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

In state fiscal year 2006-2007, over 4000 children were referred to the Superior Court for
Juvenile Matters for what are known as status offenses. These children may be truant,
defiant of school rules, beyond control of a parent or runaways from home.
The FWSN Advisory Board and its subcommittees have engaged in a year long planning
process. The outcome of this process has been the development of a framework for
service delivery that that has a shared goal of diverting children from the court process.
The approaches that are being implemented and are recommended in the full report
center on research based, gender specific, developmentally appropriate, culturally
competent and community-based strategies to address truancy, disruptive school
behavior, running away and other at risk behaviors exhibited by children in Connecticut.
The full report documents Connecticut’s efforts to disrupt the pipeline that moves
children experiencing school and family problems into the juvenile and criminal justice
systems. It also identifies the remaining gaps that need to be addressed to provide the
prevention, intervention and support services children and families will need in the
future.
In order to develop the best possible outcomes for children and their families, a threepronged
approach to delivery of services is recommended. The service delivery system
in Connecticut must have strategies that:
‣ Prevent children from entering the court system by encouraging positive, prosocial
development, school attendance, family engagement and community-based
programming;
‣ Intervene to divert at risk children from the court system; and
‣ Provide evidence-based services to children who enter the court system.
There are significant gaps in the service delivery system that currently exists in
Connecticut. Many children and their families have no access to prevention, diversion
and intervention services. In many instances, children and their families must leave their
communities to receive needed services. It is imperative, therefore, that children and their
families have timely and seamless access to necessary services.
Services vary from community to community “. . . .Connecticut is a ‘resource rich’ state;
however, significant gaps in services exist, not only in the types of services available, but
also in access to services based on geography or a child’s status with DCF or the court.
Wait lists for services present a formidable challenge for many families.” 2
2 The Connecticut Juvenile Justice Strategic Plan: Building Toward a Better Future, A Strategic Planning
Process Facilitated by the Child Welfare League of America for the Department of Children and Families-
Bureau of Juvenile Services and the Connecticut Judicial Branch-Court Support Services Division in
Collaboration with many Public and Private Stakeholders, (Connecticut: 2006), 10
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