From Diversion to Post-Disposition: Building Transformative Relationships with Clients and Their Families at Every System Point

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8:00 am - 9:30 am

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Fostering the strengths of our youth is recognized as a core component of effective community supervision; but how does an agency engage in this kind of culture shift? Recently, the Juvenile Operations division of the NYC Department of Probation (DOP) became the first juvenile justice agency to independently join the national Youth ThriveTM Learning Community to work on embedding a positive youth development approach into existing evidence-based policies and practices. The DOP is making a youth development orientation a key element at all system points of the probation practice, from diversion to risk assessment to supervision. This involves moving away from what has historically been a deficit-based approach to an approach that recognizes that young people have resilience and competence—protective factors—that can be tapped into and enhanced in order to promote better long-term outcomes. Through a panel presentation and robust discussion that generates questions for discussion, workshop attendees will hear about the DOP’s experiences and lessons learned, learn useful strategies, and be in a better position to evaluate and revamp their own programs.