West Virginia Department
of Military Affairs and Public Safety
Division of Juvenile
Services
Stephanie Bond,
Director
1200 Quarrier St.
Charleston, WV 25301
Media Contact: Lawrence Messina
(304) 558-2930
Lawrence.C.Messina@wv.gov
For Immediate
Release
April 6, 2015
West Virginia to receive juvenile justice training,
technical
assistance
CHARLESTON,
W.Va. – West Virginia is getting a well-timed boost toward ensuring the success
of its new, ground-breaking juvenile justice reforms.
West
Virginia is among just five applicants selected to receive the inaugural round
of training and technical assistance offered by the recently formed Center for
Coordinated Assistance to States (CCAS).
This
learning opportunity focuses on helping different entities that deal with
at-risk youth work together and effectively. The Multi-System Collaboration
Training and Technical Assistance will include webinars, teleconference
discussions and mentoring services.
The
key participants in West Virginia’s juvenile justice reforms will receive this
assistance: the Division of Juvenile Services, part of the Department of
Military Affairs and Public Safety; the Bureau for Children and Families at the
Department of Health and Human Resources; the Department of Education’s Office
of Institutional Education Programs; the Supreme Court’s Juvenile Justice
Commission; and the behavioral health management company PSIMED.
The
CCAS is a partnership of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown
University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, the American Institutes for
Research, and the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators. The U.S.
Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
is funding the effort.
CCAS
notified West Virginia of its successful application in late March, just in
time to aid the enactment of comprehensive reforms to the state’s juvenile
justice system. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed his historic measure, Senate Bill
393, into law on Thursday, April 2, following its passage by a unanimous
Legislature.
The
reforms reflect recommendations from the West Virginia Intergovernmental Task
Force on Juvenile Justice, created by Gov. Tomblin and assisted by The Pew
Charitable Trusts. This data- and research-driven approach emphasizes
accountability, public safety and community-based services, with a goal of keeping-risk
youths in their homes instead of institutions whenever possible.
Juvenile
Services Director Stephanie Bond credited PSIMED for notifying West
Virginia officials of the collaborative learning opportunity, and then playing
a major role in successfully applying for it.
“As
West Virginia begins to apply the newly penned legislation for juvenile justice
reform, the technical assistance from CCAS will provide an invaluable opportunity
to guide key state agencies as they implement changes that are proven
successful,” said Trudi Blaylock, Vice President of Operations for PSIMED's Juvenile Services Division. “As a state, we have a unified goal to
coordinate our efforts and resources to guide system-involved youth toward a
pro-social and productive future.”