JCCO Training Program
How Our Students Train at the Juvenile Court Clinics
Department of Mental Health in Suffolk County and operates the Juvenile Court Clinic (JCC) for Norfolk County under an agreement with the Division of Forensic Services of the Department of Mental Health (DMH) and the Trial Court of Massachusetts. The training program sited at the Boston Juvenile Court Clinic (BJCC) provides trainees from WJC and other graduate programs with supervised experience conducting forensic evaluations of court-involved youth and families, teaches them about the systems of care for children in Massachusetts, and facilitates development of interviewing, diagnostic, case conceptualization, and consultation skills. Trainees are also provided opportunities to develop skills for inter-professional collaboration and multidisciplinary interventions.
Training
The training program is a part-time opportunity offered during the academic year to doctoral clinical psychology students at William James College, as well as social work students in master’s training programs at other colleges and universities.
Trainees conduct well-supervised comprehensive forensic evaluations of children and families who are referred by the Juvenile Court, including Care and Protection cases (child protection from maltreatment), Delinquency and Youthful Offender, Child Requiring Assistance (status offender), and Involuntary Civil Commitment for urgent inpatient psychiatric care or substance abuse treatment. Face-to-face clinical hours involve in-depth diagnostic interviews with youth and their families, interviews with collaterals, and consultation with probation officers, attorneys, judges, child protection and juvenile justice professionals. Trainees may also administer screening and psychological assessment tools when warranted by clinical need.
Trainees learn about the state child protection and juvenile justice systems, education and special education system, and the complex network of community-based and facilities-based behavioral health and other service providers.
Trainees address a variety of clinical issues including family systems and peer group dynamics, cultural and linguistic domains, individual psychopathology, substance use disorders and learning disabilities.
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Child and Family Forensic Psychology
William James College is pleased to announce two postdoctoral training opportunities in child and family forensic psychology. This fellowship positions are available in the Norfolk and Suffolk County Juvenile Court Clinics. The annual positions begins in September of the training year (9/25) and end in August of the following year (8/26). Juvenile Court Clinic Operations (JCCO) provides court-ordered forensic evaluations and other services for juveniles and families before the Juvenile Court in Care and Protection cases (child protection from abuse/neglect), Juvenile Delinquency and Youthful Offender Cases, Child Requiring Services (CRA status offenders), emergency commitments for substance abuse treatment or inpatient psychiatric care, and other court-ordered evaluations. Divorce cases are not heard by Juvenile Courts in Massachusetts. The Fellowship offers supervised training and experience in forensic assessment and consultation at the Norfolk and Suffolk Juvenile Court Clinics under the direction of JCCO Program Director Pooja Khialani, PsyD and Co-Director of Training John Keogh, PsyD. Each Fellowship is full-time and carries a stipend of $67,500.
To provide broad exposure to the various issues seen in juvenile forensics, the Fellow will participate in various seminars and other learning activities offered through Boston Juvenile Court Clinic, MA Department of Mental Health, and William James College. It is anticipated that the Fellow will have completed 2,100 training hours by the end of the Fellowship year.
Applicants must have a PhD/PsyD in psychology with an APA-accredited predoctoral internship. Child and family training and experience is required. Interested applicants should electronically send the following materials: curriculum vitae, statement of purpose, a clinical writing sample (e.g., a redacted report), and three (3) current letters of recommendation. Applications will be accepted until the position has been filled. To apply for the Fellowship in Norfolk County, send materials to John Keogh, PsyD (jkeogh@jccwjc.org).