Description | Signs and Symptoms | General Eligibility | How to Apply
Services | Cost | Additional Help | Contact | Language Services

Description

The Dane County Department of Human Services offers an array of services both directly and through purchase of service agencies for youth who are delinquent or at risk for delinquency. Programming is founded in the Balanced and Restorative Justice Model. This model calls for juveniles to be held accountable for their behaviors, agencies to assist juveniles in building desirable competencies, and communities to be assured protection.

Balanced and Restorative Justice - Dane County

Balanced and Restorative Justice, as an intervention strategy, suggests that in response to crime we need to focus on three goals:

• Competency Development (of kids and families): building, in youth and families, the ability to do the kinds of things that are valued by the community and providing the opportunity to do them;
• Accountability: promoting restoration of the human and relational aspects disrupted by crime by having an offender understand and accept responsibility for the harm to others and taking steps to repay the obligation incurred through that harm;
• Community Protection: responding in ways that promotes both short and long-term safety for the community.

While developed initially as in intervention strategy, many of the principles of Balanced and Restorative Justice are consistent with the best research and practices in preventing delinquent behavior. Research has shown that prevention strategies work. And, more often than not these strategies depend on investments that rely less on public funds and more on the resources of the community (volunteers, faith community, neighborhood centers, civic organizations, etc.)

Without going into semantics, Balanced and Restorative Justice prevention means creating or changing the conditions that impact on the lives and behavior of others before an actual incident occurs. We already know that kids who feel connected to their neighborhood and community, have others who value them and value others, and have support and encouragement are at a much lower risk to become engaged in a multitude of risky behaviors, including delinquency. We know what it takes for youth to become successful, but we too often are busy asking what went wrong rather than what went right.

Signs and Symptoms

Youth at risk for delinquency may exhibit some of these behaviors:

• Changes in normal activities or behaviors which cannot be explained by the normal issue of adolescence
• Changes in the teen's appearance
• Changes in friends or peer group
• Staying in the bathroom for a prolonged period of time, which could indicate the beginning of a eating disorder or drug use
• Problems at school, such as cutting class, slipping grades, or fights with classmates
• Indifference to hobbies or school activities they previously enjoyed
• Refusing to do chores
• Missing curfew, staying out all night
• Creating a chaotic and hostile environment at home
• Defying authority and breaking rules at school, home, in the community

Questions to ask yourself include the following.

Does your child:

• Lack the ability to properly communicate with others?
• Receive exceptionally poor grades? or his/her academic performance is deteriorating quickly?
• Lack relationship-building skills with peers and authority figures?
• Have a low level of self-esteem?

Does your child's history include:

• A family history of behavior problems by a parent or older sibling?
• Periods of poor supervision or latch-key conditions?
• Inconsistent, excessive or lax discipline by parent or caregiver?
• Poor bonding early in life, frequent change of caregivers, attachment problems?
• Excessive family and/or marital discord?
• Frequent changes in residence, often resulting in different schools, friends?
• Being a victim of physical or sexual abuse, or neglect?

General Eligibility

Services are geared to Dane County youth and their families. Specific eligibility criteria are listed for each service.

How to Apply

There is no application process for youth who have been referred to the Department of Human Services due to law enforcement involvement.

Persons interested in non-court involved, early intervention, voluntary services should contact the agencies listed in the Services section directly to apply for services.

Services

Services depend on whether:

• Your child has been referred for law enforcement involvement/court ordered services, or
• Whether you are looking non-court involved, early intervention, voluntary services.

Law Enforcement Involved/Court-Involved Youth

Dane County Department of Human Services delinquency services staff serve juveniles whom Courts have adjudged delinquent and the families of those juveniles. Assistance includes supervision services, case management services (including oversight of out-of-home placement situations), and early intervention services. Services are provided by one manager, six social work supervisors, and 40+ social workers and other staff. Services are provided from five Department locations. Programming is founded in the Balanced and Restorative Justice Model. This model calls for juveniles to be held accountable for their behaviors, agencies to assist juveniles in building desirable competencies, and communities to be assured protection.

Delinquency Intake Services - Performs intake assessments on youth referred by the District Attorney's Office. The intake assessment gathers family data and history. The Social Worker will inquire as to alcohol/drug concerns, school progress, mental health concerns, and the overall behavior of the juvenile. The focus of the assessment is to determine what the community protection issues are, what would be appropriate ways to hold a juvenile accountable for their crime, and what competencies need to be enhanced to reduce their risk of re-offense.

Delinquency Ongoing Services - Delinquency Ongoing Services are provided once a delinquency case is transferred from the Delinquency Intake Social Worker to a Delinquency Ongoing Social Worker. The goal of the ongoing Social Worker is to assist a young person and his/her family to successfully complete the conditions of the delinquency court order or Consent Decree. The level of involvement, frequency of contact, and types of services depend on the seriousness of the offense, the level of risk the youth presents to re-offend, what has been court ordered, and the needs of the juvenile and family.

Intensive Community Supervision Services - Intensive Community Supervision Services are for delinquent youth ages 13-17 who have had significant interaction with law enforcement agencies and the Courts and who demand intensive daily supervision if they are to remain in the community. Services are provided through the Neighborhood Intervention Program and Youth Services of Southern Wisconsin

Operation Fresh Start - Dane County Department of Human Services contracts with Operation Fresh Start to provide work related services - pre-employment training, job placement and support, and comprehensive employment and training - for youth ages 14-17 who have complex barriers to employment. The organization's chief training approach is to renovate or construct single family houses for sale to low and very-low income first-time homebuyers. The housing sites are the vehicles for employment training and are at the center of a comprehensive program of educational and support services. Instruction in basic skills and preparation for the high school equivalency examination, instruction in independent living skills, leadership development, counseling, pre-employment skills training, placement in a job or post-secondary education, and supportive follow-up are vital components of the program.

For more information, contact Operation Fresh Start at (608) 244-4721.

Non-Court Involved, Early Intervention, Voluntary Services

CYF Mental Health Services - The Children Youth and Families Division offers a variety of mental health services for children and youth via a purchase of service system. Service areas include individual, group, and family counseling, day treatment, crisis services and risk assessment, advocacy and support services for parents, wraparound services and case management, and community support programming for teens with a severe and persistent mental illness.

Dane County Youth Commission - The Dane County Youth Commission through its Youth Board, an active and energetic all-youth committee, helps plan countywide events that promote positive youth development, youth leadership and youth volunteerism. Projects include planning a fall Youth Leadership Conference and an all day Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Forum and Service Day. The Youth Board is also the co-sponsor of the Spring Youth Service Day that is held each Spring.

Nehemiah Community Development Corporation - DCDHS contracts with Nehemiah Community Development Corporation to provide Youth Enrichment Services (YES). YES programming provides opportunities for youth to enhance social, employment, academic, and recreational competencies. The overall intent is to build youth self-esteem so as to interrupt the cycle of failure that many disadvantaged youth are experiencing in Dane County. Programming serves youth ages 5-18 (emphasis on ages 11-18). Programming utilizes an Afrocentric-approach with an emphasis on Black history and cultural awareness.

For more information, contact Nehemiah at (608) 257-2453.

Neighborhood Intervention Program - The Neighborhood Intervention Program (N.I.P.) is a unit of the Children, Youth, and Families Division of the Dane County Department of Human Services. It offers innovative Community Supervision Services and Early Intervention Services to boys and girls ages 10-17 who are delinquent or at risk for delinquency. N.I.P. programming is based on the principles of the Balanced and Restorative Justice Model. Programming seeks to redirect youth by simultaneously holding youth accountable for their behaviors, building youth competencies, and protecting the community.

For more information, contact NIP at (608) 288-2400.

Operation Fresh Start - Dane County Department of Human Services contracts with Operation Fresh Start to provide work related services - pre-employment training, job placement and support, and comprehensive employment and training - for youth ages 14-17 who have complex barriers to employment. The organization's chief training approach is to renovate or construct single family houses for sale to low and very-low income first-time homebuyers. The housing sites are the vehicles for employment training and are at the center of a comprehensive program of educational and support services. Instruction in basic skills and preparation for the high school equivalency examination, instruction in independent living skills, leadership development, counseling, pre-employment skills training, placement in a job or post-secondary education, and supportive follow-up are vital components of the program.

For more information, contact Operation Fresh Start at (608) 244-4721.

Project Bootstrap - DCDHS contracts with Project Bootstrap, Inc. to provide a prevention and early intervention after school education and alcohol and other drug abuse prevention program for middle and high school age youth. The primary goal is to help-at risk African-American and other ethnic students to acquire their full potential through personal and educational development.

For more information, contact Bootstrap at (608) 257-1180.

Youth Services of Southern Wisconsin - DCDHS contracts with Youth Services of Southern Wisconsin to provide crisis intervention and runaway services to teens and their families. Services include 24-hour crisis and referral service, face-to-face early intervention counseling, and emergency shelter alternatives.

For more information, contact YSSW at (608) 251-6211.

Cost

There is no cost for the majority of the prevention and early intervention services provided by the Neighborhood Intervention Program.

Costs may be charged based on the ability to pay for other delinquency services. There is a $25.00/per month fee for all youth placed under Human Services supervision. This fee is waived if the juvenile is placed outside the parental home. In these instances, however, a monthly fee is charged for the placement. Parents are sent information by Dane County fiscal representatives which help determine the amount of the fee.

Additional Help

Information on alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse programs

Dane County Youth Gang Prevention Task Force: Proposed Community Response Plan

On Balance Newsletter - is a publication of Dane County's Department of Human Services and the Dane County Juvenile Court. It highlights issues related to juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice.

Dane County Juvenile Court Program - The Juvenile Court Program provides number of services and programs in collaboration with other county agencies, law enforcement, and community based providers relating to juvenile delinquents in Dane County. The web site includes a Parents' Guide to the Juvenile Court.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention - This link provides information and statistics on topics such as courts, delinquency, offenders, victims, and more.

Contact

For more information, contact:

Stephen Blue, Delinquency Services Manager
Dane County Department of Human Services
(608) 261-5090 or (608) 288-2401
blue@co.dane.wi.us

Language Services

For more information on Language Services, please visit out Language Services page.