Voices from the field: Perspectives from law enforcement on working with juvenile delinquents

• In Event: Intervening for Children’s Violence Exposure: Findings from the National Evaluation of Safe Start Promising Approaches

Abstract

In an effort to prevent and reduce the impact of children’s exposure to violence, the Denver Police Department and Denver Juvenile Probation developed a systemic method of identification, screening, assessment, and intervention. With its Safe Start program, Denver provided two main treatment components: the Law Enforcement Advocate (LEA) program, and the Strengthening Families Coping Resources (SFCR) family group therapy model. The LEA program involves assignment of a police officer to develop and maintain positive relationships with adolescents involved with juvenile probation, provide advocacy for families, and enhance accountability and public safety through extensive outreach. SFCR is a manualized, trauma-focused, multi-family, skill-building intervention that is designed for families living in traumatic contexts with the goal of reducing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and other trauma-related disorders in families. This paper will describe successes and challenges in implementing a randomized controlled trial in this setting focusing on recruitment and retention. The study design was changed during implementation to address some of these challenges, and families were recruited from additional pathways through the probation department and courts. A Law Enforcement Advocate will discuss these issues from a programmatic perspective, explaining the way in which youth were engaged and retained in the intervention.

Authors

• Jennifer Corvalan, Denver Juvenile Probation

• Steve Addison, Denver Police Department