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The Effectiveness of The Effectiveness of Project Adventure's Project Adventure's

Behavior Behavior Management Management

Programs for Male Programs for Male Offenders in Offenders in Residential Residential Treatment Treatment

Lee GillisLee GillisAaron Nicholson Aaron Nicholson

Executive Director of Project Adventure Southeast Executive Director of Project Adventure Southeast

Kim Boykin Kim Boykin Clinical Director of Project Adventure’s Covington ProgramsClinical Director of Project Adventure’s Covington Programs

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Major Points Brief background of presenters

History and current status of Project Adventure’s behavior management programs.

Description of how the (BMTA) programs operate

Data on the effectiveness of BMTA?

Current research and evaluation plans progress?

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History & Overview Project Adventure Kids (a 5013c non-profit) - a

residential program improving homeless, neglected, abused, at-risk Georgia teen’s lives since 1981

Project Adventure Kids owes it’s origins to the vision of Cindy Simpson

Youth live in group homes around Covington, GA.

Up to 100 youth (ages 11 to 21 years old) in 3 programs

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Overview cont. Primary tools are adventure programming and

group process.

Historically there were clinical – behavioral – and adventure staff; this has evolved into an integrated approach to treatment

Project Adventure - Kids is a non-restraint, “hands off” program! “Calling group” is central to the change that takes place in youth.

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Current Licensed Programs

Choices – Substance Abuse

Legacy – Juvenile Sex Offenders

ILP – Independent Living

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Choices Since 1989

Licensed adventure based residential treatment program for males and females (12-17 years old) with substance abuse issues across the state of Georgia.

Average stay is four to eight months.

Goal to improve decision making skills, work ethic, social skills, academic skills, and learn techniques to deal with stress

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Legacy Since 1994

A licensed residential treatment program for males (9 to 17) with a history of sexual abuse, serving youth from across the state of Georgia.

Average length of stay 10-16 months

Youth are taught coping skills to learn boundaries, develop empathy, gain acceptance, and change themselves.

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Independent Living Program (ILP)

Since 1998

Community-based residential program for males and females (15 to 20 years old)

Referrals come from DFCS and DJJ

Youth are homeless, lack significant family support and /or have been abused in their home environment.

Focus: completing education, teaching life skills, employment skills and maintaining a budget.

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Key components Full Value Contract

Goal Setting

Point and Level System

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Key components cont. Calling Group

Types of Groups

Procedure for group

Results of group

Integrated Adventure Programming

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Intake, Evaluation & Staffing

Referral process DFCS or DJJ case worker contact PA; send

psychological and related info. Info screened by PA staff and by psychologists

Intake process (1st Week) Introduction of youth to group process

Youth moves into group home in local community staffed by PA

All youth in Choices & Legacy attend school at PA

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Intake Evaluation & Staffing

Weekly team monitoring of all youth by professional staff

Staffing - Brief history of professionalization of staffing Staff: Home Counselor, Primaries, Therapist,

Teachers, & Supervisor

All therapist are licensed or licensed eligible and under supervision; all teachers are certified

Supervision by licensed psychologists

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Intake, Evaluation, Staffing Discharge

Use of software to collect treatment information for evaluation and medicaid billing (KaleidaCare: Foster Care Software and Child and Family Software Agency)

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Peer Reviewed Results

NOT re-arrested rates: N=347 per group - randomly

selected

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Under review results

Overall NOT re-arrested rates: Juvenile Sex Offenders - Matched group of 95

Youth

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Current ProjectZimbardo Time

Perspective

Stages of Change

Global Functioning

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Zimbardo Time Perspective

I believe that getting together with one's friends to party is one of life's important pleasures.

Familiar childhood sights, sounds, smells often bring back a flood of wonderful memories.

Fate determines much in my life.

I often think of what I should have done differently in my life.

My decisions are mostly influenced by people and things around me.

I believe that a person's day should be planned ahead each morning.

It gives me pleasure to think about my past.

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GAF Scale

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91-100Superior functioning in a wide range of activities, life's problems never seem to get out of hand, is sought out by others because of his or her many positive qualities. No symptoms.

61-70Some difficulty in social, (PA) home, occupational (ILP), or school functioning (e.g., occasional missing obligations or not doing consequences, but generally functioning pretty well; has some meaningful interpersonal relationships.

41-50Serious impairment in social, (PA) home, occupational (ILP), or school functioning (e.g., no friends, unable to make level).

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Tentative Results Relating (youth’s rating of) Readiness for

Change with (youth’s rating of) Time Perspective and Staff’s rating of Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) (modified)

r(32)= 0.385, p=0.03 for Readiness for Change and GAF

r(32)= 0.457, p=0.01 for Readiness for Change and Future Perspective

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Questions?Kernels?

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