Juvenile Court Contact Assistance Project

Coming Soon: School Based Training Materials

To enhance Miami-Dade County ’s capacity to help youth in foster youth and other at-risk youth succeed in and graduate from school, Educate Tomorrow (ET), with funding from The Children’s Trust, and in close collaboration with Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS), proposes the “Keep Kids in School” Juvenile Court Contact Training Project. Through this project, ET will train selected designated school personnel, known as Juvenile Court Contacts, and their administrative supervisors, using a model co-created by ET and its partners. The Juvenile Court Contacts will be trained to assist foster-youth and other at-risk students with educational planning and will be provided with resources to support the work of youth advocates and case managers. This project will contribute to the support system for at-risk and foster care youth that operates in MDCPS middle and high schools by enhancing Juvenile Court Contacts capacity to meet their goals and contribute to their school’s mission.  MDCPS has agreed to partner with this proposed project and will make available to ET two staff members at each school, as well as provide administrative leadership within the school system. The project’s working team is comprised of two trainers and a facilitator. The major components of the project include the following:

Develop training: The ET consultants will work with MDCPS and community partners to create a four-hour training module, and then use that model to train the two Juvenile Court Contacts for each school.  The training session will equip the Juvenile Court Contacts with the knowledge of the services and opportunities available to foster-care and at-risk youth.  The trainers will explain the resources available to foster care and at risk youth including, but not limited to, the Road to Independence Scholarship, SAT/ACT waivers, financial aid application information, and health care information.  

Create Materials: ET Consultants will also create a catalogue of services available to transitioning youth and inform the county’s case management agencies and selected MDCPS staff of these services.  The project will also include the production, collection and dissemination of materials that explain the rights, opportunities and services available to transitioning foster care and at-risk youth. Conduct Training: A one-time, four-hour training, and one four-hour follow-up training/implementation assessment will be provided.  The training session will inform Juvenile Court Contacts with the knowledge of the services and opportunities available to foster-care and at-risk youth. Related on-line materials will also be available, at any time, to Juvenile Court Contacts and other MDCPS staff.

Dissemination of Materials: Educate Tomorrow staff will coordinate the dissemination of materials.