Deferred Prosecution

A non-judicial early intervention program designed to prevent low-risk and first-time juvenile offenders from further penetrating the Juvenile Justice System, the program is implemented according to the mandate of Section 53.03 of the Texas Family Code for a minimum of three and maximum of six months duration. Youth arrested for Class A or B misdemeanors may be referred to the Deferred Prosecution program, and may avoid formal prosecution and court disposition by successfully completing the program. Probation Officers advise youth and their families of their rights, assess family needs and develop customized service plans to meet the needs of individual families. Service Plans typically include administering or brokering some form of voluntary counseling and providing minimum supervision of youth while monitoring their compliance to established terms and conditions. Youth are held accountable to victims and the general public through payment of monetary restitution to victims and performance of community service. The Deferred Prosecution Unit is staffed by eight probation officers who received a total of 1,819 referrals and enrolled 1,547 children in the program in 2002.

Victim Services Unit

Established to service victims of juvenile crime and to prevent re-victimization by the juvenile justice system, to provide Victim-Offender Mediation that facilitates restorative justice, and to manage the Community Service Restitution Program, this unit provides: mediation, victim advocacy, victim service reports to the Court, coordinate and facilitate victim impact panels, recruitment of community service restitution sites, and management of the community service restitution program and supervision of community service restitution crews.

In 2002, the Victim Services Unit notified 3983 victims of their rights, provided services to 3031 victims, and submitted 2714 reports to the court. The mediation program received 348 mediation referrals and out of those 245 were facilitated for mediation and 103 were negotiated. These mediation services included victim notification, departmental procedure information, court room accompaniments, outside agency referrals, and affidavits of restitution request. The Community Service Restitution section recruited 57 new sites, for a total of 315 approved CSR sites, and directly supervised 352 juveniles performing 4,224 hours of community service.

Juvenile Drug Court

In September 2001, the Department received a letter from Governor Rick Perry announcing a grant award for $167,537 to implement a juvenile drug court diversion program. The Drug Court meets weekly with the Judge being the central figure in a team combating the family disease of substance abuse. The Drug Court Team includes representatives from the Juvenile Court, Mental Health Association, Dallas Public Schools, and the Department's Substance Abuse Unit, and is staffed by a Court Coordinator and a Case Manager.

During the initial eleven months of operation, February through December, 2002, one hundred and five (105) youth completed the diversion program. Preliminary data reflect that at program discharge 85% of the youth have discontinued drug use and have committed no new offenses.

Community Youth Development Program

In September of 1996, the Juvenile Department became a participant in the Community Youth Development Program. The department employed a certified probation officer to work in conjunction with other service providers involved with the project to impact and reduce the excessively high incidence of truancy and school failure among the children residing in zip code 75216. In August of 2001, an additional Community Liaison Officer was funded to address truancy and school failure among children living in the 75217 zip code. This Community Liaison Officer works at the H. Grady Spruce High School and E. B. Comstock Junior High School to duplicate the efforts of the Liaison Officer housed at South Oak Cliff High School.

These geographical areas had traditionally had a high number of referrals to the juvenile department. The focus of the program was to provide intensive individualized intervention to youth identified as high-risk. The Juvenile Community Liaison Officer provides this intervention on a daily basis to address issues with discipline and behavior, and monitors the youth's attendance and academic progress.

The Community Youth Development project started its 7th year at South Oak Cliff High School and 2nd year at Spruce High School this past August. The program continues to grow and expand with the youth remaining active in the program beyond their initial enrollment year. During 2002, over one hundred and twenty (120) youth participated in the 75216 program, receiving an array of services including: tutoring, mentoring, life-skill development, and attendance and academic monitoring. Currently over one hundred youth are still active in the program at South Oak Cliff High School.

The students enrolled in the 75216 & 75217 projects also had the opportunity to participate in several community service projects, including one with Bryan's house which caters to children who have contracted HIV/AIDS. The children were provided with information prior to their trip to the center and had the opportunity to see first hand the effects the disease has on innocent lives.

South Dallas Collaborative Project

2002 marks the sixth year the Juvenile Department has participated in the South Dallas Collaborative Project. A Community Liaison Officer works in conjunction with the City of Dallas and other agencies to monitor, mentor and counsel students on probation at Madison High School and Pearl C. Anderson Middle School. The Officer also works closely with families and school officials to reduce disruptive behavior; monitor probationer's school attendance, and make home visits to discuss truancy and any other problems which may occur. During the 2002 school year, a total of 102 youth participated in the program.

Substance Abuse Unit

45% of the youth admitted to the Detention Center tested positive for at least one chemical.SAU is responsible for providing screening, assessment, education and substance abuse treatment services through the following three components: (1) the Youth Intervention Prevention and Education (YIPE) program provides screening, chemical assessments, drug education, and Home Intervention; (2) the Supportive Outpatient counseling program provides individual and family therapy sessions in the homes of clients and multi-family group sessions at the offices of the SAU; (3) the Drug Day Treatment program provides six hours of academic education a day, GED preparation and testing, and at least ten hours of counseling per week, which includes individual, group and multi- family therapy to 50 clients.

Staff conducted 1,286 chemical assessments in the Detention Center. Of those, 1,067 were assessed as needing some sort of drug treatment or intervention. 550 youth attended the 30 - Day Assessment Program, 140 youth were served through the Home Intervention Program, 69 youth participated in the Supportive Outpatient Program and 136 were enrolled in the Day Treatment Program. During 2002, a total of 3,192 urine specimens were collected from youth admitted to the Detention Center, of these 1,453 (45.5%) tested positive for at least one chemical.

Youthful Drinking and Driving Prevention Program (YDDPP)

In April of 1999, the Dallas County Commissioners Court appropriated start-up funds to initiate the Youthful Drinking Driver Program. The Juvenile Department then applied, and was awarded, FY 2001 grant funding from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), which allocates resources throughout Texas for traffic safety programs. The program has also received funding for the 2002 fiscal year.

In 2002 over 330 youth completed YDDPP, a unique program that educates young drivers, ages 15 to 21, regarding the risks and possible consequences of drinking and driving. The YDDPP course is conducted in three sessions, over a two week period, consisting of an orientation class that includes a presentation by the Dallas County Medical Examiner, a visit to a trauma hospital, and a substance abuse education serminar. Originally designed for youth convicted of DUI or DWI, the program is also available to under-age, non-offenders, ages 15 to 20, on an as needed basis.

Project participants are Parkland Hospital, Dallas County Medical Examiner, Dallas County Community Supervision and Corrections, Dallas County Criminal Courts Manager, Dallas Challenge, County Commissioner Precinct 4 staff, Dallas County Juvenile Department, Grand Prairie Municipal Court Judge Nancy Robb, and UT Southwestern Medical Center.