The Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) is responsible for the supervision, custody, and care of young people charged with a delinquent act in the District of Columbia in one of the following circumstances:

• Youth who are detained in a DYRS facility while awaiting adjudication.

• Youth who are committed to DYRS by a DC Family Court judge following adjudication.

Youth can be initially committed to the agency until the age of 18 and may remain in the care of DYRS until the age of 21. The agency provides comprehensive support services to committed youth in our secure facilities and within the community. DYRS is designed to help young people get on the right track and successfully transition into adulthood.

DYRS works with fellow District agencies, community partners, and juvenile justice experts to achieve these goals. We collaborate to implement innovative, research-based models aligning with best practices in juvenile justice and youth development.

YOUTH PLACEMENTS

SECURE FACILITIES

DYRS embraces a Positive Youth Justice Framework that at its core recognizes the necessity of a youth learning by doing with the support of a responsible adult committed to helping the youth develop these skills.

As a result, we have implemented the Core Support Team concept, which is a model that ensures each youth has a core team of DYRS personnel who is supporting them in achieving their goals and monitoring progress.

This team consists of Care Coordination, Community, and Facility Services.

The facility’s members of the Core Support Team consist of (YDR) Youth Development Representative, (SYDR) Supervisory Youth Development Representative, Treatment Managers, Credible Messenger, Restorative Justice Specialist, (JJIC) Juvenile Justice Institutional Counselor, Education Liaison and Behavior Health Specialist.

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Secure Division Programming Core Values

Research shows us the top 3 psychosocial skills which are key elements of addressing the thinking and behavior of young people are Responsibility, Perspective, and Temperance. 

As a result, we chose Accountability, Temperance, Empathy, and Resilience as our Programming Core Values.

Accountability

• Ability to take responsibility for one’s decisions

• Ability to resist pressure from others

Empathy

• Ability to consider longer-term consequences

• Ability to take/see others’ perspective

Temperance

• Voluntary self-restraint in action

• Self-Control

• Practicing Humility and Modesty

• To voluntarily refrain from doing. This includes restraint from revenge by practicing non-violence and forgiveness

Resilience

• The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties

• Psychological quality that allows some people to be knocked down by the adversities of life and come back at least as strong as before

Our goal is to ensure that these psychosocial skills are evident in programs that look at Personality Behavior, Attitudes, Orientation, and Peer Relations.

The Secure Division has separated the programs offered into (3) categories: Core Programs, Supplemental Programs, and Supportive Programs.

Core Programming: During the course of placement at New Beginnings & Youth Service Center, youth will participate in individual therapy, daily circles, and group counseling. These services strive to enhance each resident’s personal accountability, capacity for empathy, sense of resilience, and temperance. Core Programming Modules offered to residents will be evidence-based and/or supported modules that address risk factors associated with recidivism. In addition, supplemental and supportive services will be offered to promote their well-being and pro-social development.

Supplemental Programming: Offered to all residents based upon individual needs and/or recommendations of the Core Support Team (CST).

Supportive Programming: A variety of programming offered to all Residents intended to support overall life & wellness.

Core Programs Power Source Trauma and Grief Component Therapy for Adolescents (TGCTA) Victim Impact Ready Restorative Justice (RJ) Curriculum Washington Aggression Interruption Training (WAIT) Houses of Healing

Supplemental Programs Substance Abuse Pathways Animal Assisted Therapy Horticulture Independent Life Skills Real Talk Lecture/Red Table Talk Program Wellness Calendar Activities Rise and Reflection Circles RJ Community Building

Supportive Programs Therapy for Adolescents TGCTA (modules 2 and 3) Creative Writing Therapeutic Writing Module Customer Service Dramatic Arts Digital Arts Music Production Yoga and Meditation Barbering Training

OUR SECURE LOCATIONS ARE

Youth Services Center 1000 Mount Olivet Road NE Washington DC 20002 (202) 576-8418

New Beginnings Youth Development Center 8400 River Road Laurel, MD 20724 (202) 299-3200

DYRS encourages family involvement for all youth held at the facility and offers regular family visitation opportunities.

 

COMMUNITY-BASED PLACEMENTS

DYRS has a legal mandate to place youth in the least restrictive, most homelike environment consistent with public safety.

Community-based placements include the following options:

Home Placement

If the Court releases a detained youth to the community to live with a parent or approved guardian, the youth is monitored by Court Social Services and must comply with the Court’s release conditions. In the case of a committed youth, a DYRS case manager monitors the youth’s activities and refers the youth to support services. Youth are required to attend school and/or have full-time employment.

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Community-Based Residential Facilities (CBRFs)

Group Homes

DYRS contracts with providers to house committed youth in a structured, homelike residential setting. These programs, which are staffed 24 hours per day, are single-sex. Although youth reside full-time in the program, they attend local schools, can participate in family visits, and receive support services within the community. CBRFs provide supervision, counseling services, structured recreational activities, and programs designed to promote positive development. Currently, DYRS has two local group homes and two out-of-state group homes.  Our local group homes have the capacity to house 12 youths while our out-of-state group homes have the capacity to house eight youths.

Therapeutic Foster Care/Extended Family Homes

Youth reside with a foster family in a private home, with their activities monitored. Youth receive individual, group, and family counseling and attend school and/or hold jobs within the community.

Community-Based Shelter Homes

When appropriate, DC Superior Court judges place detained youth in an alternative to secure detention. Detention alternatives in the District include shelter homes, which are under contract with DYRS to provide supervision and services. Judges use detention alternatives such as this one to ensure that youth show up on time to their scheduled court appointment and remain crime-free while their court case is being processed.

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