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DYRS Implements Scorecard to Evaluate Community-based Homes for Court-Involved Youth

Thursday, February 23, 2012
Tool Will Promote Accountability and Assist in Improving the Performance of Group Homes

Washington, DC – Today, the District’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) announced the use of a new scorecard tool that will help the agency monitor and improve the performance of community-based homes that serve court-involved youth. DYRS will use the tool to evaluate community-based residential facilities, including group homes, therapeutic group homes and therapeutic family homes, on three indicators: re-arrest rates, abscondence rates and successful completion rates.

“This data-driven tool is a first for juvenile justice providers in the District,” said Neil Stanley, DYRS Director. “By facilitating more rigorous oversight, the scorecard will help us promote public safety, ensure our youth are receiving the required treatment and support services, provide a set of clear expectations to our partners, and allow us to hold providers accountable for their performance.”

DYRS currently utilizes approximately 20 community-based residential facilities. The programs play a significant role in providing youth with structured environments in which their needs may be met.

The scorecard results will be released publicly later this year as DYRS’ Office of Research and Quality Assurance compiles a sufficient amount of data to allow for fair evaluation.

“Our hopes are that providers can duplicate successes and share in their experiences,” said Stanley. “This tool will provide all of us with more transparency and help guide our decisions in providing youth with the level of care they not only need, but deserve.”

*The data presented in the attached sample is not actual, and is presented to demonstrate the type of information the actual scorecard will contain.

ABOUT DYRS: The District of Columbia’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) is the District’s juvenile justice agency. DYRS improves public safety by giving court-involved youth the opportunity to become more productive citizens by building on the youths’ and families’ strengths in the least restrictive most homelike environment consistent with public safety. DYRS seeks to incorporate best practices and promising approaches to create the nation's best strength-based, data-driven juvenile justice agency.