Abstract
Care Coordination as an Alternative to Prosecution: Findings from a Deferred Prosecution Pilot
APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo
Problem & Evidence: Youth of color are at increased risk for justice system involvement due to over-policing, over-prosecution, and community disinvestment. Programs that prevent youth from further involvement while prioritizing youth of color for referrals is one strategy to align the justice-system response with developmentally appropriate services.
Program Activities: During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a backlog of cases and a desire to keep youth out of high-density residential facilities led to the creation of a Deferred Prosecution Pilot. The Pilot is a multi-sector collaboration between the Cook County justice system, philanthropic and advocacy organizations, three care coordination agencies, a pediatric hospital, and a university research center.
The State’s Attorney’s Office recommended eligible youth for the program. Youth received a referral to a care coordination agency based on catchment areas. Care coordinators used validated tools and collaborative conversations with youth and their families to establish service goals. Youth were then connected to one or more community-based service providers, such as mental health counselors. Care coordinators regularly checked in with youth and service providers to monitor progress and address challenges. Mean enrollment was 108 days.
Results: Since June 2020, 294 youth have been referred by the State’s Attorney’s Office to the JJC; 45 remain enrolled. Of the 249 no longer enrolled, 233 (94%) completed an intake, 223 (89%) were connected to services, and 184 (74%) successfully completed the program. Most youth were Black non-Hispanic (70%) or Latine (24%). The mean age was 16.36 years, and 70% faced weapons charges.
Chapin Hall conducted a preliminary recidivism analysis with the first cohort of youth. This included 98 youth enrolled by the JJC. Of these, only 8.2% were re-arrested and re-charged in juvenile court from the time of their program referral to March 31, 2021. While the analysis did not have an exact comparison group, this is significantly lower than recidivism rates seen for similarly charged youth on probation.
Conclusions: Preliminary results suggest that it is feasible to engage deferred youth in programming, that youth can complete the program, and that participants are less likely to incur new charges than typical youth charged at a time when the program was not in place.
Recommendations for Practice:
1. Care coordination to connect youth to community-based services offers a possible avenue to reduce justice system involvement, especially in overpoliced communities of color.
2. Multi-sectoral collaborations require frequent communication to ensure stakeholders work together effectively.