The following resources provide information about serving youth who are involved in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, sometimes also known as cross-over, joint cases, dual-system served, or multi-system involved youth. Includes State and local examples.
A Better Way to Do Business: Changing Organizational Culture to Promote Integrated Service Delivery in Child Protection and Juvenile Justice Systems (PDF - 1,116 KB)
Mertens & Blom (2014)
Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice
Highlights insights and lessons learned in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, that showcase how a human services agency can work with dually involved youth and establish a new agency culture to best serve this population.
The Crossover Youth Practice Model: An Abbreviated Guide (PDF - 1,372 KB)
Lutz, Stewart, Herz, & Legters (2015)
Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform
Outlines the Crossover Youth Practice Model developed at Georgetown University, which is used to explain why youth who have been abused or neglected are more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors and often have poorer outcomes than youth who have not experienced child maltreatment. The practice model also provides a way for organizations to interrupt this path and better address the needs of dual status youth.
From Conversation to Collaboration: How Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Agencies Can Work Together to Improve Outcomes for Dual Status Youth
Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice (2014)
Discusses the challenges of providing services to youth involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, highlights strategies that youth-serving systems can apply to begin developing a more integrated approach, and looks at examples where system integration and coordination led to profound transformations with better outcomes for youth and communities. The report begins by explaining why agencies need to focus on dual status youth and then describes how collaboration can help.
Juvenile Justice and Child Protection (PDF - 1,005 KB)
Grayson (2014)
James Madison University Department of Psychology
Explains the overlapping populations of youth involved in the child welfare system and who are under the jurisdiction of the juvenile justice system. The article includes characteristics of delinquency cases and maltreated children who become delinquent, risk factors, mental health needs of youth in the criminal justice system, challenges to agency collaboration, and promising strategies for service integration are discussed.
Juvenile Justice: Connections With Youth in the Child Welfare System
Youth.gov
Discusses characteristics of youth with dual status who are involved in both the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. The website outlines pathways to being involved in both systems, overlapping risk factors for youth, and challenges these youth may experience as they transition to adulthood.
Juvenile Reentry in Concept and Practice
Council of State Governments Justice Center & National Reentry Resource Center
Provides research and resources on reducing recidivism and improving other outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system.
OJJDP Dual System Youth Design Study: Summary of Findings and Recommendations for Pursuing a National Estimate of Dual System Youth (PDF - 5,280 KB)
Herz & Dierkhising (2019)
Office of Justice Programs, National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Examines the gap in knowledge about how child welfare and juvenile justice systems collaborate and share information in U.S. jurisdictions.
Leading With Lived Experience: How Impacted Youth and Families Can Drive System Transformation [Webinar]
Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (2020)
Presents a webinar hosted by the executive director of the Youth Law Center on how to effectively engage youth and their families in system change. The webinar features a discussion with advocates who bring lived experience to their efforts to transform the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.
Making the Case for Status Offense Systems Change: A Toolkit (PDF - 1,827 KB)
Coalition for Juvenile Justice (2014)
Provides judges, juvenile justice professionals, and advocates the tools they need to educate others about status offenses and the need for better responses to youth charged with these behaviors. The materials in this toolkit will help judges and other professionals who work with a range of audiences, including dual status youth. The resource also includes an overview of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice's National Standards for the Care of Youth Charged with Status Offenses, which were developed in consultation with child welfare professionals
Resource Brief: Navigating the Dual Status Terrain: Tips for Juvenile Defenders (PDF - 546 KB)
National Juvenile Defender Center (2016)
Addresses considerations for representing youth dual status and offers tips for juvenile defenders. The resource brief also explores the trend of multisystem collaboration and how coordination between juvenile justice and child welfare systems intended to improve outcomes for these youth.
Systems Integration: Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice (PDF - 483 KB)
Fromknecht (2014)
Juvenile Justice Geography, Policy, Practice & Statistics State Scan
Presents the results of a semi-structured survey of the State-level efforts to coordinate information and practice during the winter of 2014 through the lens of how centralized or decentralized the social service systems are in the respective States.
Trauma in Dual Status Youth: Putting Things in Perspective (PDF - 866 KB)
Grisso and Vincent (2014)
Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice, Children's Action Corps.
Provides information on trauma-related procedures for use with dual status youth—children and adolescents who come into contact with both child welfare and juvenile justice systems. This article describes generally the state of our understanding of the prevalence of trauma-based behavior problems and considerations in designing agreed-upon best practices to identify them. It explores the importance of clearly defining one's objectives for identifying trauma in youth, discusses the broad types of screening and assessments available for use in identification, and highlights important issues of implementation.
Understanding Foster, Juvenile Justice, and Crossover Youth
American Youth Policy Forum (2018)
Presents a website focused on foster youth involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and the challenges they face as they transition to adulthood. The site highlights research and provides information on educational and workforce outcomes.
When Systems Collaborate: How Three Jurisdictions Improved Their Handling of Dual-Status Cases (PDF - 772 KB)
Thomas (2015)
National Center for Juvenile Justice
Highlights approaches taken by three jurisdictions that have worked to improve their handling of youth cases that are involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Examples are provided for front-end screening and identification, child welfare case coordination, and re-entry and community support.
State and local examples
County Concerns: Dual Status Youth (PDF - 309 KB)
National Association of Counties (2014)
Describes how county agencies need to be concerned about dual status youth and how counties can work to provide collaboration between the juvenile justice system and child welfare to serve this large population of youth. The resource also provides examples of successful collaboration between the two systems in counties across the country.
Crossover Kids: The Intersection of Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice
Freitas & Freitas (2016)
Massachusetts Bar Association
Describes the handling of cases of children in Massachusetts who are involved with both child welfare and juvenile justice. These youth face increased barriers to success, but meaningful interventions may improve their chances of positive transitions into adulthood.
Supporting the Needs of Students Involved With the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice System in the School District of Philadelphia (PDF - 5,919 KB)
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute & PolicyLab (2014)
Examines the distribution, concentration, and academic outcomes of youth in Philadelphia's public schools who are involved with the child welfare and/or juvenile justice system. The research informs policy decisions intended to improve educational success for youth involved with Department of Human Services in Philadelphia.
"We Just Want to be Heard." Recommendations to Improve the Lives of Maryland's Dually Involved Girls (PDF - 648 KB)
Advocates for Children and Youth (2014)
Reports on findings from a research project to better understand the needs of dually involved girls in Maryland and to improve their outcomes. Recommendations for improving services to dually involved girls include: prioritize a gender responsive approach; expand trauma-informed policies, programs, and practices; support placement stability and permanent relationships; improve data collection; increase cross-systems collaboration; and expand training opportunities.