About the Certificate Program

The Certificate Program is a groundbreaking program of intensive study designed for public agency leaders responsible for policy development and implementation in their jurisdictions. The Center sponsors two Certificate Program sessions annually, one designed for individuals and one for multi-system jurisdictional teams. Certificate Program participants will become members of the Center's Fellows Network.

• Certificate Program for Individuals
• Certificate Program for Multi-jurisdictional Teams
• Fellows Network

Certificate Program for Individuals

Our Certificate Program for Individuals is held annually in late June. Participants convene at Georgetown University for one week to study and utilize the practices and policies identified through the Center's initial and ongoing investigation of evidence, research and practice knowledge in juvenile justice and related systems of care. The curriculum utilizes adult learning principles and combines didactic instruction with self-directed learning and practical application. Through this intensive study approach, the participants involved in the Certificate Program develop a greater understanding of the key principles of a strong juvenile justice reform agenda, its related practices and policies, and how to move them forward as part of a more comprehensive reform agenda. The Center approaches all of these issues from a multi-systems perspective -- a particularly important aspect of the work of the Center. The faculty teaching the modules within each Certificate Program session are comprised of experts from across the country and within the Georgetown faculty.

Our 2008 Certificate Program curriculum focused on the following areas:

• Leading systems change: This module drew the distinction between being a strong manager and the special set of skills and strategies needed to advance a reform agenda across systems of care.

• Communication strategies: This module looked at the use of proactive and reactive communication approaches to enhance the building of public and political will.

• Systems integration: This module explored the issue of the intersection between juvenile justice and child welfare agencies, particularly related to blended funding, confidentiality and sharing of information, shared case planning and management, and cross training.

• Family and Youth Engagement: This module examined best practices for involvement of family and youth that offers meaningful participation in case planning and consulting on public policy.

Certificate Program participants benefit from their week-long involvement in the program, as well as from the ongoing support the Center provides, helping to sustain the learning that has occurred while at Georgetown. This includes the creation of a network of Certificate Program participants to facilitate their ongoing communication and support. This network of “fellows,” described in more depth below, serves as a mutually supportive group of leaders from across systems of care. 

For Frequently Asked Questions click here

For the Application or more information click here

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Certificate Program/Breakthrough Series Collaborative for Multi-jurisdictional Teams

The Certificate Program for multi-jurisdictional teams is part of a larger program jointly sponsored by Georgetown University and Casey Family Programs: The Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Integration Certificate Program/Breakthrough Series Collaborative (CP/BSC).  This program will begin with the Certificate Program for teams from seven different jurisdictions, and will lead into a year-long Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) project on Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Integration. After completion of the five day Certificate Program held in late July, each of the seven teams of leaders will return home and prepare for participation in the BSC portion of their involvement with the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform. These teams of public agency leaders will appoint interagency teams in their home jurisdiction to advance their desired reforms. The interagency team will initiate strategies and tests of change that target improving the many factors that contribute to poor outcomes for children known to both systems. This interagency team will engage in a year-long series of three learning sessions and action periods described in greater depth in the application. During these periods, participating jurisdictions will identify, develop and test potentially promising strategies for improving practice and ultimately support multi-systems approaches that improve outcomes for children and youth. The Center faculty and national experts will provide ongoing support to the teams, helping to sustain and implement the learning and resulting plans that were developed while at Georgetown.

Breakthrough Series Collaborative: The BSC methodology was developed in 1995 by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and Associates in Process Improvement (API). This quality improvement method has been used extensively in the field of health care for more than ten years. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement has led BSCs in over 25 different topic areas, including reducing delays and waiting times in emergency rooms; reducing Caesarean section rates; improving end of life care; and improving critical care. In December 2000, Casey Family Programs joined with the IHI to learn the BSC methodology so that it could be transferred to the child welfare field. This joint BSC, sponsored by Casey, focused on “Improving Health Care for Children in Foster Care.”  Eight public child welfare agencies were selected to participate in this project through a competitive application process and together with their partners from other agencies they tested and implemented changes in nine key domains. These teams experienced dramatic improvements, both in measurable outcomes as well as in changes in organizational culture. This positive experience led to the increased use of the BSC methodology by Casey Family Programs since that time.  We expect that this groundbreaking BSC on Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Integration, the first of its kind in the juvenile justice arena, will experience the same type of positive outcomes.

The BSC is a specific quality improvement method that is designed to enable participating teams to make dramatic improvements in a focused practice topic over a short period of time. The intention of a BSC is not to create an entirely new body of knowledge. Instead it is intended to fill the gap between what has been identified as best practice and what is actually practiced in the field. Oftentimes, particularly in public agencies, policies already reflect these best practices. But for many reasons these practices are not always being implemented in the field. The key to a BSC is using a variety of techniques to bridge this gap between what is known and what is done.

Information about results achieved by previous BSCs click here

For Frequently Asked Questions (CP/BSC) click here

For the application or more information click here

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Fellows Network

At the conclusion of each of the Certificate Programs participants will have earned a Certificate of Achievement from the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute.  The Center will also accredit the Certificate Program with the American Bar Association (ABA), the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), and other pertinent bodies so that participants may use the Certificate of Achievement toward mandatory Continuing Legal Education (CLE) or Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits in their respective fields.  Credits earned under the Certificate of Achievement may not, however, be used toward a degree at Georgetown University.

Graduates of both Certificate Programs will act as “fellows” of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform.  These fellows will form the basis of a network of Certificate Program participants.  This network of “alumni” will serve as a mutually supportive group of leaders from across systems of care.  Over time it is expected that this peer mentoring, provided by a growing number of Certificate Program graduates, will assist in the strengthening of this more broadly defined “juvenile justice field” and fill a void of professional development and support that currently exists. The fellows network is designed to foster ongoing support for juvenile justice professionals to strategically strengthen and sustain future leaders in the field.

The Center will also maintain a connection between the participants and the expert faculty of the Certificate Program and Center staff to assist them in implementing the reform agenda they envision for their own jurisdiction beyond the Certificate Program described herein.  Through its working relationship with the country's major juvenile justice reform initiatives, the Center will be in a unique position to support those implementation plans, creating a more seamless ability for leaders across the country to access and use the supports available from the fellows network, national experts and the Center to assist them in their ongoing reform efforts. This “coaching” will be accomplished in part through list servs, web-based chat rooms and message boards, electronic newsletters, and teleconference calls dedicated to topics requested by Certificate Program participants as well as more direct support when available. 

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For more information please contact us.