July Member of the Month: Northern Star Diversion by Clare Ryan YIPA's Promise Fellow

Youth Intervention Program funding (and thus YIPA) were created for the fundamental purpose of keeping kids out of the juvenile justice system. Today, about two-thirds of YIPA member programs receive juvenile diversion referrals.

What is diversion? This is not an easy question to answer because programs that call themselves diversion programs can be very different from each other and many programs that divert young people from the juvenile justice system might not call themselves a “diversion program.” The Juvenile Justice Coalition of Minnesota has a workgroup on diversion, which includes several YIPA members. The Coalition has identified the following as an imperfect, but workable definition of diversion:

“Intermediate intervention (community restitution, day treatment centers, diversion programs and protective supervision projects) for first-time delinquent offenders and many nonviolent repeat offenders.” (From the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention)

The Northern Star Juvenile Diversion program headed by Colleen Brazier is a great example of diversion. I met Colleen through the JJC juvenile diversion workgroup, where I also first encountered many of the major debates in diversion today. For Colleen, the two major debates in diversion right now are: how to make diversion universal and how to evaluate success and effectiveness.

Right now in Minnesota a young person in one county may not have the same (or even similar) opportunities and resources that a young person in a neighboring county (city, town, etc.) might have. Who is diverted also varies from city to city, so a young person who might have the option of being sent to a diversion program over juvenile court, might not have that chance in another place, even if the offense is the same. The JJC and others are working hard to make diversion a more universal option here in Minnesota. They are also working to create a set of standards that goes beyond rated of recidivism in showing the effectiveness of diversion programs.

At Northern Star, they take a very wide view of the young person. They don’t just give a shoplifter an anti-shoplifting class and assume that it took care of the issue. They give each and every young person a 10-week class on life skills, positive relationships, decision-making, substance abuse, bullying, peer pressure, goal setting and more. Young people in this program get a comprehensive set of tools that they can use the next time the temptation for trouble comes along.

“Youth get to earn back their parents trust and the trust of the community,” says Colleen. “Diversion is hard work, it shows the kid is willing to give back.” When a young person goes through the court instead of diversion, they may not really understand the impact of their actions on the community. Not to mention that a young person who goes through the system adds on all of the collateral consequences of having a juvenile record.

Since 1996 Northern Star has worked with youth ages 10-18 who are first-time, low-level offenders that have been referred from myriad court and police departments in the metro area. A young person may enter the program if they are willing to admit that they have done something wrong and that they are committed to making it right. Then, a Northern Star diversion worker will meet with the young person and his or her parent or guardian to discuss the plan. The young person will do sixteen hours of community service and will attend the 10-week class once a week for an hour. The class is run by a diversion staff member with 2-3 adult volunteer mentors.

So, does it work? Well, in the 2 years following program completion 80% of the young people have stayed out of the juvenile justice system!

The trick with diversion – this young person did NOT fall deeper into the justice system, did NOT become an adult criminal, did NOT cost taxpayers thousands of dollars – is that it is hard to prove a negative. Wise planners will see the evidence, the huge cost different between intervention and incarceration, and will choose to invest in early interventions rather than costly punitive measures that are often too little, too late. For more evidence of the wisdom in intervention see the Social Return on Investment.

Diversion programs stand at the frontier between early intervention and juvenile justice. They are the last stop before a young person crosses over that powerful border into “the system.” This is not to say that once a young person has been to court and been adjudicated delinquent that they are lost forever. Far from it! It simply means that diversion programs mark a last chance for a young person to turn away from destructive behaviors without having an official record and all of the collateral consequences that come with it (this is a huge debate and not everyone will agree with this demarcation, click here for a fantastic resource on this topic.)

What do you think about the role of diversion in early intervention and juvenile justice?

Support Youth Intervention! by Scott Beaty, YIPA's Executive Director

How many of you have used GiveMN for your organization or given to your favorite cause with GiveMN’s easy online system? This year, YIPA’s Annual Donor Campaign is at GiveMN.org!! The most positive benefit of GiveMN is that it covers all transaction costs with the help of partners and funders so that 100% of donations go directly to charity. Whereas many online payment processing organizations charge between 2.5 and 4 percent transaction fee, GiveMN gives the entire transaction feedback to the nonprofit.

Supporting YIPA means supporting its dozens of member organizations and the thousands of young people that they serve.

When a young person embraces a life of crime it costs society millions of dollars, gives families a lifetime of heartbreak, and destroys the future of kids. Early youth intervention programs help kids at the first sign of trouble by providing them with the help and resources they need to lead a fulfilling life! In 2009, early youth intervention programs kept 89% of the youth referred for illegal activities from further involvement in the juvenile justice system. All from programs that cost on average $200 per youth per year compared to $40,000 per youth per year in a juvenile detention facility.

YIPA is the premier organization in Minnesota whose mission is to insure that every youth has access to the highest quality early youth intervention programs to ensure they have a successful future! YIPA consists of over 90 early youth intervention programs providing counseling, mentoring, education, prevention, pre-court diversion, job skills preparedness, anger management, conflict resolution, and mediation services to over 50,000 youth per year.

YIPA:

· Advocates for support of early youth intervention at state and local levels;

· Provides the highest quality training programs to ensure the best services for our kids, helps families better access the kind of care that is right for their child; and,

· Creates a voice for youth in Minnesota.

YIPA’s work is crucial more than ever: state budget cuts threaten to eliminate valuable programs that impact thousands of youth and a struggling economy has severely impacted programs’ budgets leading to decreased services to our youth.

A donation of just $200 is enough to help a kid stay out of jail, get back to school, improve their self-confidence, and begin to see that there is hope for the future!

Please visit http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Yipa-s-Annual-Campaign-A-Voice-For-Youth-3 to give today!

Special Post: Tagline Contest!!

How many times do people ask us 'what exactly is youth intervention?' As part of our current strategic planning process YIPA is looking for something quick and catchy that expresses who we are as an association. We are thinking we just might need a new tagline! Unlike the ever-popular “Got Milk?” “What’s in your wallet?” or “Just Do It.” our old tagline "A Voice for Youth" just doesn't seem to express what YIPA does for organizational members and individuals offering early intervention youth services in Minnesota.

Our mission rings loud and clear: To ensure that early intervention youth programs are embraced and well equipped to provide high quality and cost effective early intervention youth services. We’re looking for a tagline that fits!

Do you have an idea for a new tagline? Enter your new YIPA tagline by leaving a comment here on our blog, on our discussion board at the MN Youth Intervention Programs Association LinkedIn Group or on our Facebook KidsChange page - make sure to leave a way to contact you - and if yours is selected you will win $25 off your next YIPA training and a special recognition from YIPA!

Celebrating Youth Intervention in America!

The 4th of July is a great time to get together with friends and family, throw your favorites on the grill (on a side note, if you are looking for grilling ideas check this out), and watch some fireworks. On a more serious note, our national celebration is also a great moment to reflect on what makes this country so unique. One of the things that come to mind is federalism – we have this crazy system where the federal government shares power with each individual state. The debate over the merits of this model has gone on since its inception, but there is no denying that it leads to interesting variation among states. As a statewide association, YIPA, naturally, focuses mostly on what is happening here in Minnesota. In honor of the 4th of July, this week we will take a closer look at other states and at what is going on for youth intervention at a national level.

In Massachusetts this month at the Harvard Law School Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, Marian Wright Edelman gave a keynote address to representatives from Massachusetts social service and juvenile justice agencies, foundations, youth-serving non-profits, universities and young people. She talked about the need to bring agencies together to provide a continuum of care, she talked about addressing the needs of the whole child and she stressed the vital importance of taking young people out of the “cradle to prison pipeline.” Does any of this sound familiar? If you have been following any of the conversations we have been having here in Minnesota, it sounds a great deal like what Dr. Edelman was saying. If you have a little time, it is worthwhile to watch this whole video – don’t miss the young man’s story about the power of youth intervention at the end!

While in Massachusetts, higher education took on the convening and advocacy role that YIPA plays here in Minnesota, in Texas the state government coordinates early intervention and prevention programs within their Department of Family and Protective Services. Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking that the way that we do things is the way that “everybody” does it, but YIPA is actually a fairly unique model for bringing together early intervention programs.

In Illinois, an extraordinary new intervention program designed to address the urban violence in Chicago was recently highlighted in the New York Times. This is an important reminder that early intervention, mentoring and youth services are getting more attention in the press. In the last few months many YIPA members have been highlighted in local newspapers and TV stations. This is a call to keep doing great work and remember to recognize the work that is being done by our neighbors.

Nationally early youth intervention is popping up in all kinds of places. A few weeks ago, we shared an article about an advocacy group that is trying to include more intervention programs into federal education reform. Another place to go to check out federal early intervention priorities is Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and check out the Center for Disease Control’s public health approach to violence prevention.

What sets Minnesota apart? What brings us together? What can we do to support federal initiatives that support our young people? What do you think?

YIPA's Adventures at Target Field! by Clare Ryan, YIPA's Promise Fellow

YIPA members, staff and family gather around the golden glove for a group photo!

Thursday, June 24th was the perfect day for a Twin Cities adventure. Over twenty YIPA members from across the state gathered by the front entrance of Target Field for a 90-minute insiders’ tour. I must confess woeful ignorance about the game of baseball, so while others (some decked out from head to toe in Twins garb) marveled at the images of famous Twins from the past, I was amazed by the 13 keg rooms – with pipes labeled “beer” leading all over the stadium! The investment into environmentally responsible building was also pretty awesome.

YIPA member Maureen Farrell and her husband enjoy an amazing view

After the tour we headed over to Smalley’s 87 Club for a bite to eat. Sitting outside and munching on burgers and fries, I had the pleasure of chatting with Jim Backstrom, Dakota County Attorney, Elise Peterson from Community Mediation Services and Cheryl Meld of Futures by Design in the McGregor schools. What I found most exciting was hearing what people are doing in such different settings and at very different points in their careers. Both Jim and Cheryl have been serving their communities for many years, while Elise, like myself, is just starting out after graduating from William Mitchell last year. Because of my involvement in AmeriCorp, I have talked to many young youth workers and one of the common complaints I have heard is that people can feel isolated in their jobs and not really know what is going on in other communities around the state. Active involvement in a statewide association, like YIPA, can help ease that isolated feeling.

Being a YIPA member means having a tireless advocate at the capitol, it means having access to high-quality and affordable trainings, but it also means a chance to have fun, meet other youth workers from across the state, and share stories over a burger. In other words, YIPA is a community.

That community came together again on Friday for our summer quarterly membership meeting. We welcomed new members and greeted old friends. My favorite part of YIPA’s quarterly meetings is at the beginning when we go around and give updates from our organization. This time we heard about new summer youth jobs initiatives and we heard from our friends in Wadena County about the devastating tornado damage that they suffered recently (more to come on this). We talked about building a stronger coalition for legislative action. I shared my research on best practices in youth intervention, which I will be sharing more about in the coming weeks. Then, we sat down with sandwiches and talked to each other. People from Badger and Ely to Rochester shared updates and new ideas.

That afternoon, we had the great pleasure of learning an amazing amount about prescription and over-the-counter drug use by youth. Jay Jaffee, from the Minnesota Department of Health, was incredibly knowledgeable and opened the eyes of many participants to the ways that young people use legal or “harmless” drugs and how drug companies market these products.

YIPA is an association that welcomes members from all kinds of community-based programs. So long as your organization has some program that serves youth who are at risk for falling into the juvenile justice system, you are invited to be a part of this growing association. For more information visit our website www.mnyipa.org or contact Chris Klejbuk, our membership coordinator, at cklejbuk@tcq.net.