Coalition for Juvenile Justice Summit JJDPA Today School

Coalition for Juvenile Justice Summit: JJDPA Today School Leadership for Improving the Lives of Youth: Innovative Steps for Preventing Placement of Youth in the Juvenile Justice System June 11, 2007

JJ/SE Shared Agenda Who we are: Nancy Reder, Deputy Director National Association for State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) Judith Storandt, Senior Staff Attorney National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) 2

Why We Began Our Shared Agenda Initiative • Two different organizations with a shared interest/concern: – Students with disabilities are over-represented in the juvenile justice system • They might not belong there. • Whether they do or not, they might not be getting services. • Secure confinement can harm them. * *The Dangers of Detention. (Justice Policy Institute , 2006) 3

Juvenile Justice/ Special Ed Issues • Surgeon General reports that 20% of children ages 9 -17 have a mental or addictive disorder. • 2/3 s of juvenile detention facilities hold youth who are waiting for community mental health services. 4

JJ Issues (continued) • Detention facilities are not equipped to provide adequate care to youth with mental illness who are incarcerated while waiting for treatment services. • Delinquency is not synonymous with violence – only 4% of youth arrests involve violent crimes. 5

JJ Issues (continued) • Common school behavior problems are related to defiance, insubordination and are not related to physical threats, confrontations, fighting or other dangerous behaviors. • Problematic behaviors in school that are manifestations of a student’s disabilities should be addressed by Behavior Support Plans, not by a referral to the JJ system. 6

JJ Issues (continued) • Youth in detention facilities: • Might not be identified as having a disability; or • they might have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) but are not getting services required by their IEPs. • Short stays in detention disrupt educational programming. 7

Risks for Behavior Problems and Delinquency • • Poverty Gender and ethnic bias Chronic behavior and mental health issues Neurobiological risks Family factors Community and peer factors Schools Foster care 8

Mitigating Risk Factors • Schools can mitigate risk factors by building ‘protective’ factors • Communication • Cognition, academic performance • Pro-social behavior 9

How to Break the School-to-Prison Pipeline ü Develop strategies that promote school success. ü Provide teachers the tools they need. ü Develop school-family-community partnerships. 10

Educational success reduces delinquency Ø Quality education can serve as a turning point for youth confined in JJ facilities. Ø Confined youth typically enter JJ facilities with significant educational deficiencies, scoring on average two to three grade levels below their age in academic achievement. Ø Many have chronic histories of school failure, truancy, dropout, and school discipline problems. 11

Educational Success Reduces Delinquency Quality educational programs in JJ facilities have been effective in correcting academic deficiencies. ØThe more education that youth complete while incarcerated, the lower their recidivism rate. (Black et al. , 1996; Foley, 2001; Harer, 1994). See The Importance of Reading Literacy, a NDTAC webinar (June 2006) at: www. ndtac. org/nd/events/webinars. asp.

JJ/SE Shared Agenda History • Background • First group meeting – March 2005 • Evolution of shared initiative into a “white paper” and “Tools for Success” 13

Part I: White Paper • School Leadership for Improving the Lives of Youth: Innovative Steps for Preventing Placement of Youth in the Juvenile Justice System • Author: Kevin Dwyer • Release date: June 2007 • Will be available online at: www. edjj. org/focus/prevention/JJ-SE. htm 14

Part II: Tools for Success JJ/SE Shared Agenda, Tools for Promoting Educational Success and Reducing Delinquency, NASDSE & NDRN, Washington, DC: January 20007 Currently available on EDJJ website www. edjj. org/focus/prevention/JJ-SE. htm 15

Tools for Success: Steps • STEP 1. Pre-School Early Intervention: Birth Through Age 5 • STEP 2. Universal Interventions • STEP 3. Targeted Interventions • STEP 4. Intensive Interventions • STEP 5. Transition from School to Post- School Activities 16

Tools for Success: Steps • • STEP 6. Children in the Child Welfare System STEP 7. Court-Involved Youth STEP 8. Youth in Juvenile Justice Facilities STEP 9. School Re-enrollment and Transition from Juvenile Justice Facilities 17

Need to Address Non. Academic Barriers to Learning • Social climate – School and community – Predictable, consistent • Students “availability” for instruction – At school – In class – Academic engagement • Family voice/involvement 18

Prevention, Early Targeted and Intensive Interventions • Multi-tier approach for addressing both behavior and academic needs of students – Tier 1 – core interventions – Tier 2 – targeted interventions – Tier 3 – intensive interventions 19

Tiered Intervention 20

Core Features of Tiered Interventions • Investment in prevention • Universal screening • Early intervention for students not at “benchmark” • Multi-tiered, prevention-based intervention approach • Progress monitoring 21

Core Features (cont’d) • Individualized interventions commensurate with assessed level of need • Use of problem-solving process at all 3 tiers • Active use of data for decision-making • Research-based practices at all 3 tiers 22

Tools for Success 23

Tools for Success The Collaborative Process Ø Work Groups Ø Guidelines Ø Criteria Ø Format 24

What is an evidence-based practice? The integration of : üthe best research evidence üwith clinical experience and üpatient values. Institute of Medicine, 2000 25

Why care about EBPs? Ø It’s important to have scientific evidence to support decision making. Ø Using the “best of the best” information ensures time, money & resources are used most efficiently. 26

How to evaluate whether an intervention or program is an EBP Is it backed by “strong” evidence of effectiveness? Based on the: ► quality of the research, and ► quality of the evidence.

RESEARCH QUALITY Not all research evidence is of equal value. There are hierarchies of evidence, based on the quality of the research design used. The higher the quality of the research design, the greater the level of confidence in the results. 28

Some research designs that can be used to evaluate effectiveness • Anecdotal: consumer satisfaction • Case study • Pilot study • Single group pre-post test study • Comparison group (quasi experimental) • Multiple quasi-experimental studies • Single study using a random control trial (RCT) • Clinical trial replications with different populations

Pyramid of Research Evidence (COCE, 2000)

Educational success reduces delinquency Ø Quality education can serve as a turning point for youth confined in JJ facilities. Ø Confined youth typically enter JJ facilities with significant educational deficiencies, scoring on average two to three grade levels below their age in academic achievement. Ø Many have chronic histories of school failure, truancy, dropout, and school discipline problems. 31

Educational Success Reduces Delinquency Quality educational programs in JJ facilities have been effective in correcting academic deficiencies. ØThe more education an individual completes while incarcerated, the lower their recidivism rate. (Black et al. , 1996; Foley, 2001; Harer, 1994). See The Importance of Reading Literacy, a NDTAC webinar (June 2006) at: www. ndtac. org/nd/events/webinars. asp.

Tools for Success Selection Criteria • Best practices [evidence-based; identified as the result of research, preferably large, randomized control trials] • Promising practices [there are recorded positive outcomes, but no rigorous research] • Emerging practices [founded on sound theory; e. g. , learning theory, social developmental theory, behavioral and attribution theory). 33

Tools for Success Format ü ü ü Brief overview Implementation essentials Program evaluation Available evidence Resources Background reading 34

Evaluating Evidence-based Practices -Resources • Identifying and implementing Educational Practices Supported by Rigorous Evidence: A User Friendly Guide. (2003). Coalition for Evidence-based Policy. http: //www. ed. gov/rschstat/research/pubs/rigorous evid/indexhtml • Turning Knowledge Into Practice: A Manual for Behavioral Health Administrators and Practitioners About Understanding & Implementing Evidence. Based Practices. http: //www. openminds. com/indres/ebpmanual. pdf 35

National Collection Sites for Model Programs & Interventions See List in Tools for Success, Appendix C Examples: • Model Programs Guide. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U. S. Department of Justice (May 2003). http: //www. dsgonline. com/mpg 2. 5/search. htm 36

National Collection Sites (continued) • Exemplary and Promising Safe, Disciplined and Drug-Free Schools Programs http: //www. ed. gov/admins/lead/safety/exemplary 01/exempl ary 01. pdf#search=%22 CASASTART%20%22 Safe%20 and%20 Dr ug%20 Free%20 Schools%20 Program%22%22 • Model, Promising, and Does not Work Programs, U. S. Surgeon General's Report on Youth Violence. (2001) http: //www. surgeongeneral. gov/library/youthviolence/chapt er 5/appendix 5 b. html#LST 37

Incarceration is not an Evidence-Based Practice One of the better studies conducted on this subject found that prior incarceration was the single strongest predictor of future delinquency, six times stronger than gang membership and eight times stronger than poor family relationships. Vince Schiraldi, JYRD Director From the Director (5 -17 -05) 38

Tools for Success Step 7. COURT-INVOLVED YOUTH • • CASASTART sm Dawn Project Educational Advocacy Program Life. Skills™ Training (LST) Pen Or Pencil Strengthening Families Program (SFP) Truancy Intervention Project Georgia (TIP) 39

Step 8. JUVENILE JUSTICE FACILITIES Discipline with Dignity (DWD) Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD) Pathfinder Educational Program Promoting Family Involvement for Youths in the Juvenile Justice System • School-Wide Behavioral Management in Juvenile Corrections • Staff Development for Educators of Confined Youth • Futures Channel Digital Video Resource Library (DVRL) • • 40

Step 9: AFTERCARE & COMMUNITY REINTEGRATION FROM CONFINEMENT • • • Aftercare for Indiana through Mentoring (AIM) Arizona Detention Transition Project (ADTP) Juvenile Education Initiative (JEd. I) Juvenile Re-entry Action Plan (JRAP) Maine Reintegration Teams Merging Two Worlds (M 2 W) Nashua Re-Entry Project SUPPORT Virginia Legislation: School Reenrollment After Release From Custody 41

Tools for Success Many juveniles can be diverted from delinquency or other trouble if their basic needs are met. 42