Red Cliff Anishinaabek Juvenile Justice Study: Final Report

• NCJ Number: 208134
• Author(s): Kit R. Van Stelle; Eva Petoskey; Lynne Basina
• Date Published: October 2003
• Length: 210 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2001-TY-FX-0048
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Corporate Author: University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This federally supported study assessed the services available to youth involved in the Red Cliff juvenile justice system in order to formulate options to improve organizational capacity and program services for high-risk youth involved in the Red Cliff tribal court and assist the Red Cliff community in utilizing evaluation techniques to address emerging community needs.

Abstract

The Anishinaabek Juvenile Justice Study was developed by the First American Prevention Center of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians and supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The purpose of the study was to formulate community-defined options to improve services for high-risk youth involved in the Red Cliff juvenile justice system and to build the capacity of the Red Cliff community to utilize evaluation techniques to address emerging community needs. A variety of qualitative methods were used to conduct an assessment of services available to youth involved in the Red Cliff juvenile system. Data were gathered through project steering committee meetings, focus group discussions with community members and service system staff, and interviews with key service system stakeholders. One of the most significant findings of the project was that the need for adequate resources to provide basic services to Red Cliff court-involved youth overshadows the need and motivation to develop management structures with the service system to support evaluation activities. Several barriers to increasing evaluation capacity were presented; however, the primary barrier to increasing evaluation capacity was that Red Cliff had limited financial resources to fill large gaps in basic services. There were limited fiscal resources available to support a system of care for youth to prevent them from becoming involved in the system. Recommendations are presented for increasing evaluation capacity, as well as implications for research and evaluation. Tables, figures, references, and Appendixes 1-8