2020 FL-DSSG Summer Internship

The Center for Children’s Rights (CCR) provides civil legal representation to kids involved with the juvenile justice system. As an alternative to arrest, detention, and incarceration, the center advocates developmentally and trauma-informed policies and practices. CCR facilitates juvenile justice reform by working with a variety of community partners and provide kids access to what they need in the school and in the community to thrive.

The wicked problem addressed by CCR is disrupting the school to prison pipeline (STPP). The STPP describes policies and practices that push students out of the classroom and into the juvenile justice and criminal justice systems. The STPP disproportionately affects students of color, students with disabilities, students who identify as LGBTQIA+, and girls. Push out factors include disparate discipline, failures to respond to children’s learning and behavioral needs, and a school climate and culture that is not trauma-sensitive and inequitable. The STPP’s harmful impact is most acutely felt by students at the intersection of these populations. Once these kids end up in the juvenile justice system, they are more likely to experience harsher consequences that affect their socioemotional and behavioral development, strip away important educational experiences, interfere with the process of identifying and addressing underlying issues, and contribute to increased family stress and burden.

CCR receives direct referrals from key juvenile justice stakeholders. CCR completes a comprehensive legal needs assessment and zealously advocates for kids who are: out of school, having problems in school, homeless, having trouble getting appropriate health care or counseling, and being locked up in detention. To address the wicked problem, based on the gathered information, CCR develops a youth-centered plan to ensure access to the rights, supports, and services at the school and community as well as connection to the right people, places, and activities for their development.

With the help of the FL-DSSG, CCR would like to analyze advocacy efforts on the clients such as whether the advocacy enhances the educational services, increases access to and utilization of mental health and social services, increases the likelihood of community-based juvenile justice sanctions, and decreases recidivism or seriousness of re-offense.

Episcopal Children’s Services (ECS) provides programs and services to help Florida families raise children who are ready to learn when they enter the school. ECS incorporates research-based and proven best practices into its programs and services to promote children’s physical and mental health, motor development, cognitive development and general knowledge, social and emotional development, and language and communication skills.

ECS Early Head Start program provides full-day, full-year center-based and home-based early learning to pregnant women and children birth to three years of age. Early Head Start is a free program for children and families with low-incomes, providing comprehensive early learning in both center-based and home-based settings. This successful program helps ensure children’s readiness for school and increases parental knowledge in children’s growth and development. The program also provides additional family supports such as literacy workshops and parenting skills training and targeted attention on meeting specialized needs regarding children with disabilities, behavioral challenges, and health concerns.

To reach those most in need of Early Head Start services, ECS would like to develop an interactive dashboard to analyze and identify recruitment areas within the Duval county that has neediest children and families. The dashboard must factor in family income, homelessness, children in foster care, age, and eligibility for special education or early intervention services as well as cater to changing family needs and shifting demographics. The dashboard should contain an interactive map to visualize the recruitment areas and associated data. The dashboard would be used to answer the following questions: Where are the children and families who would benefit most from Early Head Start located within Duval County? Where are current ECS locations compared to the most vulnerable populations in Duval County? Where should we target home-based service recruitment? Where should we recruit Contracted Child Care Providers?