Juvenile Detention Alternatives
Many youth who enter the juvenile justice system need court intervention and
supervision to assure public safety, to provide safety and accountability of
the youth, and to ensure that the youth is present at court hearings.
Juvenile justice officials must often choose between sending a youth home
without adequate supervision and placing the youth in a secure juvenile
detention facility. Detention alternatives ranging from home detention to
secure confinement provide the court with a variety of in-home and out-of-home
services that utilize the least restrictive placement possible for the youth
while assuring safety for the youth and the community.
Our Juvenile Detention Alternatives program serves as a seamless continuum of
care from in-home community supervision to out-of-home emergency shelter
care. Based on a child's individual needs and behavior, he or she is
moved up or down the continuum to the most appropriate setting and level of
supervision.
Juvenile Detention Services
Supervised Foster Care
Youth Eligibility
Tracking/Home Detention
Assesments
Behavior Expectations
Compliance/Non-Compliance
Reports
Family Contact
Additional Services/Referrals
ATD Contact Information
Supervised Foster Care
Foster care provides youth a temporary and stable environment under the
supervision of trained foster parents. Supervised Foster Care is the most
intrusive detention service provided by Necco and is appropriate for youth who
do not require secure detention, but who need greater supervision than can be
provided by their parent or legal guardian. Youth may remain in Supervised
Foster Care until adjudication or until permanent placement can be made.
Supervised Foster Care is short-term and does not include
therapeutic/counseling services. Youth will not remain in Supervised Foster
Care longer than they would remain in any other detention service. Youth may
remain in their foster care home as a dispositional placement if committed to
and referred by the corresponding agency.
Necco utilizes trained therapeutic foster homes to provide short-term
supervised foster care. Youth will be determined eligible for foster care
placement based upon their risk and need as determined by Department of
Juvenile Justice approved risk screening instruments and evaluation by the
Detention Alternative Coordinator (DAC) or referring agent. A determination of
foster home availability will be made by the Necco child care team within 24
hours of the referral. A Necco case manager will monitor the youth as long as
he or she remains in foster care.
Youth Eligibility
Necco will consider any youth for placement in Supervised Foster Care. This
placement is determined by the availability of foster homes, the youth's
background, and the ability to match the child's needs with the appropriate
home.
Tracking
 Home Detention
Tracking/Home
Detention (Tracking) is a community-based detention service that
provides direct supervision of a youth through face-to-face and
telephone contacts. Tracking is an alternative to secure
detention for non-violent youth. The goal of Tracking is to
hold youth accountable for their behavior and provide for greater
public safety while allowing youth to remain in their home.
Youth on Tracking service will be contacted daily at a variety of
times and at multiple locations such as home, school, and
work. Tracking may be combined with electronic monitoring for
maximum supervision.
Youth
Eligibility
Necco will consider any youth for placement in
Supervised Foster Care. This placement is determined by the availability of
foster homes, the youth's background, and the ability to match the child's
needs with the appropriate home. Necco
will accept ALL youth referred for Tracking services within our service
coverage area.
Assessments
DJJ approved risk-screening instruments
Necco Referral Form
Behavior Expectations
Youth must comply with court orders
Youth must submit to drug testing if required to do so.
Youth must attend school and comply with school rules as applicable.
Youth must not leave the state.
Youth must attend all scheduled counseling and medical appointments.
Youth may only attend community events supervised by the foster parent or a
member of Necco staff.
Youth must follow the household rules of the foster family.
Compliance Non-Compliance
Positive behavior and compliance with cou rt ordered conditions may be rewarded
with a lessening of restrictions and intervention. Negative behavior and
non-compliance may be dealt with by increasing restrictions up to and including
secure detention. Minor rule violations will use the least restrictive and most
appropriate response that allows the court to enforce its orders while keeping
the youth out of secure confinement. Serious violations and new criminal
charges will be referred to the court through the referring agency.
REPORTS
Reports
will be made to the referral source as follows:
. At the end of the ordered programming, a behavior report will be provided to
the DAC or referring agent.
. If the youth is committed to DJJ or DCBS, a report will be provided to the
worker at discharge from the program.
. Critical Incident Reports will be forwarded to the DAC or referring agent
within twenty-four (24) hours of the incident.
Additional
Services Referrals:
Based on the individual needs of the youth, Necco may make
a referral for educational programs, mentoring services and other special
program and/or service needs the youth may have.
Family Contact:
The DAC or referring agent must approve all family
visits. No child will go on over-night visits unless the DAC or referring agent
provides written permission to Necco.
Phone contact is encouraged for the youth unless the DAC or referring agent
requests otherwise.
Additional Services Referrals:
Necco staff and/or foster parents will provide
transportation to and from court hearings.
ATD
Contact Information:
For
additional information about Necco ATD services please contact a location near
you or contact Randy S. Thomas at: rthomas@carvaka.com or (859)264-8796.
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