Pathway to Excellence

WHAT IS PATHWAY TO EXCELLENCE?

Pathway to Excellence is an umbrella term that includes the agency’s vision, mission, values, goals, and divisional purpose statements. When all of these elements are aligned, the work of the agency is on a path to excellence.

VISION
All Oklahoma youth and families have the resources and supports they need to reach their full potential.

MISSION
We collaborate with youth, families and community partners to create pathways for success through prevention and treatment for all Oklahoma youth.

VALUES:

GOALS:

1. Promote a positive professional culture where staff feel valued, respected, connected, and empowered to achieve personal and professional goals. Recognizing that diversity, equity, and inclusion are critical to achieve this goal.

2. Cultivate a complete image of OJA by educating the public on our work, best practices, and telling our story in positive and innovative ways to celebrate our impact for Oklahomans.

3. Enhance the continuum of care for the youth and families we serve by strengthening collaboration on evidence based, results oriented services.

4. Support youth by engaging families with individualized hope centered and trauma informed practices leading to stronger, safer communities.

5. Increase job satisfaction and personal wellbeing of staff by maximizing the utilization of technology and tools to improve data informed decision making. Strengthening staff time with youth and families, and minimizing the need for administrative responsibilities.

DIVISIONAL PURPOSE STATMENTS

Residential Placement Support
Community Based Services
Office of Standards for Prevention & System Improvement

Residential Placement Support engages with all agency divisions, community partners, and other stakeholders to boldly provide structure, encouragement, hope, accountability, and celebrations of achievement in a physically and psychologically safe environment that ultimately changes the trajectories of youth in our care.

Residential Placement Support provides a dedicated team of committed individuals that come together to provide a family-centered treatment environment that allows youth to grow, see their promise, strengthen family ties, and achieve success.

Residential Placement Support delivers exceptional services through relationships, rapport, rewards, respect, and role modeling that allows for public safety while we work with youth to ultimately make our communities safer and brighter in the future.

Residential Placement Support strives to lead the nation in providing cutting-edge, developmentally appropriate rehabilitation services and training to the next generation of juvenile justice professionals.

Community Based Services is committed to working with all agency divisions, community partners, and other stakeholders to build healthy relationships with the youth and families we serve; providing and linking with sustainable community resources and educational services.

Community Based Services empowers youth to work towards realizing self- sufficiency, achieve improved outcomes and family centered goals, while maintaining safe and healthy communities.

Community Based Services promotes restorative justice practices and supports victims of juvenile delinquency while ensuring the protection of the public.

The Office of Standards for Prevention and System Improvement stands as the vanguard of developing and implementing best-practice youth prevention, diversion, and rehabilitation programs for the youth, families, and communities across Oklahoma.

Through the oversight of the State Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and Youth Emerging Leaders Committee, we utilize ongoing data and research to direct investment of state and federal funds to advance the implementation of evidence-based practices and training to better meet youth and family needs regarding justice system representation, achievement of future youth success, and the creation of healthier communities.

As a youth-serving division, we partner with agency divisions, community resource providers, and other stakeholders to advocate for an individualized and adaptable continuum of community-based services that support Oklahoma’s youth and families in their treatment and rehabilitation by offering quality, inclusive, equitable, evidence-based resources which produce positive, sustainable outcomes.

We serve as a central point of support for agency divisions, community resource providers, and other stakeholders; connecting youth and families across the state impacted by challenges to needed resources, best-practice prevention, and diversion services, and integrating their voice in the justice system process to guide Oklahoma’s youth to their future success.

Juvenile Services Unit (JSU) and Field Operations

JSU provides intake, assessment, treatment planning, probation and parole services, supervision as well as reintegration to juveniles in all seventy-seven counties, except for those with duly constituted Juvenile Bureaus. The Juvenile Bureaus are located in Canadian, Comanche, Oklahoma and Tulsa counties. In those four (4) counties, JSU provides parole and reintegration services.

Services provided to youth are balanced with prevention, education, treatment and accountability to ensure public safety. A full continuum of services is provided to encourage and enhance positive, law-abiding behavior. Youth are provided a thorough risk and needs assessment, individualized treatment plan or rehabilitation plan along with services and programs designed to meet their needs and build upon their strengths.

JSU staff participate in all court proceedings for all Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) youth involved in the juvenile justice system. The continuum of care starts at the time a youth and their family come into a JSU office. Any proceedings that follow the initial contact with OJA will be supervised by JSU. Local JSU staff will follow the juveniles from intake, through the court process, out of home placement (if necessary) and in their return to the community.

JSU staff maintain an active role in their communities and in partnership with local Judiciary, District Attorneys, law enforcement and youth serving agencies to develop community based resources for youth and families throughout Oklahoma.