Crime and recidivism are reduced by creating successful connections to education, employment and community, and by building cognitive-behavioral skills. We work to develop these connections and skills so that our youth will become successful, self-sufficient and crime-free adults

Services

School Reconnection: Getting High Risk Probation Youth Back Into School

Reconnection assists high-risk probation youth and their families in navigating complex education systems, exercising educational rights, finding the right educational program, and addressing behavioral issues so the youth can successfully reconnect with an appropriate education program. Services include:

• Transition Planning
• Advocacy (Placement, IEP Participation, Behavioral Support, Ongoing Follow-up for Retention)
• Referral to Services, including Education Support Center

Education Support Center: Preparing for the Transition Back Into School

ESC focuses on preparing our highest-risk probation youth for successful reconnection to an appropriate educational program. Services include:

• Educational Assessment
• Literacy, Social Studies & Math Education
• Credit Retrieval, Credit Transfer
• Special Education Services
• GED Prep
• Cognitive-Behavioral Skill Building

Employment Coordination: Preparing Youth for Successful Employment

Employment Coordination is much more than getting youth jobs; it’s about connecting our youth with opportunities in our community to learn skills for successful employment, increase career options, and become established on a course toward self-sufficiency. Services include:

• Employment Readiness training
• Connection with vocational programs
• Job Placement
• Stipend/work experience opportunities
• Ongoing Follow-up for Retention

Cognitive-Behavioral Skill Development Courses: Pro-social Thinking, Pro-social Behavior

Cognitive behavioral courses help youth find ways to align their pro-social attitudes, values and beliefs with pro-social behavior. Services currently include the following NCTI Crossroads courses:

• Anger Management
• Gang Involvement
• Cognitive Life Skills

School Partnership Investment

Through agreements with Portland Public Schools, DCJ provides two full-time Juvenile Counselors to supplement staffing in PPS’s Delayed Expulsion School Counseling Center and Major Suspension Program, both of which are focused on addressing problem behaviors so that youth can stay in school.

Contact

Thuy Vanderlinde
Community Justice Manager
503-988-5677