DJJ Subcomittee is a Success!

Last February, Donna Rasmussen, Director of the Guardian ad Litem Program and I formed the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Subcomittee, with the goal of reducing the number of foster kids funneled into the criminal justice system. It has been a great success! In partnership with Eckerd Community Alternatives, the lead agency for foster care in this area, we now gather monthly statistics showing exactly how many dependent children are arrested each month and from where. This information is then used to target efforts to reduce arrrests, such as those that may occur when the child is on run-away status. Another success has been developing a Who to Call and When list so that providers know who is available in the community to help in their time of crisis with a foster child. Lastly, through the Circuit's Behavioral Evaluation Program, we provided Trauma Training to case managers, foster parents, and others to better understand how trauma impacts a child's behavior and appropriate steps to take to reduce the child's outbursts or aggressions. Dawn Hulbert, Attorney ad Litem