Youth involved in both the juvenile justice and child welfare system, commonly referred to as crossover youth, have been traumatized by exposure to violence, abuse, family dysfunction, or substance use. Crossover youth are at a higher risk of making poor grades, missing school, dropping out of school, or having mental health and drug problems. They are also more likely to participate in criminal activity as adults, feeding into the school-to-prison pipeline. Restorative justice programs and a bill, HB2821, now before the Texas State Legislature seek to break the pipeline.
Crossover youth are the most challenging children in the foster care system who are often placed in group congregate homes instead of individual homes. When behavioral problems arise, they are 10 percent more likely to face detention and incarceration than other youth charged with similar offenses. Additionally, crossover youth stay in detention longer. Criminal prosecution can have lifelong negative effects on the youth including homelessness and an inability to find and maintain consistent employment as an adult. Individuals who come in contact with the justice system as children are highly likely to relapse and come into contact with the criminal system again. In addition, when crossover youth become adults, they are likely to have children who go back into the foster care system.
To break the cycle, the Texas State Legislature introduced HB2821. HB2821 is a bill which requires facilities to refer certain foster youth to community resource groups or to juvenile service providers for emergency behavior intervention rather than involving law enforcement. The bill also requires facilities to provide crisis response training for staff members who work directly with children in order to limit the number of cases which result in detention to circumstances of last resort. If HB2821 gets passed there would be increased communication between the juvenile justice system and the foster care system which will better serve the needs of crossover youths.
Currently, the juvenile justice system and the foster care system are not required to communicate with each other. The juvenile justice system is designed to address a youth’s criminal behavior whereas the foster care system views the youth as a victim and works to protect them. The different perspectives cause tension between the two systems. Children and families must navigate between the systems which have different and, sometimes, conflicting requirements. Crossover youth often fall between the cracks. For example, if a child does not have the ability to meet court mandated restitution requirements they may remain in detention. Or if the group home will not take the youth back, they may stay in detention longer until alternate arrangements can be made.
The solution is a restorative justice program such as Georgetown University’s Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM). Travis County in Austin, Texas was the first national site to implement CYPM in order to change how children interact with the two systems. Children entering the juvenile justice system do not always say they are already in the child welfare system. Identifying crossover youth as soon as they crossover into the system is an important step. The child is then assigned a welfare social worker and a juvenile justice worker who collaborate daily to share data between systems, and form case management and case planning teams. They support meetings between the youth, his/her family, attorneys, and other service providers to identify the needs of each system, the needs of the child, and bring resources together in one system. Needs address issues such as mental healthcare, school attendance, substance abuse or finding alternate residential care. Addressing a youths needs prevents deeper involvement in the system. After the court case is resolved, Travis County moves to the final stage of the CYPM approach to form a plan for permanent placement so that the youth is not continually passed from one agency to another.
Critics of restorative justice claim the programs provide help to the offenders, but do not help the victims to deal with trauma. However, advocates claim the goal is to reduce the victims’ anxiety and fear through restitution and apologies. There is growing support for restorative justice programs. Estela Medina, Juvenile Probation Officer Chief for Travis County, says that employing CYPM has resulted in a reduction of the time crossover youth spend in detention and an increase in youth remaining in individual homes. The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University claims that there is a reduction in recidivism, an increase in case dismissals, improvements in crossover youth living at home and behavioral improvement when using their approach.
Crossover youth are an invisible population in the world of juvenile justice and foster care systems. In order to serve the needs of these children, each system must recognize contributing factors that lead to delinquent behaviors. Identifying crossover youth and providing the services they need changes lives. Juvenile justice and foster care systems must work together to collect data and provide treatment so that crossover youth have a better opportunity to lead successful and productive lives.