Youth Services
Phone: 203-639-5058
Contact: Tammy Kudla, JAD Coordinator - 203-639-5058 or tkudla@meridenct.gov
About Youth Services:
Our Youth Services office is a member of the Connecticut Youth Services Association, which is charged with centrally coordinating the comprehensive delivery of services and advocacy for youth and their families. Our main source of funding for programming is the Youth Service Bureau grant from the Department of Children and Families.
We strive to offer programming based on 40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents, developed by the Search Institute to be the building blocks of healthy development that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible.
The state recently released a Juvenile Justice Equity Dashboard. Connecticut's Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee (JJPOC) has developed this dashboard to monitor and examine juvenile justice system involvement across the state for youth of different races, ethnicities, and genders.
Current Programming:
- Juvenile Assistance and Diversion Board (JAD): The Juvenile Assistance and Diversion Board, more commonly known as JAD, aims to divert first time juvenile offenders from entering the court system while offering meaningful non-judicial alternatives to the courts. A Board, made up of dedicated community members, meet twice per month and include representatives from the Police Department, Board of Education, Department of Children and Families, Superior Court for Juvenile Matters, and local community organizations. JAD follows the Connecticut Youth Services Association Best Practices delivery model. Click on the video below to learn more about why diversion works.
- Project Graduation support
- Funding to Meriden Parks and Recreation Department for youth and family programming
- Funding to Meriden Public Library for child and youth programming
- Campership administration support (summer)
- Youth Mini Grant Report - 2023-2024 Year
Diversion Works from Connecticut Youth Services Association on Vimeo.
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