	Juvenile Justice Day Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

JJD 6: Developing Life Skills and Connections

Youth are engaged in programming and activities that help them build skills, explore interests, experience a sense of self-efficacy and belonging, and contribute to the community.

Research Note: Some research suggests that cognitive behavioral interventions and interpersonal skills training are promising ways to address youths’ risks and needs and help them develop competencies that can help them succeed.

JJD 6.01

Youth are helped to develop social skills needed to:

solve problems, resolve conflicts, and make decisions;
control impulses and manage anger; and
interact appropriately with others.

JJD 6.02

Youth are helped to understand the impact of past actions and behaviors, and taught how to make responsible, pro-social decisions in the future.

JJD 6.03

Personnel model pro-social behavior and attitudes in daily interactions, and youth are expected and encouraged to do the same.

JJD 6.04

Youth have opportunities to practice and demonstrate their skills outside the facility, when possible and appropriate.

Interpretation: Relevant opportunities to practice and demonstrate skills may include community service projects or vocational placements. As referenced in JJD 4.04, it may be appropriate to collaborate with others to identify meaningful ways for youth to contribute to the community.

Research Note: Literature emphasizes that there is more to competency development than skills training, and notes that youth also need opportunities to use skills in productive, valued activities.

JJD 6.05

Youth are helped to develop age-appropriate skills they can use in daily life in their homes and communities.

Interpretation: Relevant skills may include, but are not limited to: identifying networks of support; time management; accessing and using community resources; pursuing educational and occupational opportunities; household management; budgeting and money management; and accessing available financial assistance.

JJD 6.06

To promote their ability to maintain better health practices, youth receive appropriate support and education regarding:

proper nutrition and exercise;
personal hygiene;
substance use prevention;
sexual development;
prevention and treatment of diseases, including sexually transmitted diseases; and
pregnancy prevention and responsible parenting.

JJD 6.07

Pregnant and parenting youth are helped to develop skills and knowledge related to:

basic caregiving routines;
child growth and development;
meeting children’s health and emotional needs;
environmental safety and injury prevention;
parent-child interactions and bonding;
age-appropriate behavioral expectations and appropriate discipline; and
pregnancy planning and the spacing of children.

NA The organization does not serve pregnant or parenting youth.

JJD 6.08

Youth have opportunities to participate in activities appropriate to their needs, skills, and interests, including:

sports and athletic activities;
cultural enrichment activities;
academic enrichment and support activities; and
social activities.

JJD 6.09

The organization evaluates youth for their ability to participate in recreational activities, and obtains written, signed permission slips from their parents or legal guardians stating that youth are physically capable of participating in sports and athletic activities.

Interpretation: If youth participate in strenuous athletic activities, or if their parents or legal guardians are not reachable, it may also be appropriate to obtain a medical records release or a signed document from a qualified medical professional stating that youth are physically capable of participating.

JJD 6.10

Youth are helped to cultivate positive connections outside the program by identifying:

pro-social recreational and leisure time activities; and
sources of pro-social support, such as mentors, community members, peers, siblings, or other family members.

Note: Involvement in the activities described in JJD 6.04 can also facilitate the development of positive community connections.

Research Note: Literature emphasizes the importance of developing pro-social community bonds and relationships.

QUICK JUMP TO


	PURPOSE: Juvenile Justice Day Services promote public safety and reduce the need for out-of-home placements by allowing youth to reside in their communities while they address problems and develop the attitudes and skills needed to make responsible choices, avoid negative behaviors, and become productive, connected, and law-abiding members of their communities.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	CONNECTED The means by which individuals access services that may or may not be provided by the organization itself. These terms are used interchangeably when individuals are connected to services either directly or by referral. See also LINKED.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	TRAINING Instruction so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient in a skill or body of knowledge.


	PERSONNEL The body of employees and/or volunteers that carries out the organization's tasks under the organization's administration and/or supervision. This definition does not include foster parents who are specifically referenced in relevant standards


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	PREVENTION Actions taken to minimize and/or eliminate social, psychological, or other conditions. Prevention can occur at the individual, group, community, and societal levels and enhances opportunities to achieve positive fulfillment.


	PLANNING The process of specifying objectives, evaluating the means for their achievement, and exercising deliberate decision making about appropriate courses of action.


	PARENTS Parents can include: birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Please see service standards for more specific information about use of this term.


	MANAGEMENT See ADMINISTRATION


	LEGAL GUARDIAN A person who has legal responsibility for the care and management of a person incapable of administering his/her own affairs. In the case of a minor child, the guardian is charged with the legal responsibility for the care and management of the child and of the minor child's estate.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."