Children's Coalition of Maricopa County

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

With hundred of community stakeholders, multiple court programs and one of the largest urban population accessing juvenile justice and child welfare systems in the United States, the Juvenile Court of Maricopa County has developed a multisystemic approach to address the needs of children, youth and families. This approach centers on a multidisciplinary collaborative with a mission to coordinate and facilitate the effective and timely delivery of available community resources to support the children and families of Maricopa County engaged formally and informally with the Juvenile Court System. This collaborative is comprised of policy and decision makers from the Department of Economic Security, the regional behavior health authority, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections, the Family Resources Center, Arizona Department of Behavioral Health, Maricopa County Juvenile Probation and Maricopa County Juvenile Court. The goal of the collaborative is to eliminate barriers and accomplish service delivery through the principles of integrity, responsibility, excellence, partnership, communication and compassion. The collaborative has agreed to pledge each involved agency’s resources to provide this assistance. Although the first meeting of the collaborative was convened in 2006, the implementation of the project was not completed until October 2009 with the hiring of two Community Service Unit Coordinators. This collaboration is chaired by the Presiding Juvenile Court Judge and promotes communication, coordination and cooperation within an integrated Juvenile Court System.