Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Launches First-Ever Emerging Adult Leadership Academy

• Executive Office of Public Safety and Security

Milford- The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) announced the launch of a new initiative designed to enhance collaboration and improve outcomes for justice-involved emerging adults. Massachusetts' first-ever Emerging Adult Leadership Academy brings together law enforcement agencies and community-based organizations to receive advanced training, build partnerships, and explore best practices for creating successful pathways for emerging adults involved in the justice system. EOPSS delivered the five-day training session to the academy's first cohort in partnership with the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC), UTEC Training Center for Excellence, and ForHealth Consulting at UMass Chan Medical School.

The 40-hour leadership course, which occurred between May 8-15, provided students with interactive instruction and field experience, including exposure to emerging adult justice topics, restorative justice practices, case studies, and other innovations from the field. The Academy's first cohort was comprised of local law enforcement, community service providers, and municipal leaders. Agencies represented in this cohort included the Haverhill Police Department, Holyoke Police Department, Lowell Police Department, Essex County and Middlesex County District Attorney's Offices, UTEC, and Roca.

"The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security remains deeply committed to working in partnership with our many stakeholders to create successful pathways for emerging adults with a shared goal of improving people's lives and strengthening our communities," said Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy. "We are grateful to our partners at the MPTC, UTEC and ForHealth for their contributions to this new initiative's success and to the participants who have invested their time and demonstrated a deep commitment to strengthening partnerships and engagement strategies that will enhance our collective ability to improve services and reach this at-risk population statewide."

"Young people's ability to connect to healthy and stabilizing community structures creates the foundation for positive and successful adult years," said Undersecretary of Criminal Justice Andrew Peck. "The new leadership academy reflects our commitment to advancing strategies, programs, policies, and partnerships designed to best serve the needs of young adults by reducing their contact with the justice system and mitigating the negative impacts of justice-system involvement."

The goal of this immersive training experience is to provide key stakeholders with emerging adult engagement strategies, present team building opportunities, strengthen relationships between police and community partners, deepen the understanding of ways to best serve justice-involved emerging adults, provide technical assistance for strategy implementation, and develop a statewide learning community and network for law enforcement and providers.

The course curriculum includes an overview of emerging adults' developmental brain science, trauma-informed and restorative justice practices, strategies for community violence intervention, and best practices for self-care and burn-out prevention. The training also featured guest speakers and subject matter experts, including US Department of Justice Senior Advisor Eddie Bocanegra, Columbia University's Emerging Adult Lab Director Lael Chester, Pastor Kenneth Young, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker, Middlesex District Attorney's Office Director of Courts Laura Miller, Haverhill Mayor Melinda Barrett, Director of Operations for the Northeast Region at the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services Sako Long, Suffolk University's Restorative Justice Director Susan Maze-Rothstein, and Department of Correction Interim Commissioner Shawn Jenkins.

In addition, Springfield District Court First Justice Kevin Maltby and Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni presented aboutSpringfield's innovative Emerging Adult Court of HOPE designed to change the trajectory of the lives of young people from 18 to 24 years old who are court-involved and facing incarceration.

"ForHealth Consulting is proud to contribute our knowledge, resources, and academic insights to the Emerging Adult Leadership Academy,"said Lisa M. Colombo, DNP, MHA, RN, Executive Vice Chancellor of ForHealth Consulting at UMass Chan Medical School. "By integrating research with real-world applications and community engagement, we aim to implement sustainable solutions that advance the health and rehabilitation of justice-involved emerging adults, ultimately fostering healthier communities. We value the opportunity to engage in partnerships that cultivate healing, resilience, and opportunity by providing access to the information and tools necessary for meaningful change."

"We truly appreciate the leadership from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security in helping to best advance our collective work in serving the emerging adult population and raising awareness of the specialized needs and opportunities for best serving this population," said Gregg Croteau, UTEC Chief Executive Officer. "The leadership academy represents a deep commitment to investing in strategies that are proving to be successful in reducing recidivism and increasing a range of positive outcomes. UTEC is proud to partner on this work."

"Our department welcomed the opportunity to participate in this educational session that delivered key insights into emerging adult engagement strategies and offered a collaborative forum to share ideas and build relationships," said Holyoke Police Chief David Pratt. "We look forward to our continued engagement on this important topic and our ongoing efforts to enhance at-risk youth outreach and crime prevention initiatives that ensure a safer community for all who live, work, and raise families in Holyoke."

Additional Emerging Adults Initiatives:

To improve outcomes for justice-involved emerging adults, EOPSS and its secretariat agencies continue implementing programs that help young adults achieve sustainable change and healthy life choices, including:

Annual Emerging Adult Summit: EOPSS convenes over 230 stakeholders for a day-long summit every Fall dedicated to improving outcomes for justice-involved emerging adults. The successful event explores best practices for creating successful pathways for emerging adults, featuring panel discussions and educational sessions with individuals with lived experience and national experts in supervision and correctional practices.

Emerging Adult Reentry Initiative Grant Program: The Office of Grants and Research has awarded nearly $6.5 million in FY24 to nonprofits working to reduce recidivism among offenders aged 18 to 25. The program provides resources for six nonprofit programs working with pre- and post-release offenders in this emerging adult demographic and one technical assistance partner program. In 2023, grant-funded organizations provided intensive daily programming to more than 230 individuals and additional services to hundreds more emerging adults returning to the community.

The BRAVE Unit: Recognizing the need to support emerging adults living under its care, the Massachusetts Department of Correction created the Building Responsible Adults through Validation and Education (BRAVE) Unit. This program provides education and builds support for successful fatherhood. With a capacity of 45 emerging adults, the participants live in community with 15 fathers who DOC engages as mentors. Together, the emerging adults, most between 18 and 26 years old, complete programming focused on life skills, including parenting, in a dedicated space with unit-specific common space and a visitation room for visiting children to play.

Stable Start Housing Initiative: EOPSS has partnered with Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities to develop a program that provides emerging adults with long term, sustainable housing and related services to support successful community reintegration.

The Credible Messengers Program: This transformative mentoring initiative supports justice-involved individuals and their families in navigating the transition back into the community. The program connects returning individuals with mentors, known as "credible messengers." The messengers, who are EOPSS employees, have similar backgrounds and shared lived experiences to those exiting the criminal justice system and as such are uniquely positioned to serve as credible sources of advice and support.

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• Executive Office of Public Safety and Security

  EOPSS is responsible for the policy development and budgetary oversight of its secretariat agencies, independent programs, and several boards which aid in crime prevention, homeland security preparedness, and ensuring the safety of residents and visitors in the Commonwealth.