Community Services provides case management and community supervision for youth, and their families, when a youth is court-ordered to receive pre-trial or post-adjudicatory supervision by DYRS. The goal of supervision is to promote positive outcomes for youth and families through appropriate interventions and treatment, which reduces youth risk to re-offend and increases community safety.

Community Services is committed to providing a responsive supervision continuum through which youth are assigned to appropriate supervision options based on their risk to re-offend, and connected to services, supports, and programs which address the needs that contribute to engagement in delinquency, promote youth success, and reduce recidivism.

Use of the Youth Assessment Screening Instrument (YASI) is the cornerstone of our process to provide effective and appropriate services and supervision to youth. The YASI is an evidence-based tool and measures a youth’s level of risk, needs, responsivity factors and strengths to guide early decision-making and assignment of case resources, as well as assist in the development of targeted case plans. Use of the YASI assists DYRS in accomplishing the following objectives:

• Determining a youth’s level of risk for re-offending in order to target resources to youth with higher risk to re-offend.
• Identifying the risk and protective factors linked to delinquent behavior so that case planning and interventions can be tailored to address the youth’s unique assessment profile.
• Developing a responsive approach to supervision and case management that is focused on reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors.
• Allowing case managers to determine if targeted factors change as a result of chosen interventions.
• Promoting positive outcomes for youth, families, and the community by increasing youth functioning, addressing needs, and reducing risk of re-offense.

The Community Services continuum of case management and supervision options includes the following options:

• Group supervision through a skills-based curriculum offered by the YMCA’s Back-on-Track program. This group supervision option includes connection to other services which address youth needs and participation in a community service project. Back-on-Track is appropriate for first-time offenders with a low-risk to re-offend.
• Individualized case management and supervision through community-based providers. These services are provided by Wraparound Delaware in New Castle County and the Community Supervision Resource Connection (CSRC) program in Kent and Sussex counties. This level of support includes a group curriculum aimed at developing pro-social skills; case planning which addresses each youth’s individual needs; family engagement; and connection to community-based supports, services, and programs which address needs. This level of support and supervision is appropriate for youth with low to moderate risk to re-offend who need individualized case planning.
• Supervision by a DYRS Probation Officer is the most appropriate option for youth with moderate to high risk to re-offend, youth who have previously been served through one of our options for lower risk youth, and youth on aftercare supervision. This supervision option is designed to be flexible and responsive to provide service intensity based on risk and needs through the use of appropriate interventions, graduated responses, and appropriate treatment. Youth may be referred or court-ordered to participate in both community-based and contracted services which are chosen to address current needs and functioning and are aimed at providing youth and families with an opportunity to develop new skills. DYRS utilizes contracted providers to serve youth with evidence-based and best practices whenever possible and available.
• Residential services are used to provide appropriate rehabilitative treatment to youth with the highest risk to re-offend or those with needs which require support offered through a residential treatment model. Community Services contracts with a variety of residential programs which provide unique supports to youth who require specialized programming not offered in our DYRS Secure Care programs.
• DYRS Community Services has developed a unit to work with youth who have demonstrated Inappropriate Sexual Behaviors.  The individuals in this unit have undergone significant training to understand adolescent inappropriate sexual behavior.  The unit takes a victim-centered approach.  This unit utilizes empirically-based assessment tools to evaluate the level of risk the youth presents for re-offending, their individual risk factors, and their protective factors.  This allows for the following to occur:
  • Accurate assessment of risk and risk factors.
  • Accurate identification of protective factors that will increase positive outcomes.
  • Identification of the appropriate level of services to address the risk factors for re-offending.
  • Appropriate development of safety plans and relapse prevention plans based on targeted risk factors.
  • Improves positive outcomes by matching appropriate services to risk factors.
  • Improves family outcomes by providing services directly related to a specific family’s needs.
• The Serious Juvenile Offender (SJO) Unit provides support services to Community Services for youth with a high risk to re-offend, or who are otherwise deemed in need of additional supervision and support. The officers in this unit are required to complete the Department of Correction Training Academy – all officers are armed and have arrest and search and seizure authority.  The following list outlines the services that are provided:
  • Apprehension of youth that have absconded from probation supervision or have active capiases/warrants.
  • Face-to-face curfew checks.
  • Transportation/Extradition of youth.
  • Escorting for Probation Officers.
  • Case management of high-risk youth as determined by DYRS leadership.

The unit frequently partners with police agencies and special task force initiatives. They also assist police and DFS counterparts in locating missing children, whose whereabouts are unknown, but are receiving services from the Department.

The unit also has the responsibility of supervising incoming interstate compact cases for clients that are over age 19 as other states may have authority to order juvenile probation services up to the age of 21.

The unit is headed by a Senior Probation and Parole Officer Supervisor who oversees Senior Probation and Parole Officers located in New Castle County and Kent/Sussex counties.

The unit has two office locations:

Community Services Probation Office Locations

Community Services Contact Information

Related Topics:  community services, probation and aftercare, Youth Rehabilitative Services, yrs