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Youth and Families

2023 Youth and Family Feature Box - Family Support

Find information, resources, and services for families and caretakers that may prevent involvement into systems, deter further involvement, and provide a wealth of information for whatever specific needs they may have. 

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2023 Youth and Family Feature Box - Education

Helpful information for those searching for resources and supports related to education. This may be restoration of credits, getting back into school and what alternative educational programs may be available. 

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2023 Youth and Family Feature Box - Health and Safety

Find information, resources, and supports related to one’s health and safety.

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2023 Youth and Family Feature Boxes Sky Blue Bright-8

Designed from the perspective of youth who may be looking for insight, are trying to navigate a crisis, or just trying to find their next steps into adulthood. Here is a list of additional resources that will help provide a pathway to getting back on the right track!

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2023 Youth and Family Feature Boxes Sky Blue Bright-10

Helpful links to resources and services for those in need of finding shelter or housing whether it be temporary or permanent.

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2023 Youth and Family Feature Boxes Sky Blue Bright-2

Resources and supports to aid those getting ready to enter the workforce, reentering the workforce, those wishing to find and start a career, or those exploring what options they may have when it comes to employment and training.

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2023 Youth and Family Feature Boxes Sky Blue Bright-11

This guide is designed to showcase how important family engagement is and how effective our Parent Advisory Council, comprised of those with lived experience, add value to our success.

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2023 Youth and Family Feature Boxes - HOPE Standard Version

Hope is the belief that your future can be brighter and better than your past and that you have the power to make it so. Here are some resources to find pathways to well-being and healthy choices. 

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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.

Native American Resources

In 2015 the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) worked with State Legislators Representative Seneca Scott and Senator A.J. Griffith, through the Native American Juvenile Justice Task Force, to pass into state law requiring notification of Native Nations when citizen youth come into contact with the system.  As a part of the intake process, an employee of the OJA or a county juvenile bureau shall inquire as to whether there is any American Indian lineage or ancestry that would make the child eligible for membership or citizenship in a federally recognized American Indian tribe or nation.  If the employee of OJA or a county juvenile bureau determines that the child may have American Indian lineage or ancestry, the employee shall notify the primary tribe or nation of membership or citizenship. 

Native American juveniles represent over 16% of the juveniles in OJA custody.  Our hope is that by building these bridges, we can:

  • Work cooperatively with the Tribes to prevent juvenile tribal members from entering the Juvenile Justice System;
  • Assist the Tribes with options for repeat offenders;
  • To assist the Tribes, if needed, ways to build community programs that make the juveniles accountable for their actions to their Tribal leaders;
  • To assist the Tribes with additional resources  they can turn to when help is needed in either building prevention programs, or just calling for information when trying to locate placement assistance for juveniles.

For more information contact:

Janelle Bretten, MPA
Director of Strategic Planning and Engagement
Office of Juvenile Affairs
M.C. Connors Bldg.
2501 N. Lincoln Blvd., Ste. 500
Oklahoma City, OK 73105

Email: Janelle.Bretten@oja.ok.gov

Cell: (405) 642-3021

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Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs
M.C. Connors Building 
2501 N. Lincoln Blvd., Ste. 500
Oklahoma City, OK 73105


Mailing Address:
PO Box 268812
Oklahoma City,  OK 73126

Throughout the state of Oklahoma, the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) provides with its community partners; prevention, educational and treatment services, as well as secure facilities for juveniles in order to promote public safety and reduce juvenile delinquency.