Key Initiatives 2021 Senate Bill 207/Minimum Age Training Raising the minimum age of juvenile jurisdiction from 6 to 10 for most youth, Senate Bill 207 goes into effect Dec. 1, 2021. The bill also implemented changes to the Juvenile Code that improve "Raise the Age" implementation, including providing for prosecutorial discretion in whether to retain (instead of mandatory transfer) youth charged with a Class D through Class G felony offense in juvenile court. Juvenile Justice held two training workshops across the state for Court Services managers and supervisors to receive information regarding Senate Bill 207 implementation, also known as the “minimum age bill.” In October 2021, Juvenile Justice held a training workshop in Durham for the Eastern and Central region staff, while a workshop for the Piedmont and Western region staff took place in November 2021. The law will exclude juveniles between the ages of 6 to 10 from court involvement and implement several statutory changes recommended by the Juvenile Jurisdiction Advisory Committee. The JJAC was created in 2017 as part of the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act and is responsible for planning for "Raise the Age" implementation and making recommendations to the General Assembly. Staff heard from Deputy Secretary William Lassiter on the legislation and other Juvenile Justice-related updates. Presentations then focused on legal interpretations of the law, how it affects community programs, how the Court Services section will implement the law and how juvenile mental health assessments and care review teams will be set up. Staff then worked in groups on scenarios involving implementation of the law. Juvenile Justice also held trainings for Local Management Entities/Partial Hospitalization Programs/Comprehensive Care Assessment groups in mental health to explain S207 and how it affects them. The presentations from all the workshops/trainings are below. DURHAM WORKSHOP Deputy Secretary William Lassiter Juvenile Justice overview Minimum Age Data Juvenile Minimum Age & Other Raise the Age Changes Court Services Overview of Senate Bill 207 Juvenile Court Mental Health Assessments Care Review Manual ASHEVILLE WORKSHOP Deputy Secretary William Lassiter Juvenile Justice overview Minimum Age Data Juvenile Minimum Age & Other Raise the Age Changes Community Programs Presentation Court Services & Mental Health Overview of Senate Bill 207 Care Review Manual LME/PHP/CCA PROVIDERS TRAINING Senate Bill 207 Determination Language for CCA Providers Juvenile Court Mental Health Assessments and Care Review Process Flowchart Projections of Involved Youth for Senate Bill 207: Juvenile Court Mental Health Assessments and Care Review Teams North Carolina Juvenile Justice Determination Criteria Checklist for Severe Emotional Disturbance (SED) Senate Bill 207 Presentation for CCA Providers Senate Bill 207 Presentation for LME and PHP Senate Bill 207 Training for CCA Providers Video Senate Bill 207 Training for LME-MCO Video 2021 Raising the Bar Awards Juvenile Justice acknowledged staff members for “Raising the Bar” during the past year. The award recognized staff from the various units nominated by their peers or managers. “They’ve gone above and beyond and have raised the bar for Juvenile Justice,” said Deputy Secretary Lassiter. “They set the bar a little higher than the rest of us. They’re pole vaulters and pushed the bar higher and higher.” The 2021 Raising the Bar recipients were: ADMINISTRATION: King Thomas, Training and Staff Development Manager. King worked hard to coordinate the Training Section within Juvenile Justice. The pandemic brought about the need to adjust and train both basic and in-service training in a different manner, using WebEx and other new tools. Plus, he helped lead the transition of JJ basic training for certified staff in July 2021 from the Office of Staff Development and Training to Juvenile Justice. CLINICAL PROGRAMS AND SERVICES: Shoron Purvis, Social Worker, Edgecombe Youth Development Center. In addition to the supervision and guidance provided to social workers at Edgecombe YDC, Shoron contributed significantly with her involvement within the Social Work Supervisors Team and the Clinical Services leadership team. She serves as the coordinator for the RISE UP initiative, with significant focus on managing the restorative justice teams assigned. She also serves on the team that provides quality assurance and fidelity assessment of the practices within the facility. She also initiated a biofeedback awareness pilot at the facility. Shoron connected with the Rural Opportunities Institute – a local program that uses education and reshaping systemic practices to improve outcomes. Edgecombe YDC was able to partner with ROI and initiate a pilot activity in which staff and youth are now able to increase their awareness of their physiological state, through trainings to “read” their own biofeedback markers. This pilot gives staff and juveniles tools to increase resilience and reduce toxic stress through increased awareness of their current internal cues and status. COMMUNITY PROGRAMS: Brittany Schott, Contract Manager. Brittany oversees a multi-million-dollar contract for three short-term residential sites. She wrote a grant for OJJDP in which the Department was awarded $300,000 for the implementation of a pre-trial release program, executing sole source contracts with a partnering agency to address older juveniles. She also manages several special projects, including the Re-Entry 2 Resilience grant used to assist youth in secure custody successfully transition to their home communities. COURT SERVICES: Crystal Simmons, Field Service Specialist. Crystal, a District 21 (Forsyth County) field service specialist, not only gives her time to various local charities and non-profits, she also gave of herself physically in July 2021. Her neighbor was a retired police officer from Florida who had been experiencing life-threatening kidney failure. Without hesitation, Crystal offered to donate her kidney, which was a perfect match. Crystal underwent successful surgery to donate her kidney to her neighbor in desperate need, and her neighbor recovered. FACILITIES: Temple Evans, Youth Counselor Technician/Transportation Driver. Temple believes reading is important and provides books to area youth through her Tyler & Timothy Book Drive – named after her two sons – after discovering youth had trouble reading or did not have books of their own. People donate new or used books, as well as funds to purchase new books for distribution during the year. Temple also spends time reading to children in places like Carver Head Start/Early Head Start in Mount Olive, a facility that is part of WAGES (Wayne Action Group for Economic Solvency Inc.) based in Goldsboro. Each child can take home a book. HEALTH SERVICES: Bobbie Sue Collier, Nurse. Bobbie Sue, a Pitt Juvenile Detention Center nurse, represents the excellence of her profession and her colleagues, with more than 27 years of experience in a range of settings, by providing the critical response necessary during the pandemic. She started working full-time at Pitt with the onset of the pandemic and was the first JJ nurse to manage a juvenile COVID-19 case in 2020. She provided timely and excellent nursing care of the juvenile and support and education to the direct care staff at the center. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: PK Barua, Steve Hall and Kote Gaddy. New technologies have been developed and piloted in two facilities. The room check tablet application, which will automate the juvenile health/wellness checks that staff perform multiple times throughout each day, was designed and developed by PK, Steve and Kote. PK, the team lead, designed the application architecture and worked with Steve and Kote on development of the code needed for NC-JOIN and for the tablet application. To see award photos of the recipients, please click here. State of the Section Meetings 2015 State of the Section Edgecombe Youth Development Center Open House Edgecombe YDC Open House April 22, 2016 photo gallery 123 photos 2016 Juvenile Justice Instructor of the Year Awards 2016 Juvenile Justice Instructor of the Year Awards March 2, 2017 photo gallery 27 photos
Key Initiatives 2021 Senate Bill 207/Minimum Age Training Raising the minimum age of juvenile jurisdiction from 6 to 10 for most youth, Senate Bill 207 goes into effect Dec. 1, 2021. The bill also implemented changes to the Juvenile Code that improve "Raise the Age" implementation, including providing for prosecutorial discretion in whether to retain (instead of mandatory transfer) youth charged with a Class D through Class G felony offense in juvenile court. Juvenile Justice held two training workshops across the state for Court Services managers and supervisors to receive information regarding Senate Bill 207 implementation, also known as the “minimum age bill.” In October 2021, Juvenile Justice held a training workshop in Durham for the Eastern and Central region staff, while a workshop for the Piedmont and Western region staff took place in November 2021. The law will exclude juveniles between the ages of 6 to 10 from court involvement and implement several statutory changes recommended by the Juvenile Jurisdiction Advisory Committee. The JJAC was created in 2017 as part of the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act and is responsible for planning for "Raise the Age" implementation and making recommendations to the General Assembly. Staff heard from Deputy Secretary William Lassiter on the legislation and other Juvenile Justice-related updates. Presentations then focused on legal interpretations of the law, how it affects community programs, how the Court Services section will implement the law and how juvenile mental health assessments and care review teams will be set up. Staff then worked in groups on scenarios involving implementation of the law. Juvenile Justice also held trainings for Local Management Entities/Partial Hospitalization Programs/Comprehensive Care Assessment groups in mental health to explain S207 and how it affects them. The presentations from all the workshops/trainings are below. DURHAM WORKSHOP Deputy Secretary William Lassiter Juvenile Justice overview Minimum Age Data Juvenile Minimum Age & Other Raise the Age Changes Court Services Overview of Senate Bill 207 Juvenile Court Mental Health Assessments Care Review Manual ASHEVILLE WORKSHOP Deputy Secretary William Lassiter Juvenile Justice overview Minimum Age Data Juvenile Minimum Age & Other Raise the Age Changes Community Programs Presentation Court Services & Mental Health Overview of Senate Bill 207 Care Review Manual LME/PHP/CCA PROVIDERS TRAINING Senate Bill 207 Determination Language for CCA Providers Juvenile Court Mental Health Assessments and Care Review Process Flowchart Projections of Involved Youth for Senate Bill 207: Juvenile Court Mental Health Assessments and Care Review Teams North Carolina Juvenile Justice Determination Criteria Checklist for Severe Emotional Disturbance (SED) Senate Bill 207 Presentation for CCA Providers Senate Bill 207 Presentation for LME and PHP Senate Bill 207 Training for CCA Providers Video Senate Bill 207 Training for LME-MCO Video 2021 Raising the Bar Awards Juvenile Justice acknowledged staff members for “Raising the Bar” during the past year. The award recognized staff from the various units nominated by their peers or managers. “They’ve gone above and beyond and have raised the bar for Juvenile Justice,” said Deputy Secretary Lassiter. “They set the bar a little higher than the rest of us. They’re pole vaulters and pushed the bar higher and higher.” The 2021 Raising the Bar recipients were: ADMINISTRATION: King Thomas, Training and Staff Development Manager. King worked hard to coordinate the Training Section within Juvenile Justice. The pandemic brought about the need to adjust and train both basic and in-service training in a different manner, using WebEx and other new tools. Plus, he helped lead the transition of JJ basic training for certified staff in July 2021 from the Office of Staff Development and Training to Juvenile Justice. CLINICAL PROGRAMS AND SERVICES: Shoron Purvis, Social Worker, Edgecombe Youth Development Center. In addition to the supervision and guidance provided to social workers at Edgecombe YDC, Shoron contributed significantly with her involvement within the Social Work Supervisors Team and the Clinical Services leadership team. She serves as the coordinator for the RISE UP initiative, with significant focus on managing the restorative justice teams assigned. She also serves on the team that provides quality assurance and fidelity assessment of the practices within the facility. She also initiated a biofeedback awareness pilot at the facility. Shoron connected with the Rural Opportunities Institute – a local program that uses education and reshaping systemic practices to improve outcomes. Edgecombe YDC was able to partner with ROI and initiate a pilot activity in which staff and youth are now able to increase their awareness of their physiological state, through trainings to “read” their own biofeedback markers. This pilot gives staff and juveniles tools to increase resilience and reduce toxic stress through increased awareness of their current internal cues and status. COMMUNITY PROGRAMS: Brittany Schott, Contract Manager. Brittany oversees a multi-million-dollar contract for three short-term residential sites. She wrote a grant for OJJDP in which the Department was awarded $300,000 for the implementation of a pre-trial release program, executing sole source contracts with a partnering agency to address older juveniles. She also manages several special projects, including the Re-Entry 2 Resilience grant used to assist youth in secure custody successfully transition to their home communities. COURT SERVICES: Crystal Simmons, Field Service Specialist. Crystal, a District 21 (Forsyth County) field service specialist, not only gives her time to various local charities and non-profits, she also gave of herself physically in July 2021. Her neighbor was a retired police officer from Florida who had been experiencing life-threatening kidney failure. Without hesitation, Crystal offered to donate her kidney, which was a perfect match. Crystal underwent successful surgery to donate her kidney to her neighbor in desperate need, and her neighbor recovered. FACILITIES: Temple Evans, Youth Counselor Technician/Transportation Driver. Temple believes reading is important and provides books to area youth through her Tyler & Timothy Book Drive – named after her two sons – after discovering youth had trouble reading or did not have books of their own. People donate new or used books, as well as funds to purchase new books for distribution during the year. Temple also spends time reading to children in places like Carver Head Start/Early Head Start in Mount Olive, a facility that is part of WAGES (Wayne Action Group for Economic Solvency Inc.) based in Goldsboro. Each child can take home a book. HEALTH SERVICES: Bobbie Sue Collier, Nurse. Bobbie Sue, a Pitt Juvenile Detention Center nurse, represents the excellence of her profession and her colleagues, with more than 27 years of experience in a range of settings, by providing the critical response necessary during the pandemic. She started working full-time at Pitt with the onset of the pandemic and was the first JJ nurse to manage a juvenile COVID-19 case in 2020. She provided timely and excellent nursing care of the juvenile and support and education to the direct care staff at the center. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: PK Barua, Steve Hall and Kote Gaddy. New technologies have been developed and piloted in two facilities. The room check tablet application, which will automate the juvenile health/wellness checks that staff perform multiple times throughout each day, was designed and developed by PK, Steve and Kote. PK, the team lead, designed the application architecture and worked with Steve and Kote on development of the code needed for NC-JOIN and for the tablet application. To see award photos of the recipients, please click here. State of the Section Meetings 2015 State of the Section Edgecombe Youth Development Center Open House Edgecombe YDC Open House April 22, 2016 photo gallery 123 photos 2016 Juvenile Justice Instructor of the Year Awards 2016 Juvenile Justice Instructor of the Year Awards March 2, 2017 photo gallery 27 photos
