in multiple systems. Called the King County Systems Integration Initiative, this coalition has made progress in many areas including an information sharing guide, protocols for coordinate management, cross-system training, detailed recommendations to improve access to mental health services, and a model for supporting juvenile justice youth who have dropped out of school or are at high risk of doing so. With the support of local and national parnters, the coalition's work is focused currently on training, testing, and implementing improvements in all of these areas; on expanding community outreach and engagement; and on identifying new opportunities to serve youth and families in integrated and effective ways.