Mission
The mission of the Y-ReCONNECTS Community of Practice is to foster the use of innovative, collaborative approaches to support the successful community reentry of justice-involved youth (age 14-24) with disabilities.
Featured TA Video Resources
Trauma among Multiply Marginalized Youth
Lydia X.Z. Brown, Advocate, Attorney, and Strategist
Intersections of Ableism, Racism, and Gender-Based Oppression
Lydia X.Z. Brown, Advocate, Attorney, and Strategist
Interacting with Autistic People
Lydia X.Z. Brown, Advocate, Attorney, and Strategist
Reaching Systems-Involved Youth
This recent panel discussion featured young adults formerly involved with the criminal justice and foster care systems. Panelists highlighted the ways that systems professionals supported, or could have supported, their successful reentry and positive vocational outcomes.
Participants
- Ayanna Nia Rasheed — Transition Specialist, Roots Community Health Center
- Elizabeth Quiroz — Co-founder, Redemption House of the Bay Area
- Harry B. King — CEO, Kingdom Empowerment, Inc.
Reimagining Reentry
Effective Collaboration Improves Systems Navigation
The Problem
Justice-involved youth with disabilities are simultaneously involved in multiple social services systems. It can be hard to know where to turn for help.
A Solution
Research suggests that agencies can improve case management and service coordination for youth through task-oriented approaches to coordination.
- developing formal interagency agreements with juvenile justice agencies
- train staff to explicitly encourage collaboration
- require interagency communication by supervisory and frontline staff
- establish data and resource sharing frameworks to break down coordination silos and make systems more navigable for youth and families