Incarcerated Youth with Disabilities: Reintegration into the Community, School, and Workforce

1
Incarcerated Youth with Disabilities
Reintegration into the Community, School, and
Workforce

• Joseph C. Gagnon, Ph.D.
• Brian R. Barber, M.Ed.
• University of Florida
• Juvenile Justice Education Institute
• and Southern Conference on Corrections
• August 4, 2009 (1000-1050)

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Agenda

• Youth in Juvenile Corrections Characteristics
  and Curriculum Issues
• Guideposts for Success
• Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
  Justice Process

3
Student CharacteristicsOverview

• Consideration of youth characteristics is
  critical to developing effective policies,
  programs, and service systems for youth in JC
  (Wagner, Kutash, Duchnowski, Epstein, Sumi,
  2005)
• In a year, approximately 144,000 delinquency
  cases result in youth being committed to out of
  home placements (Snyder, Sickmund, 2006)
• Increase of 44 over the last 20 years

4
Student CharacteristicsOverview

• Youth in JC schools may have few academic credits
  and low grade point averages (Major, Chester,
  McEntire, Waldo, Blomberg, 2002)
• Short length of enrollment - in juvenile
  detention facilities, youth may be enrolled for a
  week to several months (Austin, Johnson,
  Weitzer, 2005)
• Youth rarely return to high school, stay in
  school, and earn a diploma upon exit from a JC
  school (Griller-Clark, Rutherford, Quinn, 2004
  Haberman Quinn, 1986 LeBlanc Pfannenstiel,
  1991 Todis, Bullis, Waintrup, Schultz,
  DAmbrosio, 2001 Webb Maddox, 1986).

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Student CharacteristicsSpecial Education

• In juvenile corrections, 38.2-43.5 of students
  are in special education compared to 12 in
  public school (Gagnon, Barber, Van Loan, Leone,
  in press Stizek, Pittsonberger, Riordan, Lyter,
  Orlofsky, 2007)
• Students with EBD and LD comprise an overwhelming
  majority of the students with disabilities
  43.8 44.1, respectively (Gagnon, Barber, Van
  Loan, Leone, in press)

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Student CharacteristicsMental Health

• 40-50 of youth with ED are neglected,
  physically/sexually/emotionally abused (Mattison,
  Spitznagel, Felix, 1998 Oseroff, Oseroff,
  Westling, Gessner, 1999)
• Of confined youth, about 1/2 of males and almost
  1/2 of females have a substance use disorder
  (Teplin et al., 2002)

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Student CharacteristicsMental Health

• 11 of detained youth have posttraumatic stress
  disorder (PTSD) (Abram et al., 2004)
• In JC, more than 90 of youth experience a
  traumatic event (i.e., witnessed someone hurt
  very badly or killed) (Teplin et al., 2002)
• Excluding conduct disorder, nearly 2/3 of males
  and 3/4 of females have one or more psychiatric
  disorders (Teplin et al., 2002)

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Student CharacteristicsMental Health

• Placement in juvenile corrections is viewed as a
  way of providing mental health services that may
  be otherwise unavailable (National Center for
  Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, 2003)
• 1/3 to 2/3 of juvenile detention facilities hold
  youth with mental health needs without charges
  because they were awaiting a mental health
  placement (The National Alliance for the Mentally
  Ill, 1999 United States House of Representatives
  Committee on Government Reform-Minority Staff
  Special Investigation Division, 2004)

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Student CharacteristicsMental Health

• Of facilities who detained youth awaiting mental
  health services, 48 reported that there were
  suicide attempts among those youth (United States
  House of Representatives Committee on Government
  Reform-Minority Staff Special Investigation
  Division, 2004)
• Clear that student populations in JC schools have
  unique academic and mental health needs,
  requiring distinct forms of intervention and
  curricular/other support

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CurriculumConcerns for Students with Disabilities
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CurriculumConcerns for Students with Disabilities

• Appropriate educational services for incarcerated
  youth are an important element of successful
  transition into society (Foley, 2001 Nelson,
  Leone, Rutherford, 2004)
• No Child Left Behind Act (2002)
• Provide all youth with a fair, equal, and
  significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality
  education (Sec. 101)

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CurriculumConcerns for Students with Disabilities

• IDEA (2004) requires that services be designed
  and delivered to provide access to and progress
  in the general education curriculum (Cortiella,
  2006)
• The assumption
• Providing all students with access to the general
  education curriculum will prepare students for
  life after exiting school (National Center on
  Secondary Education and Transition, 2004)

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CurriculumConcerns for Students with Disabilities

• Access to the general education curriculum may
  run counter to IDEA regulations that call for
  individualized educational experiences for youth
  with disabilities (Hardman Dawson, 2008)
• to ensure that all children with disabilities
  have available to them a free appropriate public
  education that emphasizes special education and
  related services designed to meet their unique
  needs and prepare them for further education,
  employment, and independent living (2004, P. L.
  108-446 Sec. 682 (d)(1)(A))

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CurriculumConcerns for Students with Disabilities

• Preparations for future success and integration
  into society, and access to the general education
  curriculum are not necessarily mutually
  exclusive
• Youth with disabilities who graduate with a
  diploma are more likely to be employed full time
  and live above the poverty level (Bureau of Labor
  Statistics, 2001)

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CurriculumConcerns for Students with Disabilities

• The dilemma of access versus individualization is
  complicated by the characteristics of secure
  settings as well as of students
• A lack of oversight has lead to a situation in
  which JC schools have one of the worst records of
  adhering to federal special education
  requirements (Browne, 2003 Coffey Gemignani,
  1994 Leone, 1994)

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CurriculumConcerns for Students with Disabilities

• Some view the emphasis on state tests as
  restrictive of student access to alternative, and
  potentially more meaningful educational
  experiences (e.g., Platt, Casey, Faessel, 2006)
• Incarcerated youth who completed vocational
  training or a GED program while confined were
  twice as likely to be employed six months after
  their release (Black, Brush, Grow, Hawes, Henry,
  Hinke, 1996)

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CurriculumConcerns for Students with Disabilities

• Many experts consider that education for youth in
  JC schools should include access to the general
  education curriculum, as well as
• pre-vocational and vocational training,
• paid work experience, and
• General Educational Development (GED) test
  preparation
• (Carter, Lane, Pierson, Glasser, 2006 Lane
  Carter, 2006 Nelson et al., 2004 Rutherford,
  Quinn, Leone, Garfinkel, Nelson, 2002)

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The Guideposts for Success
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The Guideposts for Success

• 1 - School-Based Preparatory Experiences
• 2 - Career Preparation Work-Based Experiences
• 3 - Youth Development Leadership
• 4 - Connecting Activities
• 5 - Family Involvement and Supports

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• Specific Needs
• Highly qualified teachers
• Curriculum aligned with state and local standards
• Educational options
• Transferable credits
• Meeting federal accountability requirements
• NCLB, IDEA
• Collaboration among professionals across
  disciplines

School-Based Preparatory Experiences
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• Specific Needs
• Comprehensive vocational programming
• Collaboration among education, corrections,
  community organizations, employers
• Development of career pathways
• Instruction in work-related skills
• Work-based experiences

• Examples
• North Carolina Program
• Graduated release program
• Advocate/job development specialist

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• Specific Needs
• Highly individualized transition plan with youth
  input
• Transition support that recognizes unique needs
  of youth in corrections
• Instruction on laws, rights, consequences
  throughout JJ process
• Education on risk-taking behaviors/consequences
• Self-empowerment activities
• Mentoring opportunities

• Examples
• Project SUPPORT
• Project Parole
• SUPPORT
• Local employers
• serving as
• mentors

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• Specific Needs
• Collaboration among families, mental health
  service providers, educators, youth development
  professionals, probation officers
• Clear delineation of roles
• On-going communication
• Systemic responses to transitioning youth
• Assistance in addressing sensitive issues

Connecting Activities

• Examples
• Cross-system
• professional development
• Comprehensive transition
• policies in state law (VA)
• Exit document (Passport)

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• Specific Needs
• Well-informed parent involvement is critical at
  all stages of juvenile justice process
• Advocacy
• Information-sharing
• Prevention and rehabilitation
• Supports for parents

Family Supports Involvement

• Examples
• Multisystemic Therapy
• Family-focused mental
• health treatment

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Youth with disabilities commonly have
  difficulties at each stage
• Beginning at arrest
• Potentially leading to overrepresentation in
  juvenile justice system
• High percentage of youth with ED also have
  language disorders - Approximately 1/3 have
  difficulty understanding what others say to them
• Thus, youth at risk for involvement in the
  juvenile justice system, in particular those with
  disabilities, must receive support and
  preventative services to minimize their
  vulnerability

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• A Case for Collaboration/Support
• Most effective strategy for treating and
  rehabilitating juvenile offenders and preventing
  recidivism is a comprehensive, community-based
  model that integrates
• prevention programming
• a continuum of pre-trial and sentencing placement
  options and sanctions
• aftercare programs
• (Zavlek, 2005)

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Prevention and Early Intervention
• U.S. Dept. of Justices Office of Juvenile
  Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has
  indicated that most unsuccessful juvenile
  delinquency efforts fail because of their
  negative approach
• Further suggest that successful delinquency
  prevention strategies must be positive in
  orientation and comprehensive in scope
  (OJJDP, 2000)

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process
Prevention and Early Intervention

• Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS)
• Multi-tiered model that promotes pro-social
  skills in youth with and without disabilities, is
  an effective approach to problem behavior in
  schools
• (Nelson, Sugai, Smith, 2005)

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Prevention and Early Intervention
• Jobs for Americas Graduates (JAG)
• JAG model includes three program types
• School-to-career program for high school seniors
• Multi-year dropout prevention for grades 9-12
• Dropout recovery program that targets dropouts
  and youth in alternative school settings

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Prevention and Early Intervention
• JAG is comprised of several components including
• classroom instruction from a trained career
  specialist
• employability skills
• adult mentoring, advisement, and support
• summer employment training
• student-led leadership groups
• job and postsecondary education placement
• follow-up services
• accountability system

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Prevention and Early Intervention
• In 2004, the graduation/GED rate of JAG
  participants was 90.9 percent and the
  postsecondary enrollment rate was 41.2. (Jobs
  for Americas Graduates, 2005)
• In 2005 JAG graduation rates for students with
  disabilities and ED were 85.4 and 81.5,
  postsecondary enrollment rates for students with
  disabilities and ED were 54.3 and 40.9,
  respectively (Jobs for Americas Graduates, 2007)

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Diversion
• An attempt to divert, or channel out, youthful
  offenders from the juvenile justice system
  (Bynum Thompson, 1996)
• Community based treatments and programs for youth
  in JJS are generally more effective than
  incarceration or residential placement in
  reducing recidivism, even for serious and violent
  juvenile offenders (Lipsey, Wilson, Cothern,
  2000)

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Diversion Programs Rehabilitative Models
• For non-institutionalized juvenile offenders,
  certain variables such as increased length of
  treatment (e.g., interpersonal skills training,
  individual counseling, behavioral programs) have
  a significant positive effect on recidivism
  (Lipsey, Wilson, Cothern, 2000)

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Diversion Programs Rehabilitative Models
• Missouri has made a commitment to treatment of
  youth in small (33 or fewer beds) facilities
  (Mendel, 2001)
• California Youth Authority
• Small scale residential facilities (replace
  training schools)
• Extensive 24-hour therapy
• Quality education programs
• Heavy family outreach/counseling
• Well qualified, highly-trained staff
• Extensive, non-residential programming and
  aftercare

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Diversion Programs Family-focused Treatment
• Family-focused treatments, including components
  such as cognitive-behavior therapy and medication
  management, are also effective in assisting
  non-confined youth (Hoagwood et al., 2001)
• Strategic family therapy provides families with
  tools to overcome individual and family risk
  factors through focused intervention to improve
  maladaptive patterns of family interaction and
  skill-building strategies to strengthen families
  (Center for Family Studies, 2002)

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Diversion Programs Teen Courts
• Typically an option for youth under 16, having no
  prior arrest record, and charged with a less
  serious crime
• Provide a system of graduated sanctions via a
  peer jury, including those that go beyond
  punishments and include
• (a) community service, (b) apology letters, (c)
  drug/alcohol classes, (d) restitution, and (e)
  service in future teen court cases
• Additional high quality research is needed on
  features of effective programs, factors/barriers
  to success, types of effective sanctions, and
  strategies for youth who do not comply with
  sanctions.

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment
• for Non-Institutionalized Juveniles
• Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is a treatment for
  juvenile offenders that is provided at the
  youths home and community and uses a combination
  of empirically-based treatments, such as
• cognitive behavior therapy,
• behavioral parent training,
• functional family therapy
• (Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, 2006)
• MST therapist is available at all times during
  the intervention

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment
• for Non-Institutionalized Juveniles
• Review of MST research showed positive effects
  that were maintained with regard to
• Re-arrest,
• Out of home placement, and
• Drug use
• Cost benefit analyses indicate that MST is
  associated with equivalent or better outcomes and
  costs than hospitalization (Burns, et al., 2000
  Sheidow, et al., 2004)

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Intervention for Institutionalized Juveniles SIM
  Model
• One promising research-based option for
  approaching student learning and teacher
  professional development is the Strategic
  Instruction Model (SIM) that includes
• Teacher focused interventions that utilize
  content enhancement are designed to assist
  teachers in preparing, adapting, and presenting
  material.
• Student focused interventions provide learning
  strategies in areas such as reading, studying,
  interacting with others, and remembering
  information.

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Intervention for Institutionalized Juveniles
  Career and Technical Education
• Youth completing either vocational training or a
  GED program while confined are twice as likely to
  be employed six months after release (Black
  et al., 1996)
• Example of a well-developed career-technical
  education program
• North Carolinas Department of Juvenile Justice
  and Delinquency Prevention

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Intervention for Institutionalized Juveniles
  Career and Technical Education
• VoCATS - competency based, computer supported
  system including course and lesson planning,
  assessment items and aggregated and disaggregated
  reports of students, classes, teachers, schools,
  and LEAs.
• Pathways - youth are provided a choice of 10
  career pathways (e.g., business technologies,
  health sciences, industrial technologies),
  identify a specific career area with accompanying
  map to indicate necessary coursework, work-based
  learning opportunities, postsecondary options,
  and possible career options.
• Youth Apprenticeships include a clear,
  established plan

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Intervention for Institutionalized Juveniles
  Behavioral Intervention
• Attitude held by many in corrections is that
  confinement should not be a positive place where
  appropriate behaviors are reinforce PBIS
  approach provides convincing alternative to the
  argument for a solely punitive behavioral
  approach (Nelson, Sugai, Smith, 2005)
• Illinois Youth Center (IYC) implemented PBIS at
  the Harrisburg boys prison in 2001 minor and
  major infractions at the school have declined,
  and fights declined from 32 per month to zero in
  three years
• Iowa Juvenile Home (IJH) implemented PBIS model
  as well this has led to a reduction in restraint
  and seclusion by 73 percent and the avg. rate of
  disciplinary removals reduced by 50 percent

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Intervention for Institutionalized Juveniles
  Mental Health Interventions
• Some evidence exists suggesting the following
  intervention strategies reduce recidivism and
  other variables leading to personal and societal
  costs caused in part by mental health problems
• Counseling including components of anger
  management, social skills training, and career
  training
• Substance abuse treatment including relapse
  prevention
• Behavioral cognitive behavioral approaches to
  intervention

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Intervention for Institutionalized Juveniles
  Transition and After Care
• For successful transition into the workforce and
  toward self-sufficiency, several preparatory
  activities need to occur before the youth is
  released in the community
• Example
• Project SUPPORT
• (Service Utilization to Promote the Positive
  Rehabilitation and Community Transition of
  confined Youth with disabilities, Oregon
  Department of Education, 1999)

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Promising Practices Throughout the Juvenile
Justice Process

• Intervention for Institutionalized Juveniles
  Transition and After Care
• Structured around tenets identified as effective
  for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders
  including
• strategies to enhance self-determination skills
• competitive job placement
• flexible educational opportunities
• social skill instruction
• immediate service coordination of wrap-around
  services

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Questions/Comments?Thank you for
Attending!Further information regarding the
Guideposts for Success, or other material
included in this presentation may be obtained by
contacting the presenters atjgagnon_at_coe.ufl.edu
brbarber_at_ufl.edu