FWSN-advisorybd-repo.. - The Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance

The Act further targets, under its education goals, success in school, graduation from high
school and successful employment as adults. Under the safety goals, it focuses on
decreasing the number of children who are unsupervised after school and the incidence of
juvenile crime.
The Governor’s budget documents include a prevention report which indicates the
“State’s progress toward meeting the goal that, by the year 2020, at least ten percent of
total recommended appropriations of each such budgeted agency be allocated to
prevention services.”
The implications of this Act have significance for future planning for prevention services
for at risk children and their families whose issues relate to being beyond control,
runaway or truant.
II. Detailed Population Profile 8
A. FWSN Population
The Connecticut Judicial Branch receives about 15,000 new juvenile justice cases each
year. This number reflects delinquency, youth in crisis and children from families with
service needs cases. In State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2005-2006, just over 3600, or 24% of all
cases referred, were for children from Families with Service Needs. Of the 3600 children
referred, 46% were girls and 54% were boys.
In SFY 2006-2007, there were 4190 referrals for families with services needs cases. Of
the 4190 referrals, 53% of the children referred were boys and 47% were girls.
The primary reasons for referral for boys and girls were truancy, beyond control, defiant
of school rules and runaway behavior. In the categories of indecent or immoral conduct
and sexual intercourse, there were a low percentage of referrals for both boys and girls.
(A detailed statistical profile of children in the FWSN population may be found in
Appendix IV)
B. Truant Population
Truancy was the reason for the highest percentage of referrals of children for families
with services needs. In SFY 2005-2006, 990 boys and 789 girls were referred for
truancy. In SFY 2006-2007, truancy was identified as a referral reason for 944 boys and
809 girls.
8 Source of state court specific statistical information is a presentation to the FWSN Advisory Committee
by the Judicial Branch, Court Support Services Division “Families with Service Needs in Connecticut: An
Overview of the Population”, August 2006.
27