On March 13, 2015, at Wheelock College over 100 leaders in juvenile justice and youth and related fields came together to launch an innovative professional development model designed to address the critical gaps between the job the juvenile justice workforce is asked to do and the skills and knowledge they need in order to do it successfully. The focus of the day was on developing an approach that utilizes a positive youth development mind-set, while helping staff collaborate across systems. This interactive session (facilitated by SMI) brought together practitioners and policy makers from DYS, Probation, Mental Health, Education, Youth Employment, Youth Advocacy, Youth Services, Legal Services, and others to identify the competencies and experiences necessary for Juvenile Justice Professionals to support youth who typically have needs no one organization can address alone.
The forum attended by nearly 100 juvenile justice professionals is part of building a training/credentialing model that is in development for early 2016. Our Juvenile Justice Workforce Partners include:
- Judge Amy Nechtam, Chief Justice, MA Juvenile Court
- Jackie Jenkins Scott, President, Wheelock College
- Ed Dolan, Commissioner, MA Probation Services
- Harry Spence, Court Administrator of the MA Trial Court
- Peter Forbes, Commissioner, Department of Youth Services
- Edward P. Kelley, President, RFK Children Action Corps
- Josh Dohan, Executive Director, Youth Advocacy Division
Meeting Agenda and the meeting flyer announcement are available for download.