Jon has worked as an expert witness in several cases for the U.S. Department of Justice's Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division. While the exact nature of these cases must remain confidential, they generally involve issues of conditions of confinement, facility operations, juvenile rights and so forth.
Jon works on an ongoing basis with the University of Oklahoma's School of Social Work to provide clinical consultation to child welfare supervisors in the employ of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
The National Juvenile Detention Association
Jon has participated in a number of local training and strategy sessions sponsored by the NJDA. These training sessions are for jurisdictions that are considering trying to increase the number of detention alternatives available to them. To date, training has been provided in Michigan, Alaska and Maine.
Jon was also the project leader for the NJDA's rural detention alternatives project. The project is working to assist jurisdictions in rural areas in developing programs that can serve as alternatives to housing some youth in jails or secure detention sites. The project is funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Annie Casey Foundation's website is www.aecf.org.
For three years Jon worked with the Casey Family Programs in the development of the "Yes, I Can Network." The Network is a partnership which includes Oklahoma's Department of Human Services, Youth Services for Oklahoma County, and the Casey Family Programs. The Network provides services designed to support the independent living efforts of former foster children who are now between the ages of 18 through 21. Casey stopped its participation in the Network at the end of 2003.
Jon has worked with several state and county agencies performing assessments and providing consultation designed to improve services to troubled children, youth and their families. He has assisted in the development and revision of operational policies and procedures. He has also served as an expert witness in litigation involving state agencies.
Clients have included the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, the Florida Department of Children and Family Services, the Tennessee Department of Children's Services and the Canadian County (Oklahoma) Juvenile Services Office.
Jon is a member of the team established in August, 2004 to monitor the memorandum of understanding drawn between the United States Department of Justice and Los Angeles (California) County concerning the operations of Los Angeles County's three juvenile detention halls.
Children's Rights
Children's Rights is a privately funded advocacy group based in New York City. Their primary focus is on improving state operated child welfare systems. Jon has worked Children's Rights in facility assessment and foster care operations.
Jon has been a trainer for the NRC. He has conducted training sessions on ethics for social workers who work with children. He has also conducted anger management training as well as speaking at other NRC coordinated events.
Small Private Agencies
Jon has worked with several small private agencies in improving their services including foster care, clinical services and quality assurance/quality improvement.
Private Attorneys Jon has worked with several private attorneys in litigation involving conditions of confinement and wrongful death cases. At the current time, Jon is not accepting any new private cases. However, feel free to send Jon an email if you would like him to refer you to another individual who provides such services.
The American Correctional Association
Jon served as an auditor for juvenile programs with the ACA between 1988 and 2000. He performed accreditation audits in training schools, juvenile detention centers, small juvenile detention centers, community residential programs and juvenile probation and parole. He has chaired or served as a team member on over fifty site visits. Jon also helped develop the day treatment standards and performed the first audit using the standards for small juvenile detention centers.
