Nina Salomon, senior policy analyst at the Council of State Governments Justice Center, talks with probation and correction officers during a site visit at the Moyer Ohio Judicial Center.

Nina Salomon, senior policy analyst at the Council of State Governments Justice Center, talks with probation and correction officers during a site visit at the Moyer Ohio Judicial Center.

The Ohio Supreme Court hosted a two-day meeting focused on finding ways to reduce the number of repeat juvenile offenders.

Ohio is one of eight states selected to participate in a site visit with the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center’s National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC). The site visit on Feb. 17-18 at the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center focused on:

• Research that demonstrates effectiveness in reducing recidivism and improving outcomes for youth arrested and in contact with the juvenile justice system
• Best practices for measuring recidivism and other youth outcomes and using this data to guide system policy and resource allocation
• The opportunity to receive federally funded technical assistance from the NRRC to develop a statewide plan to improve outcomes for youth.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor spoke to the group about progress being made to improve outcomes for youth under supervision in the state and local juvenile justice system. She noted the ability of courts and justice system partners to share information through the Ohio Courts Network (OCN).

“Currently, 63 percent of the cases in juvenile court is searchable in the OCN. We continue to make headway here as there are nine juvenile courts coming online soon that will account for an additional 12 percent of the juvenile case volume available through the OCN,” Chief Justice O’Connor said.

Additionally, she talked about the proposed amendment to the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio that, if approved, would mandate local courts adopt rules to better regulate shackling of youths during court proceedings.

There were several different stakeholder groups who met with NRRC, including judges, state lawmakers, and probation and correction officers.

Holmes County Chief Probation Officer, and a member of the Ohio planning team, Dave Williams, stated that in his focus group there was consensus that local communities are open to consistent statewide practices, and there is an opportunity to improve accessible services that are evidence-based for all children in Ohio.

The Ohio team, which includes staff from the Ohio Supreme Court, county juvenile courts, the Ohio General Assembly, the Department of Youth Services, and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, will formally ask to be a part of the CSG Justice Center’s Statewide Juvenile Justice Improvement Initiative.