| Minority Services |
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| About |
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The Office of Minority Services (OMS) provides leadership, advocacy, and guiding principles to assist the Oregon Youth Authority in its ongoing efforts to become a culturally competent organization and address the complex issues of a culturally and ethnically diverse agency.
The OMS recognizes diversity that exists both within OYA’s youth population and within the employees of the organization. Staff of the office provide leadership and services to both youth and staff. Evidence-based best practices are incorporated into the treatment delivery in both facilities and community settings
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| Contact OMS |
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Office of Minority Services
Oregon Youth Authority
530 Center Street NE Suite 200
Salem, Oregon 97301-3765
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503-378-4667
FAX 503-373-7622
email: oms@oya.state.or.us
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| Services |
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Services to Minority Youth and Their Families
- OMS coordinates translation and interpretation services that are necessary to provide services to Limited English-Proficient (LEP) and monolingual youth and their families.
- Minority Youth Transition Program – assists minority youth leaving youth correctional facilities and reintegrating back to their communities. Services include:
- Mentorship/ skill building
- Drug and alcohol treatment
- Counseling
- Family support
- Conflict resolution
- Gang intervention services
- 24-hour provider crisis response
- Mental health treatment
- Positive social development
- Employment/ education assistance
- Street SMARTS – Gang Intervention/ Treatment Curriculum
Self-analysis of mentality and attitude through reformative treatment services, dealing primarily with educating youth through skill development and working with them to identify criminogenic risk and risky thinking that prevent them from coping with barriers to successfully live a crime-free lifestyle.
- OMS Culturally Specific and Multi-cultural Support Groups
OMS support groups are designed to be responsive to dynamic risk factors in a manner which is culturally appropriate for minority youth. OMS support groups utilize evidence guided practices to promote pro-social attitudes and behaviors, through the teaching, coaching, mentoring, and practicing of cultural values, rituals, and beliefs.
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| On Behalf of the Governor |
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Governor's Summit
Through OMS, OYA has co-sponsored the Governor’s Summit on Minority Overrepresentation in the Juvenile Justice System since its inception in 1997.
Governor's Executive Order 96-30
This Executive Order formalized relations with all nine tribes and outlines communication and a collaborative problem solving process.
On behalf of OYA, OMS has negotiated Memorandums of Understanding with most of Oregon’s federally recognized Native American tribes.
Commission on Indian Services (CIS)
Created by statute in 1975, the CIS seeks to improve services to Indians in Oregon. It serves as the main forum in which Indian concerns are considered and is a conduit through which concerns are channeled through the network to the appropriate entity.
Tribal Governments
Senate Bill 770
Senate Bill 770 Public Safety Cluster Groups Membership of the Public Safety Cluster Group consists of representatives of public safety agencies from both state and tribal governments. The Public Safety Cluster works towards a collaborative process to assist in the resolution of issues that affect both tribal and state governments.
OYA's OMS’ Native American Coordinator is the Chair of the Public Safety Cluster Group.
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| Special Events |
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OMS helps coordinate a number of special events, activities, and cultural celebrations at OYA facilities to include:
- Black History Month Youth Assembly
- Cinco de Mayo Celebration
- Hispanic Heritage Month
- Annual Luau
- Native American Pow-wow and Sweat lodge/Pipe Ceremony
- Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month
- Multi-cultural Youth Assembly
- Juneteenth Celebration
- National Women’s Month Assembly
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| Gang Tattoo Removal Program |
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The tattoo removal program is coordinated by OMS and is aimed at OYA gang-affected youth who intend to change their lives to include the removal of gang markings.
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| Partnerships & Collaborations |
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Partnerships – through OMS the OYA focuses on leveraging resources through collaboration
- Multnomah County DCJ, Communities of Color Multi-Disciplinary Teams
- Self-Enhancement, Inc
- Multnomah County Department of Community Justice, Juvenile Division
- Northeast Rescue Plan Action Committee
- Faith-based community
- Mexican Consulate
- Governor’s Affirmative Action EEO Statewide Committee
- Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs
- Hispanic Service Roundtable
- Refugee & Immigration Consortium
OYA participates in community groups focused on gang prevention, intervention and suppression efforts:
- East Multnomah County Gang Planning Committee
- Washington County Gang Task ?Force
- Portland’s Gang Violence Task Force
- Latino Gang Task Force
- Central Eastern Oregon Juvenile Justice Coalition Partnership
OYA Advisory Committees
OMS coordinates Native American, Hispanic, and African American Community Advisory Committees. These advisory committees assist OYA in maintaining a level of cultural competency and sensitivity in programs and services.
OYA Juvenile Justice Training Academy
OMS provides the following training at New Employee Orientation and Annual Staff Update Trainings:
- Cultural Competency/ Diversity
- Gang Recognition and Intervention
- Overview of OMS
Community outreach activities include assisting groups across the state in employing intervention strategies.
- Partners for Children and Families – participate with cultural competency and gender specific subcommittees
- Residential and other community providers document cultural competencies
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| National Efforts |
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OMS provides consultation, training, and technical assistance for the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and National Institute of Corrections (NIC) on cultural competency/ diversity, disproportionate minority confinement (DMC), gang prevention/ intervention, and critical elements of reintegration/ continuing care systems.
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| Affirmative Action |
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