The Core Collective Assessment Center Convening: Session 2
Momentum Builds around The Core Collective’s Youth and Family Assessment Center
On June 5, The Core Collective at Saint Vincent hosted the second in a series of Assessment Center Convenings. Session II brought together local educators, law enforcement leaders, and community members, and together, this group continued to discuss plans for The Youth and Family Assessment Center. The Youth and Family Assessment Center will be a centralized hub for transformation, collaboration, and shared resources aimed at benefiting our youth, families, and community.
The Youth and Family Assessment Center is designed to disrupt cycles of crisis and create pathways to stability, and will be housed within The Core Collective’s 110,000-square-foot building on 22 acres of land. The Center represents a proactive approach to addressing problem behaviors and family crises before they escalate into deeper system involvement. Research underscores that when children are diverted from the court system and connected to treatment, their likelihood of future involvement with the justice system dramatically decreases.
Elizabeth Pickard, MA from The Rome Group reported out on participant responses from the previous convening. Latosha Fowlkes, LCSW, Executive Director of The Core Collective, shared important next steps and invited attendees to join one of the time-limited or ongoing committees being formed. Additional information about the committee structure and specific committees can be found in this presentation.
Joshua Campbell, the Director of the Calcasieu Parish Assessment Center, also spoke and shared his experience working at the Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) in Lake Charles, Louisiana. MARC has helped divert 87% of youth from court involvement, reduce detention placements by 61%, and cut case processing times from 17 days to just 3.9 days. View Josh’s presentation here.
The event brought together a diverse group of organizations committed to collective impact, including:
- AI Altruists
- Annie’s Hope
- beTOGETHERstl
- Beyond Housing
- BJC Behavioral Health
- Bridgeton Police Department
- CASA of St. Louis
- Chestnut Health Systems
- Community Action Agency of St. Louis County
- Community and Economic Development Solutions
- Covering House
- Cradle to Career St. Louis
- Easterseals Midwest
- Episcopal Church of All Saints and Ascension
- Episcopal City Mission
- Every Child’s Hope
- Family Court of St. Louis County
- FamilyForward
- Fathers and Families Support Center
- Ferguson Florissant School District
- Florissant Police Department
- Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition
- Jennings School District
- Juvenile Office of St. Louis County
- KHAOS Inc.
- KVC Health Systems
- Lake St. Louis Police Department
- Marygrove
- MERS Goodwill
- Missouri Department of Mental Health
- Missouri Department of Social Services – Children’s Division
- Missouri Division of Youth Services
- Normandy Police Department
- Normandy Schools Collaborative
- Olivette Police Department
- People’s Health Center
- Places for People
- Preferred Family Healthcare
- Prevent Ed
- Special School District of St. Louis County
- St. Louis Area Violence Prevention Commission
- St. Louis ArtWorks
- St. Louis Community College
- St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund
- St. Louis County Courts
- St. Louis County Department of Public Health
- St. Louis County Police Department
- St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office
- St. Louis Mental Health Board
- STL Area Violence Prevention Commission
- The Remix
- The Rome Group
- University City Police Department
- Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis
- Vision for Children at Risk
- Youth in Need
- YouthBridge Community Foundation
