The State Court Administrative Office (SCAO), in partnership with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice (MCJJ), announces five recipients of the Status Offense Diversion Project grant program. The grant will enable juvenile courts to support innovative pilot projects aimed at diverting low-risk youth status offenders toward community-based services and away from formal juvenile court involvement and incarceration.
“Building on the historic juvenile justice reforms championed by the Michigan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform, we are empowering courts to help them develop innovative and research-based ways to give justice-involved youths the opportunity to take a different path,” said Justice Kimberly A. Thomas, who serves as the Michigan Supreme Court liaison on juvenile justice matters. “With the right tools, judges and courts can help more young people pave the way to success through community engagement instead of formal court involvement.”
The courts selected to receive grant funding are:
• 3rd Circuit Court, Juvenile Division - Wayne County (Expansion)
Amount Received: $100,000
Program Summary: The 3rd Circuit Court Juvenile Division intends to expand upon current diversion programming to focus specifically on status offenders by partnering with community programs to provide services that will aim to lead program-eligible youth towards their own discovery of self-worth and how they can productively fit into their communities. This program also offers parent education classes that specifically address the needs and challenges of adolescents.
• 16th Circuit Court, Juvenile Division – Macomb County (Expansion)
Amount Received: $100,00
Program Summary: The 16th Circuit Court Juvenile Division intends to expand upon their current diversion programming by contracting with a community-based agency to serve as the Diversion Hub to provide diversion services specifically for the status-offense youths referred by the court. As part of the Diversion Hub, a Diversion Advisory Committee will be formed to provide input on ongoing operations and quality assurance for diversion programming. This committee will include court staff, community agency staff, along with lived experience perspectives from both court-involved youths and families.
• 42nd Circuit Court, Family Division - Midland County (New)
Amount Received: $100,000
Program Summary: The 42nd Circuit Court Juvenile Division intends to implement a new program to divert status offenders away from the court and toward community-based services to help in the development of prosocial skills with the goal of deterring the youths from future justice involvement.
• 44th Circuit Court, Juvenile Division - Livingston County (New)
Amount Received: $99,999
Program Summary: The 44th Circuit Court Juvenile Division intends to implement a new truancy diversion program for middle school students who have missed 25 or more days during the past 12 months. Focus will be on identification of the root causes of absenteeism and the development of individualized student success planning that is time- and resource-specific. The program includes actionable objectives to address the root causes and promote school attendance and engagement.
• 53rd Circuit Court, Family Division - Presque Isle County (New)
Amount Received: $100,000
Program Summary: The 53rd Circuit Court Family Division intends to implement a new tutor/mentor program called Pathways to Potential that will target existing at-risk status offenders, as well as potential status offenders. Pathways to Potential is a voluntary program that will serve youths ages 10-18 years old who have come to the attention of the court as a result of truancy, incorrigibility, and/or running away. Pathways to Potential is modeled after the 2012 state-run initiative designed to help students succeed in school and life.
The Status Offense Diversion Project responds to the Task Force’s final report finding that Michigan lacks the policy framework and service infrastructure necessary to ensure that youths who are at low-risk of reoffending are diverted from the juvenile justice system statewide.
This one-time grant funding is provided via United States Department of Justice Title II funds and is subject to all related restrictions and requirements including, but not limited to, those found in USC 2 CFR 200.
“Building on the historic juvenile justice reforms championed by the Michigan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform, we are empowering courts to help them develop innovative and research-based ways to give justice-involved youths the opportunity to take a different path,” said Justice Kimberly A. Thomas, who serves as the Michigan Supreme Court liaison on juvenile justice matters. “With the right tools, judges and courts can help more young people pave the way to success through community engagement instead of formal court involvement.”
The courts selected to receive grant funding are:
• 3rd Circuit Court, Juvenile Division - Wayne County (Expansion)
Amount Received: $100,000
Program Summary: The 3rd Circuit Court Juvenile Division intends to expand upon current diversion programming to focus specifically on status offenders by partnering with community programs to provide services that will aim to lead program-eligible youth towards their own discovery of self-worth and how they can productively fit into their communities. This program also offers parent education classes that specifically address the needs and challenges of adolescents.
• 16th Circuit Court, Juvenile Division – Macomb County (Expansion)
Amount Received: $100,00
Program Summary: The 16th Circuit Court Juvenile Division intends to expand upon their current diversion programming by contracting with a community-based agency to serve as the Diversion Hub to provide diversion services specifically for the status-offense youths referred by the court. As part of the Diversion Hub, a Diversion Advisory Committee will be formed to provide input on ongoing operations and quality assurance for diversion programming. This committee will include court staff, community agency staff, along with lived experience perspectives from both court-involved youths and families.
• 42nd Circuit Court, Family Division - Midland County (New)
Amount Received: $100,000
Program Summary: The 42nd Circuit Court Juvenile Division intends to implement a new program to divert status offenders away from the court and toward community-based services to help in the development of prosocial skills with the goal of deterring the youths from future justice involvement.
• 44th Circuit Court, Juvenile Division - Livingston County (New)
Amount Received: $99,999
Program Summary: The 44th Circuit Court Juvenile Division intends to implement a new truancy diversion program for middle school students who have missed 25 or more days during the past 12 months. Focus will be on identification of the root causes of absenteeism and the development of individualized student success planning that is time- and resource-specific. The program includes actionable objectives to address the root causes and promote school attendance and engagement.
• 53rd Circuit Court, Family Division - Presque Isle County (New)
Amount Received: $100,000
Program Summary: The 53rd Circuit Court Family Division intends to implement a new tutor/mentor program called Pathways to Potential that will target existing at-risk status offenders, as well as potential status offenders. Pathways to Potential is a voluntary program that will serve youths ages 10-18 years old who have come to the attention of the court as a result of truancy, incorrigibility, and/or running away. Pathways to Potential is modeled after the 2012 state-run initiative designed to help students succeed in school and life.
The Status Offense Diversion Project responds to the Task Force’s final report finding that Michigan lacks the policy framework and service infrastructure necessary to ensure that youths who are at low-risk of reoffending are diverted from the juvenile justice system statewide.
This one-time grant funding is provided via United States Department of Justice Title II funds and is subject to all related restrictions and requirements including, but not limited to, those found in USC 2 CFR 200.
