Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) Technical Assistance
The Crime Lab has provided technical assistance to Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services and its service providers to aid in their efforts to more strategically direct their prevention and intervention services to those individuals most in need.
Challenge
Historically, social service agencies have not had all the necessary data to determine which community areas have the most vulnerable children, often resulting in a disconnect in delivering the appropriate social service programming and resources to the youth and communities in the most need of assistance.
Opportunity
The Crime Lab works to provide DFSS, and its Service Coordination and Navigation (SCaN) delegate agencies with the resources and tools to effectively reach youth most in need of programming amid rising rates of violence in Chicago.
Project overview
The University of Chicago Crime Lab has collaborated with the Department of Family & Support Services (DFSS) to produce summary reports at regular intervals on the justice involvement of youth newly enrolled in the Service Coordination and Navigation (SCaN) delegate agencies, which receive funding from DFSS to provide programming. The reports are customized for each SCaN delegate agency and include aggregate-level descriptive statistics on current SCaN participants, including program engagement, demographics, and justice-system involvement. These reports allow DFSS and its delegate agencies to have real-time, accurate knowledge of the population currently being served. To date, the Crime Lab has produced two rounds of quarterly reports and is working closely with DFSS to maximize the usefulness of the reports and learn how to convey this information directly to delegate agencies so that it is both accessible and actionable.
Years Active
2019 – present
Topics
Project Leads
Jordan Bellquist
Research Manager
Justin Cox
Data Scientist
Kim Smith
Director of Programs
Martin Barron
Senior Director of Data and Analysis
