NYC's Department of Youth and Community Development's Continuum of Care Project

The New York City Department of Youth and Community Development will establish a robust continuum of care tailored to youth at risk of juvenile justice involvement or currently within the system. The project addresses challenges within the agency, notably fragmented Community-Based Organizations competing rather than collaborating for resources, alongside a significant youth incarceration rate. Key project activities include the appointment of a Continuum Coordinator who will collaborate closely with the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development 's Community Resiliency workgroup and J. Jackson Consulting, a subrecipient specializing in technical assistance in youth and community development projects. Together, they will spearhead a comprehensive planning process involving diverse stakeholders. This process will begin with an asset mapping exercise to identify service gaps and strengths within the existing landscape. Subsequently, the planning council will define clear outcomes for the continuum of care and establish requisite data metrics to gauge progress towards these objectives. Furthermore, the project will establish operational workflows within each police precinct, outlining streamlined pathways to a wide array of services. The planning group will further engage community stakeholders to assess localized needs and best practices. Through these collaborative efforts, the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development will establish a scalable framework for an effective continuum of care, initially focusing on six priority police precincts with future plans for broader expansion.