By: Gimena Perez, Walker Nightbert & Joe Sondock
Youth involved in both the juvenile justice system and the child welfare system are referred to as cross over youth. These youth have experienced negligence and maltreatment which results in their involvement with the child welfare system and engage in delinquent behavior bringing them to be involved in the juvenile system. Compared to non-crossover youth, crossover youths are more likely to be arrested at a younger age. Behavior problems at school often result in arrest which feeds in the school to prison pipeline and leads to the youth crossing over into the juvenile system. The pipeline refers to school zero tolerance policies and practices that remove students from school by suspension, expulsion or school-based arrest. Behavioral problems such as hyperactivity, substance misuse and criminal activity can lead to suspension and to a student being arrested. Youth who are already involved in the child welfare system may engage in these behaviors in schools and are consequently arrested, leading to their dual involvement in the juvenile justice system.
Crossover youth have been found to experience juvenile arrests within 4 years of their foster care experience. Studies show that between 13.7% and 21.6% of child welfare youth who were over the age of 10 have experienced this. Crossovers who show signs of delinquency at a young age have a higher chance of committing more serious crimes later on, which then have a higher chance to recidivate. The disparities among youth show that African American youth, and Latino youth represent a disproportionate amount of the youth population involved in either the juvenile justice system, child welfare system, or both. In Texas alone, African American youth represent 56% of those involved in both the child welfare system and juvenile prison population. Of all crossover youth 83% of all youth suffer from substance abuse or mental health issues. LGBTQ+ youth represent a disproportionate 20% of youth in the juvenile justice system and are around 19% of youth in the foster care system, despite only being 5-7% of youth in the United States. Texas with the help of restorative programs and bills aim to combat the school to prison pipeline.
To help combat this, the Texas State Legislature introduced the bill HB 3895 which related to guardians ad litem for children who are in the juvenile justice system and child protective services. This bill refines and clarifies the role of a guardian ad litem in dual status cases. It also allows children and youth to have the kind of fierce advocacy they deserve. Having an attorney ad litem and a guardian ad litem appointed will ensure the youth’s wishes and best interest are represented in court. Guardians ad litem can act as a bridge between systems to support the kind of coordinated, trauma-informed, rehabilitative and healing approach the youth deserves.
Another program that was introduced to help to provide a solution was the restorative program from Georgetown University. The program is the Crossover Youth Practice Model. In 2010, Travis County in Austin Texas partnered with the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform to implement CYPM in their community. A key focus of this program is the improvement of academic and behavioral problems for crossover youth attending school. To prevent youth from being arrested for behavioral problems, the jurisdiction focuses on improving the schools responses to students behavior. As part of CYPM, schools are required to collect information on school enrollment, attendance, and graduation. Within the first 15 months data demonstrated improvement in these areas.
The goal of CYPM is to reduce the number of youth crossing over and becoming dualy involved, reducing the number of youth placed in out-of-home care, reduce the use of congregate care and reduce the disproportionate representation of youth of color in the crossover population. Travis County focused on defining the roles and responsibilities of professionals involved in the lives of crossover youth. The first effort focused on strategies to prevent high-risk students from crossing over into the juvenile system. The second effort ensured that the educational needs of crossover youth were a priority while other need-such as housing and mental health treatment- also were addressed. In Travis County youth involved in the CYPM initiative saw an increase in school attendance of 28 percentage points at the time of their case closure or one year after their identification by both systems. In that same period, CYPM youth as a group experienced an average of 15 percentage points reduction in academic and behavioral problems at school. According to Samuel Abbot, “the effort that Travis County has demonstrated shows how attention to crossover youth educational needs, can lessen the potential harmful impact of maltreatment, negligence, delinquency and system involvement.”
Resources:
“The Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM)”
https://www.njjn.org/uploads/digital-library/CYPM-In-Brief-Educational-Outcomes.pdf
https://www.casey.org/crossover-youth-resource-list/
“Crossover Youth Practice Model”
https://cjjr.georgetown.edu/our-work/crossover-youth-practice-model/
Policy Resources:
https://texascasa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GAL-Role-in-Dual-Status-Cases.pdf
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=87R&Bill=HB3895