This measure reflects the number of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services (JJYS) critical assault incidents that occurred within Secure Care, Locked Detention, and Gemstone programs, during specified State Fiscal Year Quarters. Data on JJYS Incidents are collected through the Division's Incident Reporting System.

Results for this measure are updated quarterly, within 45 days after the end of each quarter.

In Fiscal Year 2023, Juvenile Justice and Youth Services (JJYS) identified the need to improve skills for staff working with complex youth entering JJYS residential and secure facilities to reduce critical assault incidents and improve facility safety. JJYS believes that training staff with a focus on trauma response, behavior change, and escalation prevention, best positions staff and youth for success in JJYS programs while also improving the overall safety of facilities. However, such a curriculum or training specifically for this skill set did not exist. Therefore, to supplement JJYS's IntegratedCrisis Response (ICR) training, and after researching other programs and states' approaches, JJYS developed a new escalation prevention curriculum called CONNECT, a relationship based model for working with youth. The evidence-informed CONNECT training is for all direct care staff and focuses on building relationships, verbal skills, and pre-escalation (i.e, How can JJYS help youth before they escalate so that they can stay closer to baseline and manage their emotions and behavior more effectively?).

JJYS has been working on a FY25 goal of providing CONNECT training to all units in secure care and detention facilities to best prepare and support staff working with youth. As of 12/5/25, the organization has trained 314 of 512 secure and detention staff and 187 of 259 community staff for a total of 501 of 771 current staff, working with youth and families. Many community staff are helping provide coverage in secure and detention settings, making inclusion important. JJYS believes that implementing CONNECT training will reduce critical assault incidents in facilities. JJYS’s target for this measure is to have no critical assault incidents in JJYS operated, residential facilities.