The juvenile practice and adult practice committees will begin a new “clinical practice corner” feature in each issue of the Forum, with contents that will vary from issue to issue, ranging from updates on each committee and its activities, highlights of relevant ATSA initiatives that have implications for or influence clinical practice, and other content relevant to contemporary clinical practice, and also help ensure good communication between the practice committees and ATSA membership. It is likely that the clinical practice corner will alternate between the adult and juvenile practice committees each issue, with the exception of this issue of the Forum in which both practice committees describe a little of what we’re doing as standing (i.e., permanent) ATSA committees, and what we see ahead. For the juvenile practice committee, this first clinical corner also serves as a bit of an introduction as the juvenile committee is relatively new and just beginning to take shape and develop the foundation for what we hope  will be an effective and valuable committee moving forward, in both representing the ATSA Executive Board and ATSA membership who work with children and adolescents.

A Brief Introduction to the Juvenile Practice Committee 

The Juvenile Practice Committee (JPC) was formed in early 2017, and to some degree was built on the foundation of the task-focused and time-limited committee that was formed to develop the first Adolescent Practice Guidelines, which were released by ATSA in 2017. As that committee disbanded, having completed its task, the juvenile practice committee was formed, standing on the shoulders of the adolescent guidelines committee. The juvenile practice committee is chaired by Phil Rich, the Juvenile Practice Representative on the ATSA Board, and upon inception and today is a relatively large committee, with 15 members, listed here in first name alphabetical order, including two international members (outside of North America, that is): Anette Birgersson (Sweden), Chris Lobanov-Rostovsky, David Prescott, Janet DiGiorgio-Miller, Jim Worling, Kevin Creeden, Kevin Powell, Lori Robinson, Michael Caldwell, Michelle Gourley, Phil Rich, Russ Pratt (Australia), Tanya Snyder, Tom Leversee, and Tyffani Dent.

Much of the initial work of the committee was to decide what to do as a committee and how to proceed, including the most effective and efficient way to work as committee. It soon became clear that the work of this large committee would be most effectively conducted and managed through four subcommittees: adolescent guidelines,best practices material and resources,external partnerships, and in-reach and membership liaison. These allow more focused work and are each smaller in size than the full committee, and also allow for additional subcommittee members who are not themselves members of the JPC. There is certainly crossover between and interaction among subcommittees, and several JPC members are on more than one subcommittee.    

The Four Subcommittees

Each of the subcommittees is focused on fulfilling tasks identified in the ATSA strategic plan, as well as developing additional tasks that we hope will enhance practice. The adolescent guidelines subcommittee focuses on ensuring that the adolescent practice guidelines remain dynamic and incorporate new and relevant research and best practices material into the next revision of the guidelines, as well as working toward disseminating the practice guidelines. As an early task, the subcommittee has developed a set of key readings that is intended to supplement the current adolescent practice guidelines, and this will be made available through the ATSA website in the near future. The subcommittee is also working to develop a template of sorts for those wishing to provide training in the use of the adolescent practice guidelines.

The best practices subcommittee is developing fact and information sheets to reflect and enhance clinical best practices, and is in the process of developing several of these at the moment. Once completed, these will be further reviewed by the full JPC, and then the ATSA Board before being placed onto the ATSA website. We see this process as ongoing, with a goal of building an inventory of contemporary practice fact and informational sheets aimed primarily at professionals, but also useful to the general public. The external partnership subcommittee is focused on identifying and building partnerships, quite possibly on an ad hoc or informal basis, whereas more enduring and formal partnerships remain in the domain of the full Board and ATSA administration.

Finally, the in-reach subcommittee has the goal of outreach within ATSA (hence the name of the subcommittee). This subcommittee developed the recent membership survey (described below) and is focused on ensuring strong communication between the JPC and ATSA membership. Additionally, the subcommittee is working to develop a set of juvenile practice webpages embedded within the ATSA website that will provide links to juvenile practice materials and information, as well as a contact page for members who wish to contact the juvenile practice committee.    

Other Committee Work

We’ve formed a small working group to review ATSA’s 2006 Report of the Task Force on Children with Sexual Behavior Problems, with the goal of revising or updating the report if necessary. In addition, the JPC has just begun  working on a cross collaborative initiative with the Public Policy Committee on juvenile sex offender registration.

Membership Survey

As many will know, the juvenile practice committee (through the in-reach subcommittee) recently asked the ATSA membership to complete a brief survey. We received 369 responses, which represents about 12 percent of ATSA membership - so thank you very much! Four survey multiple-choice questions were asked, each of which additionally provided an opportunity to enter comments, although these were limited in length. A fifth “open” question, allowed for additional general comments, also with a limitation in length. 

Question one asked how membership envisioned the role/purpose of the juvenile practice committee. Among the responses, most felt that they wanted the JPC to keep membership updated about ATSA policies, papers, and resources; preparing and making available best practices materials and resources; disseminating the adolescent practice guidelines and keeping these updated and dynamic; and periodically pointing to significant articles addressing juvenile practice.

With respect to question two, asking how the JPC can be of greatest value, the most common response was to notify membership about resources or matters that influence juvenile practice, and secondarily providing periodic updates about what the juvenile practice committee is up to.

Question three asked how the JPC can best communicate with membership. Most responses suggested a website presence within the ATSA website and a regular spot in the Forum.

Question four asked about frequency of JPC communication to membership in general, and the most common response was quarterly or more frequently if there is something specific to communicate.

The final question,question five, was actually not a question at all, but instead provided an opportunity for thoughts or comments (limited in length), and provided a range of responses.

Of course, the survey results, including comments, are too detailed to include here, but this link will take you to a more detailed summary that will give a clearer sense of responses. Happily, as I hope this brief article describes, the JPC is already engaged in or on the way to engaging in many of the activities and initiatives described in survey responses.  

Meet Us at the 2018 Annual Conference

The juvenile practice committee held a “meet-and-greet” at the 2016 ATSA conference, and we’ll be doing this again at this year’s conference in Vancouver. If you’re attending the conference (and we hope you are), mark your calendars to join us on Thursday, October 18 from 5-6 pm. We’ll begin with a 10-15 minute overview of the committee’s work and goals, and then be available to answer questions, meet conference participants, and build contacts and connections.

The conference looks excellent and has plenty of offerings for those working with young people. A glance at the conference brochure shows at least 16 pre-conference seminars focused on work with youth, including those applicable to adults or youth, and at least 57 conference workshop sessions on Thursday and Friday aimed at youth  work or work with adults and youth. Hope to see you there!

Wrapping Up

We don’t yet have a contact page set up on the ATSA website, but if you have any questions about the juvenile practice committee feel free to contact the committee chair, Phil Rich: phil@philrich.net.