EBCI and Juvenile Justice Treatment Continuum

Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. launched a Department-wide initiative on public safety and victim services in Tribal communities. As part of this effort, Department of Justice (DOJ) leadership conducted a series of meetings across the country addressing violent crime in Tribal communities. As a result, DOJ developed the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, combining DOJ's existing Tribal government-specific competitive solicitations into one, and thus requiring only one application from each Tribe or Tribal consortium. This approach provides federally-recognized Tribes and Tribal consortia the opportunity to develop a comprehensive approach to public safety and victimization issues. This award was selected under Purpose Area #8, Prevent and control delinquency and improve the juvenile justice system (OJJDP - Tribal Youth Program - TYP), CFDA #16.731, authorized under the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2010, Division B, Title II, Public Law 111-117, 123 Stat. 3122, 3134.

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (ECBI) will implement a Juvenile Justice Treatment Continuum (JJTC) project to integrate evidence-based services for court involved tribal youth with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. The objectives of the JJTC project are to reduce the rate of offending and reoffending by program youth and to increase the rate of desired change in targeted behaviors including substance use, antisocial behavior, truancy, and gang involvement. The JJTC project will support opportunities including specialized community service, mentoring, and peer support models for youth; track youth and family treatment and supports as well as agency performance through a shared database; and sponsor collaborative efforts that allow services to be culturally appropriate, and integrated within the local community. A key element of the JJTC approach is providing coordinated service delivery by three key agencies: the ECBI juvenile justice, mental health, and restorative justice agencies. Staff from all three agencies as well as drug court personnel and mental health providers will participate in training on the JJTC approach in order to create a community-wide response to mental health and substance abuse needs of court involved tribal youth. Staff from the three key agencies will meet weekly to conduct case reviews to assess youth behaviors in home, school and community; to review previous service delivery, and to establish the current focus of treatment. ECBI will contract with Meridian Behavioral Health Service and Project Challenge of North Carolina to implement many of the JJTC services and training events. This one time funding of upfront training costs will allow ECBI to launch the JJTC model, which then can be sustained using existing state and local funding.

CA/NCF