Wyoming Department of Family Services - Wyoming's Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of the Wyoming Department of Family Services
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Wyoming Department of
Family Services
Wyoming’s Juvenile Justice System:
Through the Eyes of the Wyoming Department of
Family Services
Korin Schmidt, Director
Wyoming Department of Family Services
307-777-7564
Prepared for the Joint Judiciary Committee
June 2021
Table of Contents WY Home Matters 2 Single Point of Entry 3 Secondary Prevention: Targeted Home & 5 Community-Based Services & Supports Community Crisis Beds 6 Community Juvenile Services Boards (CJSB) 6 Juvenile Justice Diversion 7 Tertiary Prevention: Out-Of-Home & 8 Court-Ordered Services Custody Status 8 Juvenile Probation 10 Independent Living 10 Juvenile and Family Court Supervised Treatment Programs (A.K.A. Drug Courts) 10 DFS Placement and Behavioral Health Continuum 11 DFS’ Youth Facilities 16 Juvenile Justice System: Misc. 18 DFS’ Juvenile Justice Data Collection 18 Historical Initiatives 19 Conclusion 20 Attachment A: CHINS and Juvenile Delinquency Data 21 Attachment B: Out-of-Home Placement Providers 25 Attachment C: Acronym Index 26 Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 1
WY HOME MATTERS
The Wyoming Department of Family Services (DFS) is guided by three values.
● Safe at Home - all children and adults deserve to live and be safe in their own homes.
● Opportunities for Success - all families deserve a fair chance at success. Our job is to
promote family strengths and to provide access to supports that allow families to stay
safely together.
● Supporting the People who Support the Families - our greatest resources are those
people serving families directly in their communities - our staff and our partners.
WY Home Matters is a system-wide vision to promote a prevention-oriented child and family
well-being system that empowers families to travel a path that is self-sustaining. DFS believes
these changes start at a local level and require strong partnerships across the prevention
continuum outlined in Figure 1. WY Home Matters emphasizes early intervention and
community-based services as a first line of intervention whenever possible, for all children,
youth, and families, regardless of how they come into contact with DFS.
Figure 1. The Child & Family Well-Being System
DFS programs engage families in a wide variety of settings along the prevention continuum to
keep families safe at home and provide opportunities for success. These engagements fall into
three categories of prevention services:
1) Primary Prevention: Community-based services
2) Secondary Prevention: Targeted home and community-based services and supports
3) Tertiary Prevention: Out-of-home and court-ordered services
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 2
SINGLE POINT OF ENTRY
Wyoming’s single point of entry was first created in 2009 with the passing of House Enrolled
Act 68. As juvenile crimes and citations do not have a primary court of jurisdiction in WY, there
was a lack of consistency as to which courts should handle juvenile citations. The single point of
entry statute attempts to remedy this by designating the prosecuting attorney in each
jurisdiction as the single point of entry for all juvenile citations, and gives the prosecuting
attorney discretion as to the most appropriate court to dispose of each juvenile citation.
The single point of entry can be a very effective tool used to divert children and youth away from
formal court involvement, while providing necessary programming and services to deter youth
from future Children in Need of Supervision (CHINS) and delinquent behavior. However, the
single point of entry is also the gateway into formal court involvement for children and youth.
The single point of entry is designed to provide guidance and aid prosecutors in determining
which court to file charges against a youth.
The single point of entry process developed in each jurisdiction varies greatly statewide, as does
the frequency and level of DFS involvement within local single point of entry mechanisms. The
single point of entry process is dictated by prosecutorial discretion and charging decisions are
many times based on available resources. Figure 2 is a map of Wyoming’ judicial districts.
Figure 2: Wyoming’s Judicial Districts
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 3Table 1 illustrates which counties have single point of entry processes, DFS’ involvement in the
single point of entry, and resources counties have available when making charging decisions,
such as Community Juvenile Services Boards (CJSB), county probation, and diversion
programs.
Table 1: Juvenile Justice Processes and Resources by County
DFS participates
Judicial Single point in the single point County
County District of entry of entry CJSB Probation Diversion
Albany 2 Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Big Horn 5 Yes Yes No No No
Campbell 6 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Carbon 2 Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Converse 8 No NA No No Yes
Crook 6 Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Fremont 9 Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Goshen 8 Yes Yes No No Yes
Hot Springs 5 Yes Yes No No No
Johnson 4 Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Laramie 1 Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Lincoln 3 Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Natrona 7 Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Niobrara 8 Yes Yes No No Yes
Park 5 Yes Yes No No Yes
Platte 8 Yes No No No No
Sheridan 4 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Sublette 9 Yes Yes No No Yes
Sweetwater 3 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Teton 9 Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Uinta 3 Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Washakie 5 Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Weston 6 Yes No No Yes Yes
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 4SECONDARY PREVENTION:
TARGETED HOME AND COMMUNITY-BASED
SERVICES AND SUPPORTS
While the bulk of DFS’ agency-wide services are focused towards primary prevention1 for all
children, youth, and families, DFS’ involvement with youth at risk of becoming involved in the
formal juvenile justice system begins within the scope of secondary prevention.
Secondary prevention is a collaboration between DFS and partner organizations such as law
enforcement agencies, schools, service providers, medical providers, and community groups.
DFS’ secondary prevention efforts focus on crisis stabilization and what is commonly viewed as
traditional diversion and prevention services. Targeted community-based services and supports
are more individualized and intensive as they are DFS’ last line of available resources to keep
children and families from entering the formal court system in which children and youth may be
removed from their homes.
The following are the types of families DFS works with in the secondary prevention realm:
1) Families which cause someone or an entity a concern regarding the safety and well-being
of children and they contact DFS. DFS investigates and finds indicators that children are
at risk of abuse or neglect.
2) Vulnerable adults who someone or some entity is concerned about their safety and
well-being and they contact DFS. DFS investigates and finds a vulnerable adult is at risk
of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
3) Youth whose behavior is disruptive, defiant or out of control, or may lead to criminal
behavior. These youth have not yet been formally charged as a juvenile delinquent or had
a CHINS petition filed in court, but have behaviors that will lead to CHINS or
delinquency court involvement. This population is the focus of this juvenile justice
system report.
DFS’ role in secondary prevention for the juvenile justice population is somewhat limited and
revolves around community partnerships. Because the goal of secondary prevention is to keep
youth from formal court involvement, youth at this stage are not court ordered to receive DFS
services. Secondary prevention efforts include community crisis beds, CJSBs, and diversion
programs. Youth may be directed towards secondary prevention services by the single point of
entry process, as an alternative to filing charges against the youth in court.
1
Under primary prevention, DFS funds community-based services to provide families short-term assistance with
basic needs necessary for family stability. Families receiving community-based services retain control of their
decisions and require very limited formal contact with DFS. Community-based services are the foundation of
ensuring safe homes for children and vulnerable adults.
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 5COMMUNITY CRISIS BEDS
Community crisis beds exist to provide temporary, emergency stabilization services for children
and youth ages zero to 18 as a means to prevent removal from their home and to prevent further
penetration into the juvenile court system. Crisis beds can be utilized seven days a week for a
period not to exceed 30 days. Children and youth can access crisis bed services by self or family
referral, through medical and mental health professionals, law enforcement, DFS referral, or
school staff.
14 private entities operate 812 total crisis beds across Wyoming. DFS uses Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF) and state general funds to purchase crisis services for approximately
1,000 children per year at a daily rate of $117 per bed whether the bed is occupied or vacant.
COMMUNITY JUVENILE SERVICES BOARDS (CJSB)
CJSBs allow communities, either through county commissioners or the establishment of a joint
powers board, to individualize and manage services and resources to divert youth and families
away from the formal juvenile justice system within each participating community. There are
currently 14 CJSBs across Wyoming with varying programs and approaches. Resources and
services include but are not limited to counseling, tutoring, mentorship programs, community
service, time out in a community crisis bed, and informal supervision. Table 1, on page 4,
identifies counties with CJSBs.
DFS state general funds for CJSBs are being eliminated beginning July 1, 2021 as a result of the
required budget reductions. However, CJSBs have statutory authority to remain operational
without DFS funding and many intend to do so after July 1, 2021.
CJSB History
The Community Juvenile Services Act, W.S. §§ 14-9-101 through 14-9-108, was passed in 1997
and created a Community Juvenile Services Block Grant pilot project to be conducted during the
period beginning July 1, 1997 and ending June 30, 1999. House Bill 0031 of the 1998 legislative
session extended the pilot project time period from July 1, 1997, through June 30, 2000. No
appropriation was made, rather the Governor was given the authority to move up to $5 million
to fund the pilot program. The amount of block grant funding distributed during the pilot
project is unknown.
The Community Juvenile Services Act remained in statute, and was amended in the 2008
legislative session through Senate File 0066, Senate Enrolled Act 0030. Senate Enrolled Act
0030 added additional requirements for CJSB member composition, juvenile justice system
development, including a single point of entry, and required payments to be made cooperatively
by DFS, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), and the Wyoming Department of
Education (WDE).
2
This includes three beds located on the Wind River Reservation.
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 6Pursuant to Senate Enrolled Act 0030, DFS worked with counties to form CJSBs beginning in
the 2009 through 2010 fiscal biennium. $2 million per biennium was allocated in DFS’ budget
for CJSBs from BFYs 2009 through state fiscal year (SFY) 2016. The SFY 2017 supplemental
budget reduced CJSB funding from $2 million per biennium to $1,099,611 per biennium.
JUVENILE JUSTICE DIVERSION
Juvenile justice diversion is an intervention and approach used to hold youth accountable for
their actions while redirecting the youth away from the formal court system. The term “juvenile
diversion” in Wyoming refers to two separate but similar conditions that are used
interchangeably:
(1) A single or multiple service, program, tool, or resource used prior to court involvement
with the intent of addressing the youth’s behavior and eliminating the need for court
involvement; and
(2) A formal program that combines and coordinates services, tools, and resources together
to address the youth’s behavior and eliminating the need for court involvement.
Services and resources available to divert youth away from the formal court system, and the
approach for accessing and using diversion resources and services, vary across the state. All of
Wyoming’s 14 counties with CJSBs have established formal juvenile diversion programs, as do
other jurisdictions. Table 1 on page 4 identifies counties with juvenile diversion programs
and/or services.
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Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 7TERTIARY PREVENTION: OUT-OF-HOME
AND COURT-ORDERED SERVICES
While DFS’ engagement with families is very broad and begins as early as primary prevention
with community-based services, when people think about DFS custody, the child protection
system, and the juvenile justice system, they generally think about what occurs in DFS’ tertiary
prevention services, with children and youth being taken into custody and removed from their
homes.
DFS’ tertiary prevention services are triggered by formal court involvement when a child is taken
into legal custody, an abuse or neglect petition against a parent or caretaker is filed in juvenile
court, or a CHINS or delinquency petition is filed against the juvenile in juvenile court.
DFS does not have an actual “juvenile justice system” that exists outside of child protection
(CPS) and adult protection services (APS). From DFS’ perspective, juvenile justice-involved
youth and children in the child protection system are a single cohort of children and youth with
various ways to enter the same system of care. Once entered into the system of care, children
and youth are eligible for the same services.
CUSTODY STATUS
When a child is court-ordered into DFS custody, DFS assumes the care and supervision of the
child and works with the multidisciplinary team (MDT) to make recommendations to the court
regarding placement decisions. All placement decisions are ultimately made by the court. Under
Title 14 of the Wyoming Statutes, there are three ‘doors’ by which a child may be placed into
DFS custody.
1) Child Protection Act3: Allegations of child abuse or neglect are brought to the juvenile
court by the prosecuting attorney’s office filing a petition alleging that a child or youth is
at risk of or has been abused or neglected, and when the action is necessary to protect the
interest of the child.
a) Abuse is defined as “inflicting or causing physical or mental injury, harm or
imminent danger to the physical or mental health or welfare of a child other than
by accidental means”, including:
i) Abandonment,
ii) Excessive or unreasonable corporal punishment,
iii) Malnutrition or substantial risk of malnutrition by intentional or
unintentional neglect, and
iv) Commission of or allowing the commission of a sexual offense against a
child.4
3
W.S. §§ 14-3-401 through 14-3-441.
4
W.S. § 14-3-202(a)(ii).
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 8b) Neglect is the “failure or refusal by those responsible for the child’s welfare to
provide adequate care, maintenance, supervision, education or medical, surgical
or any other care necessary for the child’s well being.”5
2) Children in Need of Supervision Act6: Complaints alleging CHINS are referred to the
prosecuting attorney’s office, which determines whether judicial action is necessary to
protect the interest of the child. CHINS are brought by the prosecuting attorney’s office
through the filing of a CHINS petition with the juvenile court.
a) CHINS are children or youth who are “habitually truant”, disobedient, or
“ungovernable and beyond control”, but whose infractions do not rise to the level
of breaking the law.7
3) Juvenile Justice Act8 and Juvenile Probation9: The prosecuting attorney’s office is the
single point of entry for all minors alleged to have committed a crime and determines
whether to file a delinquency petition, and in which court. Delinquency petitions are filed
when the action is necessary to protect the interest of the public or the child. The court
may order a delinquent child to probation through DFS, a city, a county, or private
organization. DFS therefore is not the probation entity for all juvenile delinquents, only
those court ordered to DFS probation.
a) A juvenile delinquent is a child who commits a crime, contempt of court, or
violates a court order which resulted from the criminal conviction of the child.
Children may transition between these three involvement statuses, or exit the system and
re-enter through another door. Table 2 summarizes the entry points into state custody.
Table 2. Three “Doors” to State Custody
Child CHINS Juvenile Justice /
Protection Probation
In DFS custody? Maybe (prevention Yes Yes
cases are voluntary)
Eligible for Wyoming Girls’ School No No Yes
(WGS)/
Wyoming Boys’ School (WBS)?
Medicaid pay source?10 Yes (except Yes Yes (100% SGF if in a
prevention cases) detention facility)
Maximum age for DFS service 21 years 18 years 21 years
5
W.S. § 14-3-202(a)(vii).
6
W.S. §§ 14-6-401 through 14-6-440.
7
W.S. § 14-6-402(a)(iv).
8
W.S. §§ 146-201 through 14-6-252.
9
W.S. §§ 14-6-301 through 14-6-314.
10
All children in the custody of DFS are automatically eligible for Medicaid coverage under the federal Foster Care
eligibility program. Some children in DFS custody are enrolled in private insurance or other Medicaid eligibility
programs, such as the Children’s Mental Health Waiver, or the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver.
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 9JUVENILE PROBATION DFS provides regular probation and intensive supervised probation (ISP) services and supervision to youth adjudicated as juvenile delinquents, and ordered to DFS probation by a juvenile court judge. Some local DFS offices have specialized juvenile justice or probation workers, but in many of DFS’ smaller offices, these juvenile justice cases are handled by the same staff that support CPS and APS. DFS probation workers focus on early assessment and identification of treatment needs of the youth, and timely referrals for treatment as a way to keep probation youth in their home school districts and prevent out-of-home placement. When a youth on probation with DFS is placed out of the home by court order, DFS provides case planning, implementation, compliance, and monitoring. These case plans focus on permanency of the youth, specifically reunification of the youth with the family or a return of the youth to the community. In SFY 2020, DFS served a total of 1,470 youth and their families through traditional probation and ISP. While historically probation services focused on the youth’s behavior, DFS’ probation services involve a family-centered model to keep the youth in his or her community, and when that isn’t successful, to achieve family reunification in a timely manner. Note that not all juvenile probation cases are assigned to DFS; Campbell County and Sweetwater County run their own probation programs. CHINS Supervision and Case Management Many CHINS petitions are filed on children and youth as a way to access higher levels of mental health care through DFS, making the CHINS population distinctly different from the juvenile delinquency population. Even so, CHINS youth are supervised by DFS under the same policies and procedures as all other youth. INDEPENDENT LIVING DFS contracts with community providers to provide Independent Living (IL) services to assist current and former foster care youth in achieving self-sufficiency. Youth ages 14 and older who have been in foster care are eligible, regardless of whether they were abused, neglected, or a CHINS or juvenile delinquent. IL services prepare youth to exit, and avoid returning to the State’s system of care. JUVENILE AND FAMILY COURT SUPERVISED TREATMENT PROGRAMS (A.K.A. DRUG COURTS) Wyoming Court Supervised Treatment Programs (drug courts) are funded through the WDH and operated through local court jurisdictions. Drug courts focus on breaking the cycle of substance abuse and the reduction of crimes stemming from substance abuse. DFS is involved in varying ways with each juvenile drug court. Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 10
Table 3: Wyoming Juvenile Drug Courts
County Program DFS Involvement
Albany Albany County Court Supervised DFS is on the court team and
Treatment Program provides supervision for each youth
Campbell Campbell County Juvenile & DFS is on the court team and the
Family Drug Court overseeing Board
Fremont Fremont County Juvenile DFS involvement is limited to
Treatment Court children/youth in DFS care
Sheridan Sheridan County Juvenile Drug DFS provides supervision to youth
Court ordered to participate through the
Juvenile Court.
Sweetwater Sweetwater County Treatment DFS is on the court team
Court Foundation
Teton Teton County Court Supervised DFS involvement is limited to
Treatment Program children/youth in DFS care
DFS PLACEMENT AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CONTINUUM
Behavioral health services available to all children and youth in DFS custody fall along a
continuum of severity of need and restrictiveness of the service or placement. The behavioral
health population is not uniform; within this population there exists a wide variety of needs that
vary by age, diagnosis, and treatment needs. Children and youth may have suffered multiple
traumas in childhood and have co-occurring substance use, intellectual disabilities, or
developmental disabilities along with a behavioral health diagnosis. Within a single placement
type, such as psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs), providers may serve distinct
populations based on diagnosis and available programming.
Services are classified into three settings: outpatient, residential, and inpatient, based on the
restrictiveness of the location.
● Outpatient settings include those where the child or youth remains at home, in family
foster care, or under a guardianship, and continues to attend their home school district
while receiving mental health or substance abuse services, which may include adolescent
intensive outpatient programming (AIOP), drug court, and day treatment programming;
● Residential settings include those where the child lives on-campus and attends
on-campus classes while receiving mental health or substance abuse services; and
● Inpatient settings are the most restrictive and clinical in nature.
Services are also classified into four types: educational, behavioral, clinical, and correctional,
based on the primary goal of placement.
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 11● Educational placements are primarily to support the child’s continued educational
progress through an alternative educational setting;
● Behavioral settings are primarily to address behavioral issues interfering not only with
the child’s education, but also their ability to function at home and in the community;
● Clinical settings generally require a clinical diagnosis and treatment for significant
psychiatric instability; and,
● Correctional facilities are primarily to address delinquent behavior. These facilities
include juvenile detention centers, the Wyoming Boys’ School (WBS), and the Wyoming
Girls’ School (WGS). Juvenile detention centers are not therapeutic; however they often
serve as the juvenile behavioral health safety net for clients for whom no other safe
placement can be found. By statute, the WGS and WBS are correctional in nature;
however, they offer more therapeutic programming than detention centers.
Table 4 summarizes the various behavioral, clinical, and correctional services in which children
and youth with behavioral health needs are placed.
Table 4. Behavioral Health Services
Service Setting Service Description Admission
Type Criteria
Mental Outpatient Behavioral / Therapies provided on an N/A
health & Clinical outpatient basis; may include
substance AIOP, drug court, and day
abuse treatment programming
services
Crisis Residential Behavioral/ Short-term, overnight services Voluntary
stabilization Clinical to de-escalate mental health
services crisis
(crisis beds)
Board of Outpatient/ Behavioral / Residential program for Court-ordered
Cooperative Residential Educational/ students with behaviors and or school
Educational Clinical qualifying educational support district
Services needs referral
(BOCES)
Group homes Residential Behavioral Home like group setting for Court-ordered
children with emotional, or private pay
social, physical, and/or
behavioral needs, who do not
require a more restrictive
facility for their own
protection or that of others
Residential Residential Behavioral / Service for children who Court-ordered
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 12treatment Clinical require a combination of or private pay
centers therapeutic, education, and
(RTC) treatment services in a
residential group care setting
Acute Inpatient Clinical Inpatient hospital psychiatric Medical
psychiatric stabilization and medication
stabilization management
Psychiatric Inpatient / Clinical Inpatient psychiatric Medical /
residential Residential treatment facility that meets Psychiatric
treatment criteria for reimbursement as a evaluation
facility medical service by Medicaid
(PRTF)
Juvenile Residential Correctional County facilities for minors Court-ordered
detention who have been adjudicated
center (JDC) juvenile delinquents or are
awaiting trial
Wyoming Residential Correctional State facility for female minors Court-ordered
Girls’ School adjudicated as juvenile
(WGS) delinquents under Title 14
Wyoming Residential Correctional State facility for male minors Court-ordered
Boys’ School adjudicated as juvenile
(WBS) delinquents under Title 14
Figure 3 shows the number of Wyoming CHINS and juvenile delinquents placed outside of the
home between Federal Fiscal Years (FFY) 2017 and 2020. See Attachment A for a breakdown of
placement settings. See Attachment B for a map of placement providers.
Figure 3: Total CHINS and Juvenile Delinquent Placements; FFYs 2017 through FFY 2020
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 13Funding for Out-of-Home Placements and Behavioral Health Treatment Services
Children and youth may be court ordered to placement for reasons other than behavioral health
needs, including placement for safety of the child or youth, and placement for public safety
reasons. Children and youth should be placed in the least restrictive setting to meet their needs,
and a family home setting is preferred. Family home settings include family foster care (with
family members or non-family members), guardianships, and pre-adoptive and adoptive homes.
When family home settings aren’t appropriate or available, children and youth may be placed in
residential, congregate care settings. In residential service settings, children and youth receive,
and providers may bill, for three separate services: room and board, active treatment, and
educational services. Availability of funds for each of these services varies with the child or
youth’s insurance type, custody status, and education status. The court-ordered placements
statute, or “COPS”, at W.S. § 21-13-315 directs DFS to pay for room and board and WDE to pay
for educational services for children court-ordered to a private residential treatment facility,
group home, day treatment program, or juvenile detention facility. W.S. § 21-13- 336 directs
WDE to pay for educational costs for Medicaid-covered children with a medically necessary
placement in a PRTF.
DFS uses a variety of funding sources to provide services to children, youth, and families. 65%
of the social services budget is state general funds. The remaining 35% is funded with federal
grants and funding streams such as Title IV-E funds and TANF which can only be used if the
family meets the income and program eligibility requirements.
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Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 14Table 5. DFS’ Out-of-Home Placement Payment Rates
Facility Rate Prior to 7/1/21 Rate Beginning 7/1/2111 Payment
Type Mechanism
Family foster $645 per month, children 0-5 $626 per month, children 0-5 Rate is per month,
home $664 per month, children 6-12 $645 per month, children 6-12 per child
$732 per month, children 13-18 $710 per month, children 13-18
Guardianship $0 to $340 base, per month $0 to $330 base, per month Negotiated based
+tiered amount based on level +tiered amount based on level on level of need
of need of need
Adoption $0 to $399 base, per month $0 to $387 base, per month Negotiated based
Subsidy +tiered amount based on level +tiered amount based on level on level of need
of need of need
Crisis beds $117 per day per bed; Same Paid regardless of
81 total beds occupancy or
vacancy
Group home $141 per day $137 per day Paid regardless of
occupancy or
vacancy
RTC / BOCES $175 per day through day 270; $170 per day through day 270; Paid only when
$131 per day thereafter $127 per day thereafter occupied
PRTF N/A N/A Paid by Medicaid
JDC Campbell County - $75 per day Same Paid only when
Laramie County - $195 per day occupied
Sweetwater County - $195 per
day
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11
Rate reductions are a result of a 3% reduction in out-of-home placement appropriations in DFS’ SFY 2022 budget.
New rates begin July 1, 2021, and are ongoing.
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 15Table 6: DFS’ Annual Expenditures12 for Out-of-Home Placements13
Service Category SFY 2017 SFY 2018 SFY 2019 SFY 2020
Family Foster Care $5.1M $5.3M $5M $4.6M
Children served 962 1,025 1,013 967
Guardianship Subsidy $663K $697K $765K $809K
Children served 153 150 161 191
Adoption Subsidy $3.5M $3.6M $3.6M $3.7M
Children served 651 668 676 711
Congregate Care14 $10M $9.5M $8.7M $8.1M
Children served 314 287 262 236
Grand Total $19.3M $19M $18.1M $17.2M
See Attachment A for additional out-of-home placement and expenditure data specific to CHINS
and juvenile delinquents.
DFS’ YOUTH FACILITIES
DFS operates WBS and WGS. In order to be placed at either facility, youth who commit a
delinquent act must be charged by the district or county attorney then placed in DFS custody
and ordered to WBS or WGS for an indefinite period of time by the presiding judge. These
charging and placement decisions are based on prosecutorial and judicial discretion, and are not
decisions made by DFS. While some youth are ordered to WBS and WGS based on the youth’s
initial delinquent offense, the majority of youth are ordered to these facilities based upon
continual violations of the youth’s probation terms. Wyoming statute requires a youth to be
adjudicated delinquent in order to be placed at WBS and WGS, however, both facilities have had
CHINS youth ordered to WBS and WGS due to the youth violating their CHINS order; thus
changing a CHINS to a juvenile delinquency based on violation of a court order.
Wyoming Boys’ School (WBS)
WBS is a 38 acre facility in Worland, Wyoming that provides public safety and care for
adjudicated delinquent male youth, ages 12 to 21. WBS is an accredited educational and
rehabilitative facility designed to treat and improve outcomes for at-risk boys in a safe,
supportive, and healthy environment. WBS administers programs that promote public safety by
providing supervision and family centered therapeutic services, physical and mental health
programming, and education services. Eligible students have the opportunity to obtain a high
12
Dollars have been rounded.
13
Placements and children served include child protection cases, CHINS, and juvenile delinquents.
14
Congregate care is a non-family like setting, and includes crisis centers, group homes, RTCs, PRTFs, WBS, WGS,
detention, jail, hospitals, and the WY State Hospital.
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 16school diploma or high school equivalency certificate. WBS also contracts with local providers
and others for physician services, barber, and other special education services that are provided
on site. 94 full-time WBS staff serve approximately 270 youth on a biennial basis, and the
average length of stay is 7.5 months.
The WBS is funded with state general funds. As part of the budget reductions in SFY 2021,
WBS’s Medicaid funds for mental health services15 were decreased by $300,000 on an ongoing
basis. Additional reductions resulted in the closure of one WBS dormitory, capping the WBS
daily capacity at 60 residents. The reduction in capacity may require county attorneys, judges,
and multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) to consider less-restrictive alternatives to WBS when
making placement and treatment decisions for male youth. Overall, the WBS biennial budget is
now $15,856,908 which reflects a reduction of $1,820,992.
Wyoming Girls’ School (WGS)
WGS is a 98 acre facility in Sheridan, Wyoming that provides public safety and care for
adjudicated delinquent female youth, ages 12 to 21. WGS is an accredited educational and
rehabilitative facility designed to treat and improve outcomes for at-risk girls in a safe,
supportive, and trauma responsive environment. WGS administers programs that promote
public safety by providing supervision and family centered, trauma responsive therapeutic
services, physical and mental health programming, and education services. Eligible students
have the opportunity to obtain a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate.
WGS also collaborates with local providers and others for physician services and other special
education services that are provided on site. 77 full-time employees serve approximately 140
youth on a biennial basis, with an average length of stay of 8.9 months.
Like the WBS, the WGS is funded with state general funds and as part of the budget reductions
in 2021, the WGS closed one dormitory, decreasing the daily capacity from 64 to 40 residents.
This will have minimal impact as WGS’ ongoing daily census averages 31 residents. Overall, the
WGS biennial budget is now $9,779,390 which reflects a reduction of $2,851,747.
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This reduction is reflected in the WDH budget. Medical services provided at WBS are not federally reimbursable,
and are therefore paid through 100% state general fund Medicaid dollars.
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 17JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM: MISC. DFS’ JUVENILE JUSTICE DATA COLLECTION One of the shortfalls of Wyoming’s juvenile justice system is the lack of consistent and comparable data across agencies and organizations. In order to identify gaps in Wyoming’s juvenile justice system and areas of improvement, quality data must be accessible and accurate. DFS currently compiles and reports data on DFS’ juvenile justice population in a couple different ways and for different purposes, and additionally uses data gathered by other entities. Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Data The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) collects case-level information from state and tribal Title IV-E agencies on all children in foster care and those who have been adopted with Title IV-E agency involvement. DFS is a IV-E agency. Data reported in AFCARS includes demographic information on the foster child, the number of removal from home episodes a child or youth has experienced, and the current placement setting. AFCARS only reports on juvenile justice-involved youth if the youth is or has been in foster care, such as a relative or non-relative foster home, RTC, or group home. Detention, WBS, and WGS are not considered foster care placements under IV-E. National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) Data The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) is a data collection system that gathers information about reports of child abuse and neglect. NCANDS only reports data on juvenile justice-involved youth if the youth is or has been involved in a child protection case. Wyoming Children’s Assistance and Protection System (WYCAPS) The Wyoming Children’s Assistance and Protection System (WYCAPS) is DFS’ Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) and is used for DFS’ day to day case management of CPS, APS, and juvenile justice cases. All of DFS’ juvenile justice cases are entered into WYCAPS. WYCAPS also acts as DFS’ vendor payment system for services provided to children, youth, and families with cases contained within WYCAPS. DFS expenditures for out-of-home placements of children and youth in DFS care are calculated and reported from WYCAPS data. Results-Oriented Management (ROM) In the early 2000’s W.S. § 7-19-502 was created, tasking the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) with the creation and maintenance of a juvenile justice information system. Due to budget constraints, DCI did not complete the data system. In late 2014 then-Governor Mead allotted $500,000 to the State Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice (SACJJ) to research and formulate a juvenile justice data collection system. In April 2015, a system was discovered with the Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 18
University of Kansas called Results-Oriented Management (ROM). In May 2015, the SACJJ
voted to move forward with implementing the ROM system, with an estimated price tag of
approximately $140,000 to $160,000. In late 2015, crucial data points to be collected within
ROM were identified by DFS, and CJSBs began reporting those data points.
Currently the SACJJ collects data contained within the ROM. Specific data points included:
● Respective county
● Date of birth
● Sex
● Race
● Most serious presenting offense category (i.e. Alcohol Offense, Property Offense, etc.)
● Specific offense
● Secondary offense(s) if applicable
● Date of arrest/citation/summons
● Respective court
● If diversion was offered
● If pre-adjudication detention occurred
● Disposition(s)
● Other Disposition(s)
● Date of Disposition
HISTORICAL INITIATIVES
In 2010, DFS partnered with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to take part in the Juvenile
Detention Alternatives Initiative, commonly known as JDAI. JDAI promotes a data-driven,
problem-solving approach through a series of tools and core strategies that target
overrepresentation of youth of color in the justice system; youth, family and community
engagement; and community-based alternatives to confinement.
Wyoming’s five counties with juvenile detention centers became JDAI sites shortly after DFS’
initiative roll-out:
● Campbell County
● Fremont County
● Laramie County
● Natrona County
● Sweetwater County
Up until SFY2016, each JDAI participant county’s CJSB received an additional $30,000 in state
general funds to aid in the implementation of JDAI strategies.
In 2014 Natrona County withdrew from being a JDAI site, and in the same year Wyoming
decided to oversee JDAI independently without the assistance of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Today, Campbell, Fremont, Laramie, and Sweetwater counties continue to implement JDAI best
practices for juvenile detention and confinement.
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 19CONCLUSION DFS engages with children and families at a multitude of contact points, each time offering services and programs to prevent children, youth, and families from moving farther along DFS’ continuum of services and reaching court-ordered services or out-of-home placement. If court-ordered services or out-of-home placement become necessary, DFS utilizes tools to achieve a timely and safe family reunification. Unfortunately, while court-involved children, youth, and families are a small portion of the population DFS engages with, this population’s court-ordered services and out-of-home placements absorb the bulk of DFS’ budget. Not only do early prevention and targeted prevention services cost less than court-ordered services and placements, children, youth, and families have better outcomes when children and youth are served at home and when removal is prevented. While DFS primarily serves juvenile justice-involved youth through secondary and tertiary prevention, more targeted services earlier in the continuum would help to reduce the costly and at times unnecessary CHINS and delinquency population. WY Home Matters envisions a child, youth, and family well-being system where more children, youth, and families are served through primary and secondary prevention, rather than more costly, and more traumatic, tertiary prevention services. Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS | June 2021 20
ATTACHMENT A:
Children in Need of Supervision (CHINS) and
Juvenile Delinquency Data
Table 7: Total CHINS Placements by Placement Type; FFYs 2017-20201,2
Table 8: DFS Expenditures for CHINS Placements; Federal Fiscal Years (FFY) 2017-20203
1
Placement settings with 4 or less placement episodes are reported asTable 9: CHINS Placements by County; FFYs 2017 through 20204,5
Table 10: DFS CHINS Expenditures by County; FFYs 2017-20206
4
Counties with 4 or less placements are reported asTable 11: Total Delinquency Placements by Placement Type; FFYs 2017-20207,8
Table 12: DFS Expenditures for Delinquency Placements; FFYs 2017-20209
7
Placement settings with 4 or less placement episodes are reported asTable 13: Delinquency Placements by County; FFYs 2017 through 202010,11
Table 14: DFS Delinquency Expenditures by County; FFYs 2017-202012
10
Counties with 4 or less placements are reported asATTACHMENT B: Out-of-Home Placement Providers Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS - Attachment B | June 2021 25
ATTACHMENT C:
Acronym Index
Acronym Expansion
AFCARS Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System
AIOP Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Programming
APS Adult Protection Services
BFY Budget Fiscal Year
BOCES Board of Cooperative Educational Services
CHINS Children in Need of Supervision
CJSB Community Juvenile Services Boards
COPS Court-Ordered Placements
CPS Child Protective Services
DFS Department of Family Services
FFY Federal Fiscal Year
HCBS Home and Community-Based Services
IL Independent Living
ISP Intensive Supervised Probation
JDAI Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative
JDC Juvenile Detention Center
MDT Multidisciplinary Team
NCANDS National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System
PRTF Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities
ROM Results-Oriented Management
RTC Residential Treatment Center
SACJJ State Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice
SACWIS Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System
SFY State Fiscal Year
TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
WBS Wyoming Boys’ School
WDE Wyoming Department of Education
WDH Wyoming Department of Health
WGS Wyoming Girls’ School
WYCAPS Wyoming Children’s Assistance and Protection System
Department of Family Services | WY’s Juvenile Justice System: Through the Eyes of WY DFS - Attachment C | June 2021 26You can also read
