Crossover Youth
Advocating for increased care for some of the District’s most vulnerable residents.
Who Are Crossover Youth?
Crossover youth – young people who have been involved with both thechild welfare and youth justice systems during their lives – are some of the District’s most vulnerable residents. They often require coordinated support from multiple agencies to thrive. We are dedicated to improving outcomes for these vulnerable children by researching their needs and advocating for these young people to receive the care and support they need.
How CCE is Helping
Addressing the needs of crossover youth is an integral part of our Youth Justice work. Our efforts include:
- Forum on Crossover Youth: In 2021, we hosted "Our Kids in Crisis," a forum that brought together experts, policymakers, and community members to discuss the unique challenges and needs of crossover youth.
- Reports and Recommendations: In partnership with the ODCA, our report, A Broken Web, provided in-depth analysis and practical recommendations to enhance the support provided to crossover youth. The report underscored the need for a unified definition of crossover youth, specialized case management, and better interagency communication.
CCE’s 2024 In-Depth Report on Crossover Youth Needs and Coordination
In May 2024, we published a report on crossover youth, A Broken Web: Improved Interagency Collaboration is Needed for D.C.’s Crossover Youth. In that report we looked at how relevant D.C. agencies care for the crossover youth, and makes recommendations for how to improve that care.
Some of our key recommendations include:
- Ensuring that the Office of the Ombudsperson for Children (OFC) has enough authority and funding to analyze and report on crossover youth annually.
- Reestablishing the “Crossover Youth Steering Committee” to identify, manage and serve crossover youth in D.C government agency care.
- CFSA and DYRS should identify and track crossover youth in their case management systems.
- Training agency staff on the unique needs of crossover youth.
- Training parents and foster parents to help identify and meet the needs of youth who are, or are at risk of becoming, crossover youth.
Publications and Resources
Some of our key recommendations include:
- A Broken Web: Improved Interagency Collaboration is Needed for D.C.’s Crossover Youth
- Our Children in Crisis: A Focus on D.C.'s Crossover Youth
- Equity in School Discipline
- Guide to the DC Juvenile Justice System
- Practice Manual for Child Abuse and Neglect Cases in the District of Columbia (Third Edition)