Juvenile Court Array of Interventions

Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI)

Fairfield County Juvenile Court is a Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) court. Supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, JDAI is one of the nation's most successful and widespread juvenile justice reform initiatives. Its focus is to reduce reliance on juvenile detention, where youth have often been needlessly detained with long-term negative consequences for both public safety and youth development. JDAI was created to significantly and safely reduce detention populations through appropriate screening, assessment, and placement into detention alternatives.

While JDAI's efforts are primarily focused on the detention phase, detention reform is a major catalyst for other changes in juvenile justice, including these Core Strategies:

• Promoting collaboration between juvenile court officials, probation agencies, prosecutors, defense attorneys, schools, community organizations, and advocates;
• Using data collection and analysis to guide decision-making;
• Implementing alternatives-to-detention programs in lieu of locked detention;
• Using objective admissions criteria and risk-assessment instruments to reduce subjective decision-making regarding placement in secure detention;
• Instituting case-processing reforms to expedite the flow of cases through the system;
• Reducing the number of youth detained for probation violations or failure to appear, and the number held awaiting transfer to a residential facility;
• Combatting racial and ethnic disparities by examining data to identify policies and practices that may disadvantage youth based on race or ethnicity;
• Monitoring and improving conditions of confinement in detention facilities.

During 2024, two primary focus areas for the Court under JDAI were school attendance and detention screening, with community collaboration resulting in positive planning and action steps continuing into early 2025.

Assessment Center

The Assessment Center (AC) is part of the Fairfield County Juvenile Court Resource Center, located in Connexion West in Lancaster. The AC provides individualized screening, processing, and referral of at-risk youth and juvenile offenders, responding to immediate crises as well as ongoing needs of youth and families, while increasing law enforcement availability to the community through timely service. It partners with community-based agencies to provide coordinated, best-practice, cost-effective responses, services, and resources — including screenings, assessments, and referrals. The AC has a dual goal:

1. Prevent the progression of behaviors that put youth at risk of juvenile justice involvement.
2. Prevent the use of secure detention for youth who can be safely served while maintaining family stability.

The AC process for law enforcement begins with an officer bringing an at-risk youth to the Center; the youth's parents/guardians are contacted to come in as well, and the officer can clear the case and return to duty. RC staff also provide assessment services after hours to law enforcement by phone through On-Call Services. Possible outcomes of the initial referral include: the youth returns home with a parent/caregiver; stays with a relative or other adult overnight; is taken to detention by Court staff; or emergency respite is provided. Assessment Center staff interact with the Fairfield County Prosecutor to determine if a case can be diverted, should be formally filed, or will be handled informally.

Diversion Services

Diversion Services incorporates a wide variety of interventions used both within the Court (General Diversion, Safe Harbor Diversion, School Attendance and Engagement, Mediation Services) and in the community as alternatives to formal case processing. The intervention used depends on the offense, the extent of harm to the victim or community, and the youth's risk of reoffending.

Research conducted over the past 25 years shows that juvenile offenders deemed at low risk for reoffending benefit most from minimal court intervention; providing intensive monitoring and treatment to low-risk youth can actually have a detrimental impact. Diversion Services accepts referrals directly from the County Prosecutor or from the Judge/Magistrate when a youth is alleged to have committed an offense ranging from a status offense to a misdemeanor, admits to the offense, and is deemed at low or moderate risk of reoffending as determined through the Ohio Youth Assessment System (OYAS).

In a diversion case, the delinquency or unruly matter proceeds through informal processing rather than adjudication. When a youth is referred, a comprehensive interview with the juvenile and parents is facilitated by a Diversion Case Manager, who gathers information about school behavior, academic challenges, peer relations, and family dynamics while identifying strengths. Specific screenings are administered for mental health, substance abuse, and exposure to trauma, with referrals included in the youth's Diversion Contract. Other contract terms may include an apology letter, an essay, restitution to the victim, community service, or referral to mentoring and other programs.

Youth remain with the department until all contract terms are fulfilled. Upon completion — which averages 90 days — the youth is successfully terminated and their record is sealed if formally filed. If a youth fails to complete the contract or commits a new offense, the case can be terminated unsuccessfully and returned to the Prosecutor for formal processing.

Restorative Justice Circles New in 2024

Diversion Services began developing Restorative Justice Circles in the fourth quarter of 2024. Restorative Justice focuses on three core pillars:

1. Addressing harm and needs,
2. Accountability and responsibility, and
3. Engagement in the process.

The purpose of Circles of Restoration is to provide a space for youth engaging in delinquent behavior where there is an identifiable victim — an opportunity to be held accountable for their actions and to understand the implications of those actions in an age-appropriate, developmentally informed way.

Safe Harbor

Ohio consistently ranks in the top 10 states for reported human trafficking cases. In 2019, University of Cincinnati researchers identified 4,209 youth in Ohio at risk as victims of domestic minor sex trafficking — a reality that affects every area of the state, including Fairfield County. Trafficking in a rural setting may look different than in larger urban communities, but its prevalence is increasing.

The name Safe Harbor comes from Ohio legislation that provides special handling of these cases, automatically diverting some charges such as prostitution and soliciting. In rural Ohio, charges of truancy, theft, and runaway/unruly behavior are red flags for possible trafficking. Cases diverted through Safe Harbor receive behavioral health assessments and referrals, skill-building, Protective Services involvement, and empowerment and support for the youth. Once confirmed into Safe Harbor, the youth is considered a victim or survivor of human trafficking. Community partners include Protective Services, the Community Action Homeless Youth Program, Family and Children First Council, and Gracehaven in Columbus.

School Attendance and Engagement

The effect of COVID-19 on school attendance continued in 2024, with Ohio Department of Education data showing 25 percent of Ohio students missing 10 percent of the school year. Under HB 410 (2017), responsibility for early intervention for school attendance was assigned to the schools; Juvenile Court partners with each district to support individual youth attendance plans, and youth who receive truancy charges are served through the Court's Diversion programs whenever possible.

Through a partnership with Fairfield County Family and Children First Council, a community-based school attendance intervention was implemented in October 2022. It diverts families challenged with attendance issues to the Council for assessment and service linkage, allowing vulnerable families to receive support without Court supervision. During 2024, a JDAI focus area was to review and revamp this intervention, with rollout of modifications slated for early 2025.

Mediation

Mediation is offered to youth who might otherwise incur a formal charge of disorderly conduct, misdemeanor assault, criminal mischief/damaging, menacing, or other misdemeanor offenses that do not pose a serious threat. A trained on-staff Mediator can conduct mediations via Zoom to be more accessible to the community. Referrals come from the Fairfield County Prosecutor's Office, a Juvenile Court judicial officer, Court Services, or Diversion.

Mediation offers both parties an opportunity to identify their conflict, own their part in it, and understand the other person's point of view. It gives a victim a chance to ask questions only the offender can answer and to express frustrations, while giving the offender a chance to take responsibility and work toward an agreement acceptable to all parties. Once a youth completes the process and experiences no further conflicts for at least 30 days, the matter is closed successfully and no formal charges are filed.

Court Services

The Court Services Department was created in 2022 so that all youth facing formally filed delinquency charges are managed in a single department, typically working with one case manager from filing until the youth completes Court involvement. Immediately following a formal charge, a Court Services Case Manager evaluates the youth's risk level and needs and contacts the family to gather background on education, mental health, substance abuse, and pro-social activities.

As the case moves through the formal process, the Case Manager assesses long-term needs using evidence-based tools including the Ohio Youth Assessment System (OYAS), the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI-2), and the Child Trauma Screen, and contacts collateral sources such as schools and counselors. In most cases this information is compiled into a Pre-Disposition Report (PDR) with recommendations for further monitoring and intervention, which guides the Court in making appropriate orders.

Detention

Research on the impact of detention on adolescent development and mental health indicates that its use increases the likelihood of recidivism and negatively affects future employment and educational opportunities. At Fairfield County Juvenile Court, detention is considered only after other graduated sanctions have been attempted. While placement in secure detention may be ordered for up to 90 days per charge or violation, it is used primarily as a short-term sanction when the youth is a danger to themselves or the community, or is at risk of absconding.