Introduction of the CONNECT Act by Senator Peters (D-MI) and Senator Grassley (R-Iowa), developed with support from the Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice
The Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice (RFK National Resource Center) staff has been at the forefront of improving outcomes for dual status youth through the provision of intensive, site-based training and technical assistance and partnerships with jurisdictions across the country for the better part of two decades. In 2001, Executive Director John A. Tuell, in tandem with his experienced colleague at the time, Janet Wiig, created the original and seminal framework for support to state and local jurisdictions to address dual status youth and their families. The RFK National Resource Center Dual Status Youth Framework is captured in the acclaimed Guidebook for Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare System Coordination and Integration: A Framework for Improved Outcomes, 3rd Edition and its accompanying Dual Status Youth Technical Assistance Workbook (both available online). These guiding publications reflect the evidence-based and research driven policies, approaches, and practices that have resulted in successful reforms on behalf of this challenging population of youth in jurisdictions large and small with whom the RFK National Resource Center has partnered.
In January 2015, Associate Executive Director Jessica Heldman provided remarks at a Congressional Staff Briefing entitled “Connecting the Dots: How Interagency Collaboration Can Better Serve Vulnerable Youth” about the experiences of dual status youth and the importance of integrating and coordinating efforts between child welfare and juvenile justice systems. As a result of this testimony, senior staff at the RFK National Resource Center began conversations with staff from Senator Gary Peters’ (D – Michigan) office to support his interest in writing a bill that would impact this population of youth and communities across the country. Notably, in 2002 John A. Tuell was privileged to author language for the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act’s re-authorization that for the first time included specific attention to the practices and sharing of information across child welfare and juvenile justice systems on behalf of dual status youth (§223(a)(26) and (27)). Senator Peters’ outreach to the RFK National Resource Center and his leadership provided an excellent opportunity to advance reform based on the rich experiences of our work in the field since that time.
We were privileged to support Senator Peters and his staff in developing the specific language included in The Childhood Outcomes Need New Efficient Community Teams (CONNECT) Act related to the necessary elements of planning and practice that could significantly impact the field. Our collaborative efforts were initially successful in 2015 in incorporating elements of the current CONNECT Act language into the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), recognizing the importance of the Department of Education’s leadership and partnership in successful efforts on behalf of dual status youth. Our partnership continued with Senator Peters, and the RFK National Resource Center senior staff worked to refine the language which, due to Senator Peters’ diligence, was subsequently introduced in the CONNECT Act, co-sponsored by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). The legislation provides for an amendment to Title IV of the Social Security Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to enhance collaboration between State child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
As indicated by our Executive Director in the press release on July 13, 2016, “The focus on collaborative leadership, collection and management of critical data, coordinated use of resources, and resolution of information sharing issues contained in the legislation’s language provides an informed blueprint for state and local jurisdictions to plan and implement sustainable best practices that will result in positive youth outcomes and substantial fiscal savings.” The language reflects an intentional and precise definitional identification of “dual status youth” and a level of analytical and planning detail which comports with our experiences with the complexities of collaborative reforms addressing this population.
The RFK National Resource Center expresses its strong support for passage of this important legislation. A brief summary below provides highlights of the CONNECT Act and demonstrates the direct ways in which the language comports with the elements of the RFK National Resource Center’s Dual Status Youth Framework and guiding publications. The CONNECT Act:
- Provides for grant funding for state child welfare and juvenile justice systems to collaboratively address reforms on behalf of dual status youth in their state and/or local jurisdiction.
- Requires the formation of a multi-system collaboration, including the identification of the parties and their respective agencies/organizations, to direct and lead the critical elements of examination and analysis necessary to successful coordination and integration on behalf of their dual status youth population.
- Details the specific aspects of analysis required for successful reforms of policy and practice, including routine identification of dual status youth, data collection on prevalence and characteristics, screening and assessment practices, evidence-based service provision, and lawful processes for data and information exchange.
- Requires the submission of a report on the findings from the detailed multi-system analysis and thereby supports the clear identification of targeted action planning.
- Identifies specific sought youth outcomes across multiple domains.
- Provides for the Secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services agency to offer training and technical assistance programming, developed in consultation with expert organizations and agencies, for state leadership groups in order to support their collaborative efforts.
The RFK National Resource Center will be following the path of this legislation through the United States Congress and providing regular updates to its partners in the field on its status. Please feel free to check our web site for those updates or to contact our staff if you have any questions about the legislation. We again congratulate Senator Peters and Senator Grassley for introducing this landmark legislation and are grateful for our opportunity to support their staff over the past two years in its development.