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The Juvenile Justice Advisory Board

The New Mexico’s Children’s, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) partake in the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). To collaborate and exercise the JJDPA, New Mexico CYFD has distinguished a model to support this act. This model is known as the Continuum Site Model. Nearly each county in New Mexico partakes in a developed Continuum Site Model. There are a total of 22 Continuum Sites that operate 24 counties in the state. Valencia County is one of those 22 Continuum Sites and participates in the Continuum Site Model.

According to the applicable state statute, Valencia County’s Continuum Site Model’s youth population concentration is “juveniles arrested or referred to juvenile probation” or juveniles that exhibit risk to be referred. This is the primary goal for the Continuum Site.

Per state statute the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board (JJAB) is comprised of entities from local/tribal government, district attorney’s office, children’s court, public defender’s office, Valencia County, law enforcement, and personnel from the local school districts (Los Lunas Schools, Valencia Schools, Belen Schools, and School of Dreams Academy), and people from the local community. The JJAB’s objective is to help support and carry out New Mexico’s Three-Year Plan under Juvenile Justice Services. The JJAB also conveys community concerns, results, and barriers they are faced within Valencia County.

As a Continuum Site, the JJAB has a statutory duty to administer the all-inclusive youth prevention and intervention programs and services in Valencia County. 

We have the unique responsibility to appoint evidence-based services, programs, and guidance on these provisions for youth prevention and intervention services. Our expertise and experience range in areas that are essential for the effective delivery of juvenile justice programs and services that serve and support our statutory responsibility.

More specifically, our support stems from the youth services and programs in Valencia County, local Belen and Los Lunas Schools, Juvenile Probation Office, local community, and other various subcommittee boards. These boards and additional support services work with youth services and programs throughout Valencia County. This includes and is not limited to promoting education, training, health, and centralized education that supports youth, their families, and Valencia County. We provide such services and support for Valencia County youth by: 

•  Establishing and maintaining the Valencia Juvenile Justice System along with it’s youth detention alternatives and further enhance its’ operations

• Administer relevant/applicable research/data to support current youth development and program support and services for further development of those programs and services

• Implement evidence-based youth services that have successful outcomes

We have a need to always improve the current services to create a successful outcome to address our youth’s needs. The number of youth in the system is steady, and at times, growing. We know that heightened challenges, such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and accompanying transformations of the virus realigns what we thought we once knew in creating a supportive platform for our youth. Therefore, we will do everything we can to create cohesive partnerships for our youth. We do this so that our youth will have an alternative as opposed to juvenile detention.

How It Works:

Currently Valencia County has 5 programs and services being operated by co-contractor H2Academics. As a continuum site, we ensure we are to remain in compliance as we continue to receive funding from CYFD. Each quarter we are to strive to provide advisory admissions for deliverables to CYFD, taking the next steps after evaluation and reports are presented by the continuum, and to further support the youth of Valencia County that receive a referral for programs and services.

Furthermore, the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and accompanying transformations of the virus has a detrimental effect on our youth that may have underlying consequences creating complex obstacles. We hope to expand our knowledge, evidence-based programs, youth practices, and provide a powerful agenda that lets our youth know that we are here to support them. Our strategic plan identifies unique factors that have a ground on what we do in our work and what we see as our vision.

Mission

Ensure youth voice is heard, while implementing accurate analysis of data and compassion when problem solving youth at-risk that effect the community.

Vision

To instill quality of life, resiliency, teach life skills, promote belonging, and a sense of value for our youth.

Guiding Principles

Its guiding principles are:

• Endorse the Board Role of Delinquency Prevention
• Instill Academic Engagement

• Engage Youth & Their Families & Community 

• Remove Racial & Ethnic Disparities 

• Ensure Access to Quality Resources

• Create Efficient & Effective Evidence-Based Programs

• Evaluate & Improve Programs & Services

• Prevent Youth to be Forwarded to Court/Jail

Board Members

Heather Benavidez, ARC of NM- JJAB Chair

Open Seat- JJAB Co-Chair

Judge Allen Smith, 13th Judicial District

Randy Gutierrez, Valencia County Warden

Estevan Gallegos, Valencia County Juvenile Justice Probation

Kelli Vigil, Valencia County Juvenile Justice Probation

Victoria Flores, YDI Teen Court

Camille Griego, McKinney Vento-Los Lunas Schools

Patricia Gregor, Public Health Office

Jhonathan Aragon, Valencia County Commissioner

Dept. Chief Cassandra Canyuck, Los Lunas Police Department 

Youth Subcommittee

Phillip Montano

Andrea Sasser

Isaiah Jimenez

Kyleigh Winters

Sara Epley

Lucas Dimas

Valencia County Juvenile Justice Continuum Coordinator

Christine Arrellin

Contact Juvenile Justice