Title V DMC-Focused Projects

The federal Title V Community Prevention Grants Program supports collaborative prevention and early intervention efforts designed to keep at-risk youth and first-time non-serious offenders from entering, or re-entering, the local juvenile justice system. In January 2004, the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA) assumed responsibility for administering the Title V Program and grants that ended on June 30, 2004. The CSA subsequently applied for new funds, which must be distributed through a competitive Request for Proposals process. An independent review panel evaluated the merits of 29 proposals using rating criteria approved by the CSA. As part of the CSA's effort to address Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC), these criteria included five preference points for projects focusing on DMC reduction. On May 19, 2005, the CSA approved these recommendations. Five of the seven awards support DMC-focused projects. Brief descriptions of these projects (along with an email contact) are provided below.

Fresno County is expanding its successful Students Targeted with Opportunities for Prevention (STOP) Program to students attending Kings Canyon Middle School who are at risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system. The STOP program uses multi-disciplinary teams consisting of a deputy probation officer, law enforcement, school staff and community-based organizations in providing wraparound services based on an individualized plan developed for each at-risk child and his/her family. The probation officer, who coordinates the efforts of the multi-disciplinary team, will be located on campus and handle a caseload of 50 youth and their families.

The Gateway Collaboration Project will involve cross-jurisdictional coordination between law enforcement, government and community-based agencies to provide a continuum of delinquency prevention and early intervention services designed to address the needs of at-risk youth and first-time offenders (ages seven to 17) in Hawthorne and three adjacent unincorporated areas of the county. The five components of the program - academic enrichment, conflict resolution education, job readiness, character development and mental health services - address identified risk factors for delinquency.

The Interface Project will expand Oakland's peer justice initiative, in collaboration with McCullum Youth Court (MYC), to enhance early intervention and diversion services for first-time offenders, ages 10 to 17. The project adds an Apprentice Program component to increase the number of youth offenders who graduate to become youth attorneys, bailiffs and clerks at MYC; broadens the current effort to include offenders who are middle school students (they will be matched with an older peer mentor); and expands the Law and Justice Leadership Program, which provides stipends to peer leaders at MYC.

Project First will offer assessment and intervention services (e.g., family counseling sessions, a group mentoring program, tutoring and homework assistance, and an after school art and music program) to first-time offenders, ages 14 to 17, on court-ordered informal probation. In partnership with community-based organizations, a multidisciplinary team will provide case management services to the youth and their families.

The New Directions Project is targeting Watsonville area youth who are at risk of delinquency because their parents are incarcerated (and involved in an existing residential substance abuse treatment program). The project will offer an array of educational, recreational, vocational and social welfare services to stabilize the family situation and prevent further disruption for the youth (e.g., linkage with income maintenance, rental assistance, food banks, subsidized transportation and child care as well as tutoring, counseling, and pro-social activities). The project will also provide parenting education and support to promote healthy parent-child bonds.