May is Mental Health Awareness Month - a time to elevate the importance of mental health and to reaffirm our shared responsibility to support the well-being of young people, particularly those involved in the youth justice system.
At the Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR), we recognize that mental health is foundational to a young person’s ability to heal, grow, and successfully transition into adulthood. Recent research continues to show that youth involved in the juvenile justice system experience disproportionately high rates of mental health needs, often with complex and co-occurring conditions that require coordinated, cross-system responses1. This reinforces what we see every day in our work, that meaningful system transformation must be grounded in meeting the behavioral health needs of young people in a comprehensive and sustained way.
OYCR is committed to advancing a youth-centered approach that prioritizes healing, stability, and opportunity. Through our Health Policy Division and cross-divisional efforts, we are working to embed trauma-responsive, culturally informed, gender-honoring, and developmentally appropriate practices across youth justice systems. This includes strengthening access to behavioral health services, supporting community-based care models, and expanding less restrictive program options that allow young people to remain connected to their families, education pathways, and community supports.
We also recognize the critical intersection between mental health and educational health. A young person’s ability to engage in school, build relationships, and envision a positive future is deeply tied to their emotional well-being. OYCR continues to advance strategies that support the whole child, from literacy interventions in juvenile court schools, to addressing chronic absenteeism through AB 2176, to building capacity within community-based organizations to provide culturally responsive, healing-centered services.
Importantly, our work reflects a shift away from systems that isolate and punish, toward systems that restore, support, and empower. By investing in community partnerships, strengthening care coordination, and aligning resources across systems, we are helping to create pathways that promote long-term stability and success for young people.
As we observe Mental Health Awareness Month, we reaffirm that this work cannot be confined to a single month. Supporting the mental health of youth is central to OYCR’s mission every day. We remain committed to ensuring that every young person has access to the care, support, and opportunities they need to thrive.
Together, we will continue building a system that centers healing, restores hope, and creates meaningful opportunities for all youth.
Judge Katherine Lucero (ret.) Director
Office of Youth and Community Restoration California Health & Human Services Agency
Save the Date - 2026 California Youth Justice Summit
Heal the Past, Pave the Future: Watering the Seed from Youth Voice to Vision
San Diego Marriott La Jolla - October 5-7, 2026
The 2026 California Youth Justice Summit brings together leaders, practitioners, community organizations, and multidisciplinary partners committed to improving outcomes for youth across California. Learn more here. Registration opens soon!
Kyle Simpson founded Brave Heart Attire while incarcerated, starting with just a notebook, self-taught coding skills, and determination. Arrested at 17 and initially facing a possible life sentence, he used his time inside to rebuild—earning an associate degree, becoming a certified trainer, and developing an online business entirely from his cell.
With support from mentors and community organizations, Kyle turned an idea into a functioning brand, rooted in courage, self-worth, and resilience. Now a student at CSU Fresno, he continues to grow his business while inspiring others through his story. His journey reflects the potential for rehabilitation and underscores the importance of meaningful opportunities for justice-involved youth.
Kyle’s experience also highlights the gaps that often exist within juvenile facilities, particularly around access to education, job training, and rehabilitative programming. He has spoken openly about the lack of consistent opportunities across facilities, emphasizing how critical these supports were to his own transformation. His success demonstrates what can happen when young people are given access to the right tools, guidance, and encouragement.
Today, Kyle approaches his future with a focus on growth and giving back. He views his journey not just as personal success, but as a responsibility to create pathways for others coming behind him. Through his business and his presence on campus, he continues to promote a message of courage and second chances—reminding others that it is always possible to redefine one’s path.
Probation Spotlight
Orange County Chief Daniel Hernandez named UCI Center Fellow
Orange County Chief Daniel Hernandez was named as a Distinguished Fellow for University of California (UCI) Center for Psychology & Law. This honor was received at their recently hosted Distinguished Fellows Event, Journeys Through Justice: Age, Experience, and Incarceration, bringing together faculty, practitioners, and members of the public to explore critical issues at the intersection of psychology and the legal system.
It was reported that “As a Distinguished Fellow, Chief Hernandez will help bridge the gap between research and real world practice by drawing on more than thirty years of service in Orange County. Through a collaborative model, Distinguished Professor Dr. Elizabeth Cauffman and Chief Hernandez will identify a topic and partner with a researcher who specializes in that area. Together, they will deliver a joint presentation that combines current research findings with Chief Hernandez’s firsthand experience as a practitioner in the field.”
Chief Hernandez has been an outstanding leader in Orange County and in California by leading with data driven policies coupled with a keen understanding of adolescent brain development. Read more about this honor.
Congratulations Chief Hernandez!
CBO Spotlight
Nested Integral Coaching Constellation
OYCR would like to highlight community-based organization - Nested Integral Coaching Constellation (NI2C) which is part of the Justice Serving Network (JSN) NI2C is a member of JSN’s Cohort 2 and has been busy developing their internal capacity to become an Enhanced Care Management (ECM) managed care provider.
NIC2 is a non-profit organization founded by Jennifer Evans in 2023. Jennifer shared that she” founded NI2C to bring trauma-informed programming to people impacted by interpersonal trauma based on my own personal lived experience and healing journey."
Based in Redondo Beach, NI2C collaborates with educational institutions and serves community members across multiple locations in California. The organization prioritizes justice-impacted individuals, offering support for navigating reentry, accessing health resources, and improving overall quality of life. Through their partnership with San Francisco State University (SFSU) and California State University Fullerton (CSUF), NI2C provides work experience academic internships for youth with lived experience to develop skill sets that empower them to make a meaningful difference in their communities. In addition, they now also have an official Community Health Worker (CHW) certification program available to support youth with lived experiences to obtain the certifications needed to work skillfully in their communities under CalAIM programs.
NI2C maintains an active online presence, including their website, You Tube Channel, and podcast for educational and community engagement. To learn more about their work, please visit their website at www.NI2C.org
The above picture is NI2C’s Lead Care Manager Troy Phillips connecting with individuals transitioning from incarceration at a recent PACT meeting through the parole department in Visalia, CA. (Permission to use picture provided by NI2C)
Ending Girls' Incarceration Spotlight
Elevate Program Helps Lead the Way on Ending Girls’ Incarceration
In late March, OYCR Director Katherine Lucero attended a day-long meeting of the San Diego EGI Collective that brought together leaders from probation, the court and community-based organizations to align on priorities and build on the county’s leadership within the Ending Girls’ Incarceration (EGI) Action Network. At the event, stakeholders heard from a powerful panel of local youth leaders participating in the Elevate program, who shared their perspectives on what effective solutions for girls and gender expansive youth in San Diego should look like.
Elevate, a program of San Diego Youth Services, is funded by OYCR through the EGI initiative, which supports community-based solutions to reduce girls’ involvement in the justice system. The program is implemented in partnership with San Diego Probation and serves girls and gender-expansive youth ages 12–24. Elevate provides individualized mentorship, workforce and education support, expressive arts programming, and connections to housing and mental health services. Since launching in May 2025, Elevate has served more than 90 youth, with most receiving one-on-one mentorship and many accessing housing, basic needs, and employment support.
Grounded in youth voice and healing-centered engagement, Elevate reflects OYCR’s broader commitment to investing in community-based pathways that safely reduce incarceration and support long-term stability.
Voices of Youth Justice
It Takes a Village: Director Lucero’s Reflections from OYCR’s Inaugural California Youth Justice Summit
“If our kids are incarcerated…they’re missing the village. I hope that we’re able to come together and be the village our young people need to heal, to thrive, and to have a good life full of love, healing, and abundance.” —Israel Villa, Co-Convener of the California Alliance for Youth and Community Justice
As we plan for the 2026 California Youth Justice Summit in La Jolla October 5-7, we revisit OYCR’s Director Lucero reflection on the powerful energy and collective vision that emerged at our inaugural California Youth Justice Summit. Over two days, more than 400 partners from across the state came together to strengthen connections, elevate youth voices, and move toward a youth justice system rooted in care, community, and collaboration.
The post captures the relationships, ideas, and commitments that made the Summit a turning point—and highlights OYCR’s role in building and sustaining the village our young people deserve. Read the full piece here and be sure to join us this fall for the next California Youth Justice Summit
News and Updates
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Pilot Project
OYCR and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) are partnering to conduct a pilot study and research on the prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in individuals aged 18-25 who are in the County of San Diego Probation Department.
FASDs are complex disabilities caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy producing brain damage.
FASD is a physical disability that is 95% underdiagnosed and 40 times over-represented in juvenile justice.
Brain damage from FASD affects behaviors, poor judgment, impulsiveness, difficulty learning from experience, and difficulty understanding consequences, leading to multiple diagnoses such as Attention Deficit Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Emotionally dysregulated.
Identification of these disorders, understanding the impact on the youth, and learning the approaches that help will assist youth with FASD live their best life.
Goals of this project
The goals and specific objectives of this proposed project are to estimate the prevalence and FASD in a sample of 200 100 young adults 18-25 years of age who have been receiving services in the probation department in San Diego County.
Determine if non clinician staff can do assessment with similar accuracy as clinician staff.
Create technical assistance Intervention and approaches that work for youth who are diagnosed with FASD for: Probation Officers, Teachers, BH Staff and Administration
Provide FASD TTA for Welfare and Probation Officers, Teachers, BH Staff and Administration
Come work with us - open positions at OYCR!
Section Manager - Supervisor II – Community Partnerships and Equity Section - final filing date June 5, 2026: Apply Now
Webinars, Meetings & Events
Less Restrictive Placements in a SYTF Collaborative Court Webinar
In the third of four webinars on Los Angeles County’s SYTF Collaborative Courts, we will be discussing the role of Less Restrictive Placements (LRPs). You will hear from four of our community-based LRP partners in Los Angeles County. We will also discuss how both the prosecution and the defense work with the LRPs, Probation and the courts in furtherance of a trauma-informed approach to rehabilitation and reentry. MCLE credit is being offered.
The next meeting of the CWC Youth Justice Committee (YJC) will take place on Wednesday, June 10 from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. This meeting will be held in-person at 925 L St Sacramento, CA 95814, Suite 1275, as well as virtually on zoom. The agenda and materials can be found on the CWC YJC webpage.
Join us for the next quarterly meeting of the State Advisory Group on Youth Justice (formerly known as the State Committee on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention or SACJJDP). More information about the committee, including meeting materials, can be found on our website.
Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2026
Time: 11:00 – 3:30 pm Pacific | In person and Zoom
In-person Location:
Urban Peace Institute
1910 Sunset Blvd Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Humboldt Area Youth Justice Gathering
Tribes, probation departments, local youth and service providers from Humboldt, Del Norte, Siskiyou, and Trinity Counties are invited to join us to gain a deeper understanding about Youth Justice, and to engage in discussions about best practices, prevention, and the Indian Child Welfare Act. Lunch will be provided.
Grounded in Research, Built for Action: Using Juvenile Probation Transformation Online Training Series
In case you missed it, the April Youth Justice Action webinar series highlighted the Juvenile Probation Transformation Online Training Series from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The speakers provide course examples and ideas for practical application based on work in Riverside County.
View links to webinar information and recordings on our website.
