EDORA

aboutEDORA

Empowerment • Diversion • Opportunity • Rehabilitation • Advocacy

EDORA is a data-informed reference architecture for youth justice across the Mid-South. It describes the fields, flows, decision rules, reports, and governance practices that agencies and vendors align to.

ArkansasTexasOklahomaLouisianaMississippiMissouriTennessee
Plainly: EDORA is not a product, account, or login. It’s a blueprint—used with your current tools and any compliant vendor stack.

⚖️Purpose & Scope

EDORA is a data-intelligent framework that builds upon the operating architecture already in place. It adds structure, clarity, and transparency without replacing existing tools or processes—making practice more humane, youth-centered, and understandable, so that decisions and outcomes serve the young person first.

Representation, not replacement
EDORA specifies how information is structured and how steps flow. Your systems do the clicking.
Vendor-neutral alignment
Field dictionaries, flow maps, rubric logic, KPI formulas, and governance cadence remain stable across platforms.
Accountability & consistency
Decisions are explainable, overrides are recorded, and KPIs are comparable over time and across groups.

Reference architecture • Methods-first • Equity-ready

The EDORA Framework

The architecture of transformation — five foundations guiding youth services through the juvenile justice pipeline, making every stage of the journey legible, restorative, and humane. Every process, policy, and platform within juvenile justice aligns under one of these pillars. This is the heart of EDORA: turning a complex system into a clear, youth-centered blueprint.

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Empowerment

Category: Center the youth’s identity and strengths from day one—design the plan around the person, not the charge.

Workflow → Assessment, intake, and goal-setting grounded in agency and trust.

🛤️

Diversion

Category: Reroute eligible youth into community alternatives using clear assessments, transparent decision rules, and human review.

Workflow → Risk and needs screening → service matching → case planning.

🌱

Opportunity

Category: Equip youth with skill-building, education access, and community supports—progress is visible, tracked, and celebrated.

Workflow → Education, mentoring, and workforce pathways tied to milestones.

🧠

Recovery

Category: Therapy-first design that adapts as the youth progresses—treatment evolves with the person, not despite them.

Workflow → Ongoing evaluation, therapeutic supports, and responsive care.

📣

Advocacy

Category: Each closed case becomes a proof point—data and outcomes inform better policy, practice, and community understanding.

Workflow → Review, reporting, and continuous system learning through equity checks.

What EDORA Provides

Core artifacts you can use immediately; each can later power real software features:

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Discovery Guide

Interview prompts and inventory lists for what you do today.

Becomes → Becomes: intake questions, required fields, import checklists.

🗺️

Data Map

Entities and relationships (youth, cases, programs, dates).

Becomes → Becomes: table/field names, dropdowns, validation rules.

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Step-by-Step Flows

Who does what, in what order, and what happens next.

Becomes → Becomes: screen order, task queues, due dates, reminders.

⚖️

Decision Rules (Policy Rubric)

If-this-then-that logic with required notes on exceptions.

Becomes → Becomes: form logic, override notes, audit trails.

📈

Scorecards & Report Templates (KPIs)

Which numbers matter, how to calculate them, and example layouts.

Becomes → Becomes: dashboards and trend windows (30/90/180/365).

🛡️

Update Plan (Governance)

Roles, cadence, and change logs to keep things current.

Becomes → Becomes: permissions model, change control, review schedule.

These are modular—start small and grow as your tools and team grow.

Geographic Focus

EDORA centers on Arkansas and extends across six neighboring states—Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. Each state brief follows the same lens: intake and screening, detention, adjudication, commitment, reentry, authority, policy, and data handoff. Together, they outline how youth justice systems operate across the Deep Mid-South and how they can align on shared measures.

Arkansas

Since Act 189 (2019), Arkansas has standardized intake with validated risk tools and clearer limits on detention. Circuit courts emphasize diversion and probation, while the Division of Youth Services manages secure placements under a least-restrictive mandate. Reentry planning and data sharing between courts and DYS are improving, though systems for real-time outcomes remain fragmented.

Texas

Texas operates a county-driven model where local probation departments handle intake and early screening, with the state TJJD overseeing commitments and parole. Progressive sanctions guide dispositions, and detention standards vary by county. Reentry coordination and statewide data remain inconsistent due to fragmented systems and the 17-year transfer threshold.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s hybrid structure links county courts with the Office of Juvenile Affairs, which manages custody, placements, and aftercare. Standardized detention assessments and the YLS/CMI tool guide decisions, while the JOLTS system connects statewide data. Detention capacity and education coordination remain recurring challenges.

Missouri

Missouri’s unified DYS model emphasizes small, therapeutic programs and individualized care through the “Missouri Model.” Detention is limited and guided by assessment, with family courts managing probation and DYS handling committed youth. Strong internal data sharing supports continuity but long-term outcome tracking remains limited.

Tennessee

Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services runs probation and custody statewide using YLS/CMI and MAYSI screenings. Detention is narrowly restricted to higher-risk youth, and recent reforms expanded reentry planning and oversight. Education and adult-system coordination remain uneven across counties.

Mississippi

Mississippi’s youth courts manage local intake and probation with limited standardized tools. State-run commitments through DHS DYS have moved away from punitive models toward community-based aftercare. Oversight reforms and privacy rules improved safety, but the lack of a unified case system hampers consistent data reporting.

Louisiana

Louisiana’s Office of Juvenile Justice oversees probation, custody, and aftercare, while parish courts handle detention and diversion. SAVRY and MAYSI-2 tools guide decisions, and Raise-the-Age reforms shifted most cases to juvenile jurisdiction. Facility crowding and weak system integration continue to limit reentry and transparency.

These summaries show how each jurisdiction aligns around shared methods and fairness checks—different systems, common architecture.

Referenced Tools & Systems (Vendor-Neutral)

EDORA maps to commonly used assessments and state systems so patterns translate to real life. It does not bundle or operate these systems.

EDORA shows how to map to these systems: standard field names, clean handoffs, decision points, and reporting templates that fit what you already use.

Using EDORA with Your Current Stack

  1. Map your current state: write steps from intake → decisions → services → reentry; list roles, forms, and systems touched.
  2. Make decisions explainable: convert choices into a readable rubric with clear override notes.
  3. Pick a few KPIs: start with simple measures and fixed time windows (30/90/180/365 days).
  4. Set a review cadence: monthly checks for results and fairness; record changes in a changelog.
  5. Connect fields ↔ flows ↔ KPIs: ensure each step captures needed data and each KPI is backed by fields.

Works fine with docs/spreadsheets, your case system, and BI tools (Excel, Sheets, Power BI, Looker).

Methods & Equity Checks

Fairness lenses

Privacy & Ethics

EDORA hosts no operational data. Agencies control systems, data, and governance.

What EDORA Is Not

Think house plan, not house. Use it with the tools you already have.

If You Later Build Software

The blueprint becomes your acceptance criteria. Vendors and builders are measured against the same reference: field names, flows, rules, reports, and governance.

Common Target Features

  • Guided intake & task queues
  • Diversion decision support with overrides
  • Court & scheduling helpers
  • Provider matching & referrals
  • Education & reentry workflows
  • Messaging & notifications
  • Dashboards & scorecards
  • Data exchange & APIs
  • Policy & privacy guardrails

Stable Inputs (From EDORA)

  • Data dictionary and enums
  • Process maps and handoffs
  • If-this-then-that rubric
  • KPI catalog and windows
  • Governance cadence & changelog

Quick Answers

Is EDORA software? Do I need a login?
No. It’s a framework & reference architecture—artifacts you use with your existing tools (docs, spreadsheets, case systems, BI).
How do I start?
Map your current steps and fields using the Discovery Guide and Data Map, choose a few KPIs, set a monthly review, and write simple if-this-then-that rules with override notes.
Which states are covered?
Arkansas plus TX, OK, LA, MS, MO, TN, via state briefs, pipelines, and topic articles.
How does EDORA ensure fairness?
Shared definitions, cohort clarity, small-n protection, reproducible math, and KPIs broken out by group with fixed time windows.
Where can I read more?
See Learn for state briefs, pipelines, and articles; FAQ for long-form explanations.