ADVOCACY IN ACTION:

CROSSOVER YOUTH

Advocacy in Action is a series of briefs focused

on issues of potential importance to the

court-appointed special advocates (CASAs) or

guardians ad litem (GALs) who advocate for

the best interests of children who have been

neglected or abused. Understanding how these

issues may impact child and family outcomes is

foundational to being a successful advocate.

Each Advocacy in Action brief starts with a

summary of the issue and how it may impact

children who have been neglected or abused,

followed by recommended actions for advocates

in light of the research. Each brief also includes a

promising practice from the nationwide network

of CASA/GAL programs and a list of resources for

those interested in learning more.

Though these issues are interrelated, each brief

is categorized as pertaining to either children’s

safety, permanency, or well-being.

11/2018

WELL-BEING

Crossover youth are more likely to receive harsh sentences and to be

detained on first-time charges.

CROSSOVER YOUTH

WHY IT MATTERS

Crossover youth are youth involved in both the child

welfare and juvenile justice systems. In short, they

have experienced maltreatment (resulting in their child

welfare involvement)

and have engaged in

delinquency, bringing

them to the attention

of the juvenile justice

system. Dually involved

youth are youth who

have had some level of system contact with the child

welfare and juvenile justice systems, whereas dually

adjudicated youth are court-involved in both systems.

It is difficult to determine just how many youth are

involved in both systems, and getting an accurate

estimate often depends on how broadly dual system

involvement is defined. Some estimates suggest that

more than 50 percent of youth in the juvenile justice

system also have child welfare involvement.1 In field

work with several jurisdictions across the country,

the Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for

Juvenile Justice found that approximately two-thirds

of the juvenile justice populations in those jurisdictions

had some level of child welfare system involvement.2

Crossover youth,

compared to youth

who are only involved

in one system (child

welfare or juvenile

justice), experience

higher rates of criminal justice involvement and use

of public support services as adults. Additionally,

they often struggle with mental health problems,

substance abuse, unemployment, homelessness, poor

educational outcomes and recidivism.3 Crossover youth

are more likely to receive harsh sentences, are more

likely to be detained on first-time charges and are

less likely to receive probation versus incarceration,

compared to youth who have not had any child

welfare involvement.4 Youth of color, disproportionately

represented in both child welfare and juvenile justice

systems, are more likely to have poor outcomes.

1 ADVOCACY IN ACTION: Crossover Youth

WELL-BEING

AN OVERVIEW OF PATHWAYS LEADING TO IDENTIFICATION AS A DUALLY-INVOLVED YOUTH

Starting Point Occurrence Result

Pathway 1 Youth has an open child welfare case

Youth is arrested Youth enters the delinquency system

Pathway 2 Youth is arrested Youth has a previously closed child welfare case

Referral is made to child welfare

Pathway 3 Youth is arrested—no previous contact with child welfare

Upon investigation, maltreatment is discovered

Referral is made to child welfare

Pathway 4

Youth is arrested,

adjudicated, and

placed in a correctional

placement

Time in correctional placement ends, but there is no safe home to return to

Referrral to child welfare

From Denise Herz, Philip Lee, Lorrie Lutz, Macon Stewart, et. al., Addressing the Needs of Multi-System Youth: Strengthening the Connection between Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice (Washington, DC: Center for Juvenile Justice Reform and the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps, March 2012), 3, http://bit.ly/1jmO3mg. Used with permission.

THE CROSSOVER YOUTH PRACTICE MODEL (CYPM)

The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR)

at the Georgetown University McCourt School

of Public Policy developed the Crossover Youth

Practice Model (CYPM)5 with the purpose of

improving outcomes for youth who are involved in

both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

The CYPM is based on the notion that when

child welfare, juvenile justice, related agencies

and partners collaborate to address the needs of

these youth, better life outcomes can happen.

CASA volunteers are important partners in these

collaborations, known as “CYPM implementation

teams.” According to the authors of the CYPM,

given that CASA volunteers are often assigned

to more complicated cases and crossover

youths’ cases are generally quite complex, an

experienced CASA volunteer can make a significant

impact in how crossover youth are supported.

Accordingly, the authors recommend that CYPM

implementation teams invite CASA volunteers to

participate in the planning and implementation

of the model from the beginning of the process.

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WELL-BEING

ADVOCATES IN ACTION

Estimates suggest that more than 50 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system also have child welfare involvement.6

ACTIONS RELATED TO THE CYPM

The authors of the CYPM have the following

recommendations for CASA volunteer

participation in CYPM implementation teams:7

• Get involved in CYPM planning and

implementation. CASA volunteers can help

inform the CYPM protocols, related tools and

youth and family engagement strategies. They

should be key stakeholders in the implementation

team from the onset of the effort.

• Strive to become involved as early as possible

in a crossover case. Since CASA volunteers often

know the youths’ particular circumstances and

history, they are in a position to share important

information and act as liaisons for needed

services for the youth across both systems.

• Participate in the case planning team. The CASA

volunteer should participate in all multidisciplinary

team meetings, as well as meetings with the youth

and family. They can work closely with staff from

both juvenile justice and child welfare agencies to

ensure that everyone has the same understanding

of case plan goals and requirements and

the responsibilities of all involved.

• Seek access to information about the youth.

In order to be most effective in their roles, CASA

volunteers should be equipped with relevant

information on the youth in a timely manner

which will leverage their role in providing

sound best interest advocacy for the youth.

• Advocate for youths’ involvement in “normal

activities.” These youth are often so inundated

with therapeutic supports and services that they do

not have an opportunity to participate in regular

activities that would serve to support their growth

and development. CASA volunteers can advocate

for the youth’s participation in recreational and

social activities in their school and community.

OTHER ACTIONS TO CONSIDER

• Learn more about and attend trainings

pertaining to crossover youth, especially if you

work with older youth. Learn about risk factors

for dual involvement as they pertain to the youth

you advocate for. This may help you intervene

to address those risk factors for that youth.

• Learn more about the delinquency system,

whether youth you advocate for are eligible for

diversion, such as participating in community

3 ADVOCACY IN ACTION: Crossover Youth

WELL-BEING

service versus placement in juvenile detention,

and how long it is appropriate for them to

be held in detention, so you can understand

their rights and advocate accordingly.

• Get to know staff from the juvenile justice

courts and agencies ahead of being assigned a

crossover youth. Establishing a relationship ahead

of time will help ensure a strong partnership

on behalf of the youth’s best interests.

• Acquire an understanding of the juvenile justice

system. It is important to understand, for example,

that the delinquency case nor any information

related to it should be discussed with the youth until

after adjudication occurs. This will help prevent

incriminating information from being divulged

that could require the CASA volunteer to be

summoned as a witness in the delinquency case..

• Become acquainted with juvenile justice

system supports and offerings. This information

will help you understand what is available

to youth as they navigate the justice system

either via diversion or at adjudication.

• Learn about the connection between

behavioral health and crossing over to the

juvenile justice system, as behavioral health

concerns are a particular risk factor for many

youth in foster care due to their histories of

abuse or neglect and trauma. See “Selected

Resources” for more information.

• Advocate for youths’ best interest in schools by

ensuring that educators are informed about the

impacts of trauma and how to work with youth who

have been exposed to trauma, and understand

the links between child welfare and juvenile

justice systems. Since educational achievement

is a known protective factor to avoiding crossover

involvement, CASA volunteers should advocate for

youth’s positive school involvement. See “Selected

Resources” for more information on this topic.

BRIGHT SPOT

CROSSOVER YOUTH APPROACH: THE SOUTHWEST GEORGIA CHILDREN’S ALLIANCE

The Southwest Georgia Children’s Alliance, Inc. is an

umbrella organization first founded in 2003 as the

SOWEGA CASA program. While serving 100 percent

of the children coming before dependency court in

twelve counties, SOWEGA CASA saw the further

need to support children who are in the dependency

system, the delinquency system, and at times, both

systems. Two additional victim advocacy programs,

housed along with SOWEGA CASA and under the

guidance of a sole board of directors, were born.

The first, the Lighthouse Children’s Advocacy

Center, was created in 2012 to provide

expert forensic interviews, forensic medical

4 ADVOCACY IN ACTION: Crossover Youth

WELL-BEING

examinations, and advocacy for children who

are suspected to be victims of physical, sexual,

or exposed to domestic violence abuse.

The second, the Children in Need of Services program,

was created in 2013 with a focus on delinquency

and other adolescent problem behaviors. The 2013

passage of Georgia House Bill 242 had resulted in the

designation of a population of children as being at-risk

of neglect through their engagement in behaviors such

as running away, curfew violations, fighting in public,

and truancy. The Children in Need of Services program

was the first of its kind in Georgia. It works with these

children and families to engage them in services, with

the goal of helping youth avoid a life of criminality and

enabling them to thrive instead.

Recognizing that crossover youth are vulnerable

to a number of risk factors, the SOWEGA CASA

program commits to providing these youth with CASA

volunteers. Because of their unique challenges, the

CASA volunteers who are assigned to these youth

are experienced and well-seasoned volunteers. The

program specifically seeks out volunteers who are

working or retired teachers or social workers, or others

who have experience being in court, as they will

attend both the dependency hearings as well as the

delinquency hearings.

In addition, advocates participate in multi-

disciplinary hearings that are attended by

representatives of various agencies and the court,

school personnel, and mental health providers and

medical professionals, as appropriate. The outcomes

that the team works to achieve at these hearings

include:

• reducing youths’ juvenile justice involvement by

increasing the use of diversion when appropriate

and possible;

• reducing youths’ child welfare involvement through

prevention of out-of-home placement by improving

family capacity, increasing placement stability and

seeking permanency quickly;

• improving youths’ school outcomes including

increasing attendance, reducing discipline referrals

and suspensions, and improving on-time high

school completion;

• reducing youths’ time spent in detention;

• utilizing a trauma-informed approach during the

teaming process;

• increasing referral and screening systems to youth

to provide effective mental health and substance

use services;

• enhancing youth and family connection to the

community; and

• using wraparound community systems of care to

reduce status offenses.

Viewing crossover youth holistically and using

wraparound supports and services that take both

strengths and needs into account has been a

successful approach for SOWEGA CASA, as they work

with partners to reduce the number of crossover youth

in their jurisdiction.

For more information, contact

[email protected]

5 ADVOCACY IN ACTION: Crossover Youth

WELL-BEING

SELECTED RESOURCES

Name Description

American Youth Policy Forum,

Understanding Foster, Juvenile Justice and

Crossover Youth8

This resource provides several graphics depicting

outcome data across these three populations and makes

recommendations about effective interventions.

Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, The

Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM):

Behavioral Health and Crossover Youth9

This issue brief discusses: 1) the relationship between

behavioral health and crossover youth; 2) the ways the

Crossover Youth Practice Model addresses behavioral

health; and 3) how one jurisdiction has used CYPM to

address behavioral health outcomes.

Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, The

Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM):

Engaging Court and Appointed Special

Advocates to Improve Outcomes for

Crossover Youth10

This issue brief discusses the following: 1) the role of

CASA volunteers in the juvenile justice and child welfare

systems; 2) ways CASA volunteers can improve outcomes

for crossover youth; 3) how CASA volunteers fit within

the CYPM framework; and 4) how CASA volunteers have

operated in the field to make a difference for at-risk youth.

Center for Juvenile Justice Reform:

Crossover Youth Practice Model

Jurisdictions map11

This map of the United States identifies which states

and counties are currently implementing crossover youth

practice model interventions.

6 ADVOCACY IN ACTION: Crossover Youth

WELL-BEING

Name Description

Center for Juvenile Justice Reform,

Keeping Youth in School and Out of the

Justice System: Promising Practices and

Approaches12

According to this resource, when revising school policies

and implementing school-based diversion programs, there

are four important strategies that policymakers, educators,

and juvenile justice leaders should consider: training staff,

addressing disproportionality and disparities, developing

school-justice partnerships, and collecting and evaluating

data. This resource can be shared with education and

child welfare partners to create a better understanding

of how schools can protect students from justice system

involvement (or exacerbate it).

The National Child Traumatic Stress

Network (NCTSN), Crossover Youth and

Trauma-Informed Practice13

This webinar covers findings from research on crossover

youth and how traumatic stress plays a role in their

trajectory, as well as implications for policy and practice. It

expands on policy and practice implications with discussions

of strategies for policy reform and ways to translate

research into promising practices.

7 ADVOCACY IN ACTION: Crossover Youth

WELL-BEING

ENDNOTES

1 Douglas Thomas (ed.), “When Systems

Collaborate: How Three Jurisdictions Improved

Their Handling of Dual-Status Cases“(Pittsburgh,

PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice, April

2015): 3, http://www.ncjj.org/Publication/When-

Systems-Collaborate-How-Three-Jurisdictions-

Improved-their-Handling-of-Dual-Status-Cases.

aspx.

2 David Altschuler, Gary Stangler, Kent Berkley,

Leonard Burton, “Supporting Youth in Transition

to Adulthood: Lessons Learned from Child Welfare

and Juvenile Justice” (Center for Juvenile Justice

Reform and Jim Casey Youth Opportunities

Initiative, April 2009): 9.

3 Ibid.

4 Hui Huang, Joseph P. Ryan, &Denise Herz, “The

journey of dually-involved youth: The description

and prediction of re-reporting and recidivism”

(Children and Youth Services Review, 2012). 34.

https://jbcc.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/journey_

of_dually-involved_youth_huang_ryan_herz_2012.

pdf

5 Lenhoff, C., Jones-Kelly, H., & Abbott, S. (2017).

The Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM).

Georgetown University McCourt School of Public

Policy, Center for Juvenile Justice Reform.

6 Douglas Thomas (ed.), “When Systems

Collaborate: How Three Jurisdictions Improved

Their Handling of Dual-Status Cases“(Pittsburgh,

PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice, April

2015): 3, http://www.ncjj.org/Publication/When-

Systems-Collaborate-How-Three-Jurisdictions-

Improved-their-Handling-of-Dual-Status-Cases.

aspx.

7 Ibid.

8 Understanding Foster, Juvenile Justice and

Crossover Youth, American Youth Policy Forum, nd,

https://spark.adobe.com/page/TK0GmOayfk2E2/

9 Abbott, S. & Barnett, E. (2015). The Crossover

Youth Practice Model (CYPM): Behavioral Health

and Crossover Youth, Center for Juvenile Justice

Reform. Available at: https://cjjr.georgetown.edu/

cjjr-publishes-issue-brief-on-behavioral-health-and-

crossover-youth/

10 Lenhoff, C., Jones-Kelly, H., & Abbott, S. (2017).

The Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM).

Georg

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