TARRANT COUNTY JUVENILE SERVICES

Assessment of Core Principles for Reducing Recidivism and Improving Other 

Outcomes for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System

The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center issued a report July 2014 titled Core Principles for Reducing Recidivism and Improving Other Outcomes for 

Youth in the Juvenile Justice System. This report provides guidance on how to improve outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system.

Tarrant County Juvenile Services is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for our youth and our community. For the first time in the 

history of the juvenile justice system quality and comprehensive data is now available to drive system decisions. TCJS is dedicated to conducting a 

comprehensive review at each point of the system for adherence to the Core Principles document and consideration of key policy and practice

changes to impact recidivism and youth outcomes. 

This work supports and coincides with the Department’s 5- year Strategic Plan (“Moving Forward” 2013-2018)
Principle 1: Base supervision, service, and resource-allocation decisions on the results of validated risk and needs assessments 

Recommendation A: Minimize 

juvenile justice system supervision 

and services for youth who are at a 

low risk of reoffending.

Recommendation B: Maximize the 

impact and value of system resources 

by prioritizing services for youth most 

likely to reoffend and by minimizing 

the use of confinement.

Recommendation C: Use validated 

assessments to identify the primary 

causes of a youth’s delinquent behaviors 

and focus system interventions and 

resources on addressing these causes

Recommendation D: Use specialized, 

validated screenings and assessments to 

identify youth with mental health and 

substance use treatment needs and match 

them to services, minimizing juvenile justice 

intervention when appropriate.

What has Been Accomplished: 

 Adopted policy allows for LEAs to 

provide First Offender Program 

without referral to JPD

 Utilizing Victim-offender 

mediation, CSR & drug court 

diversion programs

 Entered into collaborations with 

schools to prevent youth from

entering JJ system 

 Implemented early 

intervention/collaboration with 

shared youth in CPS system

 Created a resource development 

position to engage more local 

resources for diversion of low 

risk youth

 Increased percentage of low risk 

youth diverted annually since FY 

2008 (In FY 2014 91% of youth 

diverted were low risk)

What has Been Accomplished: 

 Diverting a higher percentage of 

low risk youth since implementing 

the PACT

 Diverting a high percentage of 

youth referred at intake (e.g., 

FY2014 - 35%)

 Reduced the number of youth in 

out-of-home placement by 30%

since 2009

 Reduced the number of youth 

committed to TJJD by 50% since 

2009

 Basing the detention of youth on 

set criteria including seriousness 

of offense, community safety &

best interest of the youth 

 Committing youth of all races to 

secure confinement at a similar 

rate 

What has Been Accomplished:

 Implemented the PACT Pre-Screen 

and Full-Screen in FY 2009 to

identify dynamic risk and need 

factors of youth

 Adopted policy on frequency of 

administering & updating a youth’s 

assessment

 Established policy & practice for 

case plan development to address 

youth risk, needs and responsivity

 Established process for inter-rater 

reliability on administration of the 

PACT for quality improvement and 

adherence to protocols

 Utilizing assessment data to 

determine service gaps and better 

align resources

What has Been Accomplished: 

 Administering the MAYSI-2 screening

instrument on all youth formally referred. 

Youth with high risk scores are referred 

for more in-depth MH assessment

 In 2014 the Tarrant County community 

adopted and is utilizing Reaching Teens 

which guides staff to strength-based, 

resilience-building, and trauma-informed 

strategies

 Developed MH resources at all points of 

the juvenile system including providing 

parents resource information, accessing 

the YES Waiver, & specialized caseloads

 Participating in the JJ-Trials initiative to 

implement best practice & improve 

services for youth with substance abuse 

issues 

Continued Work to be Done:

 Improve alignment of low risk 

youth with supervision decisions 

and services

 Enhance community based 

resources for low risk youth

 Evaluate annual recidivism rates 

for low risk youth

 Provide regular updates to

judges, prosecutors, and other 

stakeholders on research and 

outcomes

Continued Work to be Done:

 Review and consider adoption of 

a validated detention screening 

instrument 

 Analyze detention admission data 

for trends and determine if there 

is a need to revise the detention 

admission policy to support the 

diversion of youth

 Evaluate use & outcomes of outof-home placement

Continued Work to be Done: 

 Clearly define the risk and 

criminogenic need each program &

service addresses

 Train, monitor & hold staff 

accountable for case plans focusing 

primarily on services aligned with 

youth risk and criminogenic need

 Expand gender responsiveness 

specifically for female youth

 Test PACT validation and revalidate 

as necessary

 Review assessment process to ensure

maximum benefit

Continued Work to be Done: 

 Review policy & practice to ensure it 

supports youth who are low to 

low/moderate risk of reoffending receive 

minimal supervision or services

 Consider adopting a validated substance 

use screening tool and expanded MH 

assessment tools 

 Enhance MH and substance abuse 

intervention strategies for appropriate 

youth

 
Principle 2: Adopt and effectively implement programs and services demonstrated to reduce recidivism and improve other youth outcomes, 

and use data to evaluate system performance and direct system improvements. 

Recommendation A: Eliminate the use of 

programs and practices that do not reduce 

recidivism or improve other key youth outcomes.

Recommendation B: Support and fund services shown to 

reduce recidivism and improve other youth outcomes.

Recommendation C: Evaluate recidivism and other 

youth outcomes, and use this data to guide policy, 

practice, and resource allocation.

What has Been Accomplished: 

 Designed an evaluation methodology for existing 

programs. Evaluation of programs will be 

conducted on both internal and contracted 

programs

 Initiated a review of programs & practices for 

their impact on recidivism

 Utilized program outcome data to eliminate

some programs & services

What has Been Accomplished: 

 Adopted agency policy promoting youth positive 

development & family/community centric approaches

 Migrating to programs that are evidence &/or 

therapeutically based, including: Cognitive Behavior 

Therapy, Functional Family Therapy, Cross-Systems 

Collaborations, Youth Advocacy, Aggression 

Replacement Therapy, & Victim-Offender Mediation

 Providing staff training initiatives that support positive 

youth outcomes & family engagement, including:

Motivational Interviewing, Family Engagement, Reaching 

Teens and cultural & linguistic competency

 Designed & awarded Request for Proposals to require

evidence/research based design & fidelity

 Initiated program referral process and eligibility 

criteria to ensure youth are appropriately matched for 

best outcomes

 Defined treatment goals are utilized to determine 

length of participation in programs, services & 

residential placement 

What has Been Accomplished:

 Incorporated outcome measures into each 

contracted program & service

 Sharing program outcome data with contractors 

during the bi-annual contract monitoring process

 Reviewed program recidivism data by program and 

risk level. Began utilizing data to facilitate policy 

change on youth placement in programs

 Initiated conversations to educate local juvenile 

justice system decision makers on the Core 

Principles for Reducing Recidivism document &

sharing outcome data with all stakeholders

Continued Work to be Done:

 Fully implement the program evaluation design 

model 

 Phase out programs & policies that are proven 

ineffective

 Review principles outlined by the Center for 

Juvenile Justice Reform & implement best 

practices

Continued Work to be Done:

 Expand use and implementation of research supported 

programs and practices

 Enhance referral process to ensure youth receive the 

most appropriate services based on risk and need

 Develop resource manual for use by JPOs, Juvenile 

Judges and prosecutors that clearly defines each 

program, appropriate risk level served and 

criminogenic need addressed

 Ensure programs with demonstrated effectiveness are

available to address top 5 identified criminogenic 

needs of overall clientele

 Ensure contract provider services are monitored for 

outcomes and continued funding is contingent on 

demonstrated effectiveness

Continued Work to be Done:

 Utilize program outcome data during contract 

renewals and RFP proposal evaluation

 Incorporate principles of evidence based principles 

into RFP process

 Implement plan for educating system stakeholders 

on Core Principles and sharing recidivism data

 Ensure timely & up-to-date data is available by 

working with TJJD to obtain recidivism data

 Conduct an evaluation to determine if JCMS 

provides needed data for program assessment

 Determine process for need/feasibility of quarterly 

program status/stat reports to be shared with 

program administrators

 Review need for additional resources to conduct 

necessary research, evaluation, and statistical 

analysis
Principle 3: Employ a coordinated approach across service systems to address youth’s needs. 

Recommendation A: Partner the juvenile justice system with the other key service systems in which youth are or should be involved in order to assess and effectively 

address their needs. 

What has Been Accomplished: 

 Partnering with 13 youth-serving organizations (including mental health, healthcare, education, child welfare & criminal justice systems) to implement the Reaching 

Teens Model, a staff development model focusing on strength-based, trauma-informed principles designed to building resilience in youth

 Providing a certified parent engagement specialist at an elementary alternative school to deliver early intervention and intense case management services daily, 

targeting services to minority children most in need

 Participated in the Georgetown Crossover Youth Model –Tarrant County model identifies and intervenes in cases of youth crossing over/into both systems to keep the

families from penetrating further into either system

 Providing support for a child protective services liaison located at TCJS to allow for the identification of cross system youth, court preparation and service provision

 Providing support for a MHMR liaison located at TCJS for identification of youth with historical & on-going mental health needs, & coordination of service delivery

 Participating in the Mental Health Connection of Tarrant County, a collaboration of public and private agencies, and individuals who need mental health services and 

their caregivers. Designed to develop long-term change, address key issues & promote immediate solutions in the mental health service system in Tarrant County

 Partnering with two major school districts to engage in delinquency/truancy prevention and intervention services

 Maintaining multiple contacts with behavior health systems for screening, assessment and treatment of youth with behavioral health needs

 Providing & participating in frequent cross-system training opportunities with other youth serving organizations 

 Supporting the continuity of care of youth returning from out-of-home placement by reestablishing a youth’s Medicaid eligibility, providing information to the receiving 

school & connection to needed community resources 

 Reviewed and working to strengthen protocols with the public hospital & local mental health authority for “fit-to-proceed’ cases 

Continued Work to be Done:

 Continue improving cross-system coordination and collaboration

 Strengthen youth transitioning back to school from out-of-home placement, detention or juvenile justice alternative education program

 Streamline processes for accessing inpatient services for youth in need of crises intervention

 Enhance work with Child Protective Services

 Grow partnership with the foster care provider, coordinate joint training & enhance communication strategies on shared youth

 Improve processes to address competency restoration requirements with local resources through policy changes & seek funding avenues
Principle 4: Tailor system policies, programs, and supervision to reflect the distinct development needs of adolescents. 

Recommendation A: Engage families 

and other supportive adults in major 

system decisions and processes.

Recommendation B: Employ a 

developmentally appropriate approach 

to system supervision by focusing 

resources on promoting positive 

behavior change and using a 

graduated response to violations.

Recommendation C: Hold youth 

accountable for their actions in ways that 

address the harm caused to victims and 

communities and that support positive 

behavior change. 

Recommendation D: Promote youth’s 

respect for and compliance with the law by 

engaging them in system decisions and 

processes and by addressing system bias 

and the disparate treatment of youth of 

color and other groups that are 

disproportionately represented in the juvenile 

justice system.

What has Been Accomplished: 

 Employing practices of engaging 

youth & families in PACT 

Assessment & Case Planning

 Family group meetings are utilized 

by specialized caseload officers

 Developed plainly written Conditions 

of Supervision that are reviewed 

with youth & parent(s)

 Implemented methods to encourage 

family engagement, including parent 

orientation sessions & parentingskills development

 Designed youth advocate program

to engage families, build positive 

relationships with community 

mentors & build on youth strengths

 Implemented customer satisfaction 

survey taken by parents of youth 

upon completion of supervision

What has Been Accomplished: 

 Employing strategies to engage 

youth and their families

 Adopted policy emphasizing youth 

and family centered services

 Repositioned the role of JPO’s to 

be less about monitoring 

compliance, reduced caseloads & 

stressing family engagement 

 Emphasizing training of probation 

staff in Motivational Interviewing, 

Trauma Informed Care & Family 

Engagement

What has Been Accomplished:

 Employing concepts of restorative 

justice that include victim-offender 

mediation, victim impact panels, 

community service & monetary 

restitution 

 Restorative justice concepts are 

imbedded in treatment outcomes of 

community partners and is part of 

the philosophical platform utilized by 

the department

 Interventions are tailored to individual 

youth needs. TCJS utilizes an 

individualized resource staffing

process for JPOs to seek individual 

case assistance

What has Been Accomplished:

 Completed first phase of OJJDP DMC 

model

 Engaging in community events and share 

DMC data

 Providing staff training to address 

system bias, cultural and linguistic 

competency

 Established a TEAM Committee (Training 

Employees to Achieve Multi-cultural 

Competence)

 Conducted review for last two years of 

proportionality of youth at key decision 

points

 Requiring culturally-competent services 

as part of any contract for services

Continued Work to be Done:

 Expand use of Family Strategy 

Sessions

 Consider adopting protocols that 

formalize family and youth 

engagement

 Consider instituting a parent/peer 

led support group

Continued Work to be Done:

 Train, coach, support & provide 

feedback to probation staff in

skills development

 Consider creating a sanction grid 

for VOCOs supported by the

courts & prosecutors 

 Increase methods of providing 

positive reinforcement techniques

Continued Work to be Done:

 Evaluate the need for and consider 

adopting a graduated response 

model

Continued Work to be Done:

 Complete Reducing Racial and Ethnic 

Disparities in Juvenile Justice Certificate 

Program at Georgetown University with 

community partners

 Educate stakeholders on implicit bias & 

procedural justice