	Juvenile Justice Corrections Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-JJC 15: Planning for Reentry

The agency and youth work together to plan for transition and prepare for life after confinement.

Interpretation: Although “Planning for Reentry” is a specific core concept standard, it is important to note that reentry preparation should not actually be an entirely separate practice. In contrast, the treatment and services provided throughout confinement should be designed to help youth avoid lives of crime and become productive members of society.

Research Note: Recidivism rates are high, and literature suggests that any progress youth make during confinement is jeopardized upon reentry. Accordingly, although not enough is known about how to increase the likelihood of successful reentry, many experts emphasize the importance of preparing for reintegration prior to release.

NA The agency provides only detention services.

PA-JJC 15.01

To ensure an orderly transition, reentry planning begins soon after youth arrive at the facility.

PA-JJC 15.02

Youth, their family members, and relevant personnel are involved in developing plans for transition and aftercare.

Interpretation: Relevant personnel can include personnel from outside organizations and agencies. If another party, such as an aftercare case manager, is primarily responsible for providing aftercare, he or she should be involved in the planning process as soon as possible and may play a role in implementing the practices noted in this section. However, the agency is still expected to partner with that party to facilitate effective planning and ensure that the standards are implemented, as referenced in PA-JJC 5.07.

PA-JJC 15.03

Individualized aftercare plans are linked to service plans, and determine how to address risks, needs, and strengths in areas relevant to reentry, including, as appropriate:

living arrangements;
family relationships;
peer groups and support networks;
recreational activities;
health;
mental health;
substance use conditions;
finding and enrolling in appropriate education services, such as high school or GED programs, vocational training programs, special education services, and colleges or universities; and
obtaining legitimate employment.

Interpretation: Like assessments and service plans, aftercare plans should be responsive to the age, developmental level, gender, language, religion, race, ethnicity, cultural background, and sexual orientation of youth, as well as to the characteristics of the communities in which youth will reside after release.

Interpretation: Post-confinement living arrangements may vary based on a youth’s age, developmental level, and family situation. Although youth will often return to their families, the agency should have a system in place to ensure this is safe and appropriate. To facilitate a more gradual transition, some agencies may transfer youth to less-restrictive residential facilities, such as group homes, before they transition to longer-term living arrangements.

PA-JJC 15.04

The agency works with resources, services, and supports specified in the aftercare plan to:

ensure that youth are admitted to appropriate programs before release;
prepare service providers and others in the community for youths’ arrival; and
build positive connections to support youth after release.

PA-JJC 15.05

The agency provides youth with advance notice of the cessation of any health, financial, or other benefits that may occur at release, and:

helps youth sign up for alternative health insurance or other appropriate benefits, when available; or
provides information about other options that can help meet youths’ needs, such as free clinics.

PA-JJC 15.06

Youth are helped to obtain and compile any documents they may need after release, including, as appropriate to youths’ ages and needs:

an identification card;
a social security or social insurance number;
a resume;
a driver’s license, when the ability to drive is a goal;
medical records and documentation;
a birth certificate;
documentation of immigration, citizenship, or naturalization, if applicable;
death certificates when parents are deceased;
a list of known relatives, with relationships, addresses, telephone numbers, and permissions for contacting involved parties; and
educational records.

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	PURPOSE: Juvenile Justice Corrections Services promote public safety by helping youth overcome problems and develop the attitudes and skills needed to make responsible choices, avoid negative behaviors, and become productive, connected, and law-abiding citizens.

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	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.


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


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


	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."


	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


	AFTERCARE Additional services provided beyond the period of primary care that offer continuity and supportive follow-up.


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	LINKED 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 linked to services either directly or by referral. See also CONNECTED.


	SERVICE PLAN A written plan of action based on the assessment of consumer needs and strengths that identifies problems, sets goals, and describes a strategy for achieving those goals and engaging in joint problem solving with the consumer. Also known as a "treatment plan".


	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.


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


	ETHNICITY An orientation toward and identification with a population group that shares national origin, religion, race, or language.


	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.


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.


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