Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council

JJCC

Comprehensive Multi-agency Juvenile Justice Plan (pdf)

Since the 1990s, San Diego County 's Juvenile Justice stakeholders have been committed to implementing evidence-based approaches and promising practices to promote positive youth development and prevent juvenile delinquency.  During the latter half of the 1990s, San Diego County became one of the first three sites in the nation to implement the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP) “Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders.”  This model is predicated upon a philosophy of shared responsibility and coordinated action to prevent juvenile delinquency and promote youth development. San Diego recognized that to ensure the broadest array of stakeholder and agency buy-in there was an immediate need to expand the focus of the strategy and rename the local juvenile justice initiative to ensure all-encompassing buy-in and long term support. With the OJJDP title, “Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders,” many stakeholders, the education community and numerous government agencies were quick to point out that they did not work with or serve “Serious, Violent Chronic Offenders”.  Wanting to create a seamless continuum of services for all levels of the juvenile justice system, San Diego renamed the local efforts to the “Comprehensive Strategy for Youth, Family and Community”. This infused a much broader stakeholder population and insured that all youth-serving government agencies were at the table and engaged.

In 1996, in accordance with state legislation WIC 749.22, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors appointed a 22-member Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council (JJCC).  The JJCC represented a regional, coordinated advisory group which works to strengthen and support communities and families. At its inception the Board of Supervisors appointed more than the required state mandated members to the JJCC, to ensure that a much broader community voice was at the table.  The JJCC advises the Board of Supervisors on all juvenile justice issues oversees and develops quality prevention, intervention, and graduated sanction services, policies and programs.  Also at this time, working with The Children's Initiative employees a Comprehensive Strategy Coordinator to: oversee and staff the JJCC and all subcommittees, coordinate juvenile justice efforts throughout the region, and partner with stakeholder groups such as education, local law enforcement, alcohol and drug service, mental health, etc.

The Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council utilizes the Comprehensive Strategy approach in addressing juvenile crime and engaging in deliquency prevention activities. The Children's Initiative provides coordination and staff support to the council.