Building Safer Communities Collaborative: Demographics from a Youth Diversion Pilot Project

Authors

• Caroline O. Dodson, USA Health Center for Healthy CommunitiesFollow
• Antonette Francis-Sheaerer PhD, USA Health Center for Healthy CommunitiesFollow
• Amber Singleton, USA Health Center for Healthy CommunitiesFollow
• Denise Shaw, USA Health Center for Healthy CommunitiesFollow
• Kierra Echols, USA Health Center for Healthy CommunitiesFollow
• Jarette Maye, USA Health Center for Healthy CommunitiesFollow
• Alexis Tanner, USA Health Center for Healthy CommunitiesFollow
• L. Lynette Parker, USA Health Center for Healthy CommunitiesFollow
• Ashley Y Williams, USA Health Center for Healthy CommunitiesFollow

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Description

This community-engaged program in Mobile County, Alabama applies a public health framework using community health workers (CHWs) to deliver wraparound support and address social determinants of health (SDOH) within juvenile diversion. To mitigate youth gun violence through translational implementation, a cross-system referral network was established bridging Strickland Youth Center (the local detention center) and USA Health Systems. Youth placed on informal probation are referred to BSCC and assigned a dedicated CHW for a 6-month intervention comprising 13 structured interactions. From September 2025–September 2026, 49 clients were referred, demonstrating high implementation feasibility with 79.6% program adherence (20.4% attrition). Enrolled youth aged 11–18 (14.8) were predominantly Black/African American (63.3%), with a near-equal gender distribution (51% male, 49% female). Fourteen distinct delinquency charges were recorded, led by 'Harassment' at 20% (27% when combined with 'Harassing Communications'). Notably, spatial translation of intake data revealed that 23% of participants originated from a single residential zip code out of 38 in Mobile County—one not traditionally classified as the highest area of crime rates. This highlights the vital role of real-time epidemiological translation in identifying emerging geographic health disparities and unaddressed community risk factors. Referrals, data collection, and outcome evaluations remain ongoing. This project demonstrates early demographic trends, implementation metrics, and cross-sector feasibility of translating evidence-based public health strategies into juvenile justice settings to reduce long-term gun violence risk among justice-impacted youth.

Publication Date

10-29-2026

Keywords

Community Health Worker, Justice Impacted Youth, Court Diversion

Disciplines

Criminology and Criminal Justice | Public Health

Comments

This poster was presented at the 2026 CCTS Translational Science Symposium in Gulf Shores, AL. October 28-30, 2026.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Dodson, Caroline O.; Francis-Sheaerer, Antonette PhD; Singleton, Amber; Shaw, Denise; Echols, Kierra; Maye, Jarette; Tanner, Alexis; Parker, L. Lynette; and Williams, Ashley Y, "Building Safer Communities Collaborative: Demographics from a Youth Diversion Pilot Project" (2026). Community Health Workers Posters. 4.
https://jagworks.southalabama.edu/chc-posters-commhealthwork/4