Juvenile Justice Council

DeKalb County Juvenile Justice Council

Strategic Plan: 2014 – 2017

Community Collaboration

Goal: To develop and implement a system of collaboration to address the needs of individuals involved in the

Juvenile Justice System.

Rationale: A unified system of collaboration will increase positive outcomes for youth without duplicating

services, therefore reducing costs to the community.

Objectives:

To educate community members and service providers on the causes of delinquent behaviors and what research shows works effectively to prevent and reduce those identified behaviors.
To institute the use of formal cooperative interagency agreements.

Juvenile Delinquency

Goal: To reduce delinquent behaviors in DeKalb County as measured by risk/protective factors.

Rationale: Reducing delinquent behavior increases the quality of life for youth and families while increasing community safety and reducing costs to the community.

Objectives:

To encourage the use of a standardized risk assessment tool by all youth agencies and schools who provide services geared towards prevention and reduction of delinquent behaviors.
To focus resources on programs that are proven by research to decrease delinquent behaviors.

Education

Goal: To improve school attendance for all K-12 students.

Rationale: Increased attendance improves academic achievement, increases employability, decreases juvenile delinquency and reduces costs to the community.

Objectives:

To explore and encourage the adoption of a county wide attendance policy
To review and revise, as necessary, the procedures for truancy intervention including referrals, pre-court hearings, diversion and court referrals.

For more information contact Bri Kness at 815-217-0194 or blkness@dekalbcounty.org.