Youth Justice Equity Program

The New Rochelle Community Justice Center (NRCJC), a project of Justice Innovation Inc. d/b/a Center for Justice Innovation, in partnership with the City School District of New Rochelle, CHOICE of NY, community-based organizations, students, and their families will implement the Youth Justice Equity Program (YJEP), a holistic, individualized intervention model that connects students in-need with the professionals, programing, and resources to address their individual risk factors. YJEP will serve 30-60 high school youth, ages 14-17, who have been impacted by community violence and/or who are at risk of school violence. Participants for YJEP will largely be recruited from the City School District of New Rochelle.

Through YJEP, NRCJC will 1) enhance and expand partnerships between the school system and community-based organizations to address school violence; 2) improve school capacity to prevent incidents of violence and intervene early to address them; 3) expand opportunities for family engagement with school personnel to mutually address risk factors for violence; and 4) improve communication between home and school to enhance protective factors for student success, including positive physical development, academic achievement/intellectual development, high self-esteem, emotional regulation, coping and problem-solving skills, engagement in school with non-deviant peers, athletics, employment, connectedness to family or other adults.

NRCJC will hire a Youth Resource Specialist to collaborate closely with other NRCJC staff, the City School District of New Rochelle, CHOICE of NY (YJEP's case management provider) and community stakeholders, to coordinate execution of YJEP programming. Through YJEP programming, participants and their families will have the opportunity to work with CHOICE of NY and other community stakeholders in selecting services from a menu of options, including mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, academic tutoring, school-based mentorship, and workforce development. To ensure families are integrated across all YJEP programming, YJEP will implement a Youth and Family Advisory Board to both hold system actors accountable and provide invaluable first-hand feedback on YJEP programming.

YJEP will work to advance equitable outcomes for the youth and families in the New Rochelle, New York community that NRCJC serves, with a focus on New Rochelle High School.