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About San Francisco Community Assessment & Referral Center (SFCARC)
The San Francisco Community Assessment & Referral Center (SFCARC) was originally established in 1998 as part of the Mayor of San Francisco’s Local Action Plan on Juvenile Justice. Initially SFCARC was operated by the Delancey St. Foundation and then operations transferred to Huckleberry Youth Programs (HYP) in 1999. Since its inception, SFCARC has been a community based diversion program and assessment center for youth ages 12-18 who are arrested in San Francisco. Our program is a single point of entry for assessment, arrest & crisis intervention, service integration, justice system navigation & individualized referrals to community based agencies.
Youth arrested in San Francisco have three typical entry ways of being serviced:
- In the community at the point of arrest
- Appointment-based after initial arrest
- In-custody at the Juvenile Justice Center
Youth arrested for felonies and remain in the community OR are detained at the Juvenile Justice Center are assessed and then quickly connected to a Justice Services Care Coordinator for ongoing case management and additional service linkages from agencies including: Bay Area Community Resources (BACR); Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ); Mission Neighborhood Centers (MNC); Sunset Youth Services (SYS); and, Young Community Developers (YCD).
Youth arrested for misdemeanors are also assessed but are provided with care management, an accountability and care plan is created to support youth with connection to services, address needs/goals and reduce future contact with the justice system.
SFCARC staff work with youth to reintegrate them into their schools, arrange for special educational services, obtain mental health services, complete community service and diversion requirements, and engage the youth in positive social, arts, athletic, identity and other youth development programs.
SFCARC provides individualized, family and healing-centered services, using a trauma-informed and strengths-based approach to ensure that youth are connected to resources that build upon safety and community. After engaging with our staff and programming youth and their families leave with a new sense of support, opportunity and hope.
SFCARC Program Components Include:
- Assessment of all areas of youth’s life, including strengths, needs, interests, and trauma screening using the Traumatic Events Screening Inventory (TESI)
- An individualized Intervention Care Plan with linkages to community resources
- An individualized accountability plan with agreements modeled in a restorative justice lens
- Support of youth and family through the juvenile justice system and any other systems affecting the family
- Service linkage & referrals to community based resources and agencies
- Individual and/or family counseling
SFCARC is a member of the National Assessment Center Association (NAC) which guides a partnership of assessment centers that advance best practice through advocacy, education, technical assistance, and community engagement.
Know Your Rights Brochure
The SFPD and the Juvenile Justice Coalition are proud to announce the release of the “Know Your Rights for Youth in San Francisco” brochure, to help educate youth and parents about their rights.
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAMMING
AFTER
(Aims to Foster Transformation & Ensure Restitution)
The AFTER Program provides community-based programming for young people that have a financial restitution obligation to fulfill, while also supporting the person harmed to meet their financial and other needs following the harm. Through the program, young people make amends and are held accountable for their actions through an individualized accountability plan which may include: participating in restorative justice conferences, performing community service, therapy, being connected to employment opportunities, and/or engaging with other community based organizations that provide youth development. The person harmed is paid restitution from a community fund and can participate in other services to support them through the San Francisco District Attorney’s Victim Advocate. The AFTER program is a collaboration between SF Financial Justice Project, SF District Attorney’s office, SF Juvenile Probation, SF Bar Association, and SF Juvenile Public Defender’s office.
Make it Right:
Through Make it Right, eligible young people with felony charges are given the option, before their cases are charged, to participate in Restorative Justice community conferencing. In this process, the youth come together with the harmed parties and their supporters (including family/caregivers, youth services, schools, coaches, and others) in a community-based facilitated dialogue to develop an agreement for the young person to repair harm, address root causes, and make amends. SFCARC partners with the Make it Right lead agency, Community Works West, to provide each participant with case management services and support with completing the developed agreement post-conference.
RESET
RESET (Restoring and Empowering Social Equity and Truth), SFCARC’s in-house Restorative Justice Conferencing program. prepares youth with misdemeanor charges of interpersonal harm,any persons harmed, and each of their support systems (including family/caregivers, youth services, schools, coaches, and others) for restorative circle conferencing as an alternative to the traditional juvenile justice system. During the conference, everyone collaboratively creates a restorative plan with agreements for the youth to complete in order to best deal with the impacts of the incident in a way that restores the dignity and well-being of all.
LOCATION
San Francisco Community Assessment & Referral Center (SFCARC)
44 Gough Street, Suite 104
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 437-2500
1-800-735-2929 (TTY)
Fax (415) 437-2511
