Community-Based Organizations FAQs

This page answers common questions Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) may have about the Fresno County ACEs Innovation Project to help justice-involved youth. Here, you can learn how your organization can partner with the project and support justice-involved youth.

If you have more questions, contact us at (559) 601-0153 or FresnoACEs@aurrerahealth.com.

    • The Fresno County ACEs Innovation Project is a research project to understand how to help young people in Fresno County stay out of trouble with the law. Youth will have the opportunity to share their ideas and experiences to help the Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health create better programs for youth.

    • Youth ages 15-17 who are currently justice-involved can sign up as Youth Participants to join a full 3-hour session including:

      • Session 1 (Training): A 1-hour session to learn about stress, trauma, and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

      • Break: Youth will be provided with a meal.

      • Session 2 (Focus Group): A 1-hour discussion to share ideas about how to support justice-involved youth in Fresno County.

    • Youth ages 17-24 can sign up as Youth Facilitators to lead training sessions and help co-facilitate focus group discussions as part of the Fresno County ACEs Innovation project. Youth who are currently, or formerly justice-involved within the last 3 years are eligible to for the facilitator role.

    • Youth can also decide if they want to complete a survey to share more information about their experiences.

    • Youth must be on probation, informal probation, or have a pending case to be considered “currently justice-involved” and eligible to participate in and/or facilitate a training session and focus group discussion.

    • Youth must have been on probation, informal probation, or have a pending case within the last three years to be considered “formerly justice-involved” and eligible to facilitate training sessions and focus group discussions.

    • Youth Participants will receive a $100 gift card for completing a full 3-hour session.

    • Youth Facilitators can receive $200 to attend a train-the-trainer session and a focus group coaching session, plus $200 for every 3-hour session they co-lead.

    • Stipends for transportation and childcare services are also available for all youth who participate in the project.

    • Youth will also have the opportunity to gain an understanding of how stress and trauma can affect them, as well as share their experiences to help improve youth services.

    • Please review our website, as well as these FAQs. You can also contact the project team at FresnoACEs@aurrerahealth.com or call/text (559) 601-0153 for more information.

  • CBO partners can:

    1. Recruit and engage justice-involved youth (ages 15–17) to participate in the project by sharing youth flyer (available in English, Hmong, and Spanish).

    2. Encourage youth to complete the Intake Form (available in English, Hmong, and Spanish).

    3. Host training sessions and focus groups by providing safe, welcoming spaces.

    4. Support participants by ensuring they feel safe and empowered to share their experiences.

    5. Share feedback through an optional survey to help inform future policies and programs.

    • By partnering with the Fresno County ACEs Innovation Project, your organization can:

      • Empower Youth: Help justice-involved youth share their stories and influence impactful research.

      • Advance Research:Improve strategies to prevent youth justice involvement and inform future policies and programs.

    • CBOs may receive assistance to cover certain expenses related to hosting training sessions and focus groups. The project team will provide detailed guidance and support.

    • Organizations do not have to have prior experience working with justice-involved youth in order to partner with our team. However, organizations with experience working with justice-involved youth are highly encouraged to participate. If your organization is new to this work, we will provide you with support.

    • We understand that organizations have varying capacities, and we welcome your partnership in a way that will work best for your organization. Please let us know your availability and we can schedule a meeting to discuss how we can work together.

    • We welcome your ongoing feedback and questions at any time. Please contact us at FresnoACEs@aurrerahealth.com or call/text (559) 601-0153 with any questions or concerns.