Making a National Impact: Juvenile Justice in Pinal County and Beyond
Dear Stakeholder:
Center of Hope Family Services (COHFS) is a leading voice for removing barriers to achievement through culturally relevant and innovative programs and services that close the opportunity gap for those in need. Traditionally, our work has been near our headquarters in Northwest Ohio. Recently, we have begun to expand our impact to families who live in communities around the United States. For example, in 2022 we published two books on our ELEVATE! program.
We are excited to announce that we have several new examples of our national impact.
Pinal County Juvenile Court Services
One of Center of Hope's first collaborations was with the Juvenile Court in Lucas County. I was called in recently to consult with the Pinal County Juvenile Court Services (Arizona) as part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Detention Alternatives Initiative.
Our report (cover pictured above) was an opportunity to talk about our success in Lucas County, including how we adapted the Community Connections for Youth (CCY) model, and tailored it to the specific needs of the communities COHFS serves.
It also allowed us to talk about the results we have achieved, an example of which is that 40% of the youth we served were released without being detained.
40% of the youth COHFS served were released without being detained.
I evaluated their progress over the last two years and provided a framework and a plan for the next three years.
I am very proud of the progress they are making in Pinal County. Here's a quote from one of the Juvenile Court employees. (Note that internalization of the idea of treating the whole family is a hallmark of the COHFS philosophy.)
“Looking more in depth into the needs of the community and gaining their input, also it’s important to the families to understand what we are trying to do. My outlook has gotten better because if we can accomplish this goal, which I know we can, we will have a team set up to engage the community to make things better for the youth."
Our books on ELEVATE! have been a highly effective tool for becoming part of a national conversation on education programming. Most prominently, I have been able to tell our story on the global stage by being quoted in two recent HuffPost stories:
