A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH FOR

KEEPING YOUTH OUT OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM!

Dr. Gail Jacobs, Alternative Education Consultant

Jeffery Studer, Arizona Department of Education

Arizona Safe+Supportive Schools Conference 2014

SESSION TOPICS

• National Statistics on Juveniles in the School to Prison Pipeline

• Characteristics of Youth in the Juvenile Justice System

• School Yard or Prison Yard: Barriers to Improving Outcomes for Youth

• Communication between Schools, Families, and Agencies

• Strategies for Success and Evidence based practices (EBP)

• Who is Responsible?

The High Cost of Juvenile Crime

Youth in the Juvenile Justice System and the High Cost

of Confinement • 93,000 Youth held in Juvenile facilities across the United

States

• The average cost per youth is about $250.00 +per day ($88,000 per year)

• States spend about $5.7 billion a year imprisoning youth

• No evidence that locking up youth improves public safety

• Statistics show that 92% of youth incarcerated are classified as delinquent, while only 8% are juvenile offenders (Correctional Association, 2008).

Justice Policy Institute, May 2009.

Profile of Youth Who Enter the System

An estimated 1.6 million youth are referred to juvenile court each year!

• Over one third of those youth have a disability...emotional disturbance (ED) or learning disability (LD)

• Have Poor Academic and Social Outcomes

• Most are at least three years behind academically

• Have been expelled or suspended more than twice

• Have serious mental health needs

• Students of color are more overrepresented

• Crossover Youth

Other Characteristics“Crossover Youth” in the Juvenile

Justice System“Crossover youth” are those children who are dually involved in both the foster care/welfare system and in the juvenile justice system

• 60 to 80 % of foster youth have at least one psychiatric diagnoses or developmental disability

• May float between systems

• Often exposed to poor experiences in school settings

• Often have moved from one school to another numerous times

• Have emotional and behavior problems

• May be taking more than one psychotropic medication

P

Source Dr. Peter Leone and Dr. Lois Weinberg 2013, Dr. Sandy Stein

Juvenile Justice Data

Strain Theory vs. Control Theory

• Strain theory suggests that youth who have academic failure from unfilled achievement of academic goals are more likely to be delinquent

• Control theory research, in contrast, suggests that delinquency results in failure to internalize conventional norms and a breakdown of bonding between the individual and society

Elliot and Voss, 2013

Juvenile Delinquency and Crime

Crimes and behaviors youth may be arrested for include the following:

Violent CrimesAssaultHomicideRapeRobberyArsonAuto theftBurglaryLarceny/TheftVandalismWeapons possession

Lawershop.com

Juvenile Delinquency and Crime

Drug and Alcohol ViolationsDriving under the influence (DUI)

Drunk and disorderly conductDrug abuseLiquor law violationsDrug PossessionIntent to Sell Drugs

Sexual Offenses Prostitution/Commercialized Vice Rape Prostitution

Status Offenses

Status offences are those offences that only apply to juveniles:

Curfew violationsIncorrigibility (refusal to obey

parents)Running awayTruancyUnderage alcohol consumption

Arrests Decreasing After 2000

• Roughly half of all youth arrests are made on account of theft, simple assault, drug abuse, disorderly conduct, and curfew violations. OJJDP statistics show theft as the greatest cause of youth arrests.

• In 1999, 2,468,800 juvenile arrests were recorded; 380,500 were arrests for theft. In 2000, 2,369,400 arrests were recorded; of these, 363,500 were for theft.

• Drug abuse violations accounted for 198,400 of the 1999 arrests, and 203,900 of the 2000 arrests.

• Violent crime accounted for 103,900 of the 1999 arrests and 98,900 of the 2000 arrests. Across the board arrest rates dropped 5% between 1999 and 2000.

School Yard or Prison Yard?Data on School to Prison Pipeline

Consequences and Alternatives

• “There are no more distinct institutions in a society that schools and prisons. One, the school, is considered an institution that builds capacity that can serve as a ticket out of poverty and a gateway to a better future. On the other hand, the prison, is used to contain those who society considers a threat to social well being and cements poverty and diminishes opportunities.” Marsha Weissman (The Link)

Barriers to Improving School Outcomes in Juvenile Facilities

• Education programs in juvenile facilities often do not meet state standards and often are not evidence based

• Often suffer from inadequate fiscal and administrative support and disruption to the school days are common

• Reading and Mathematics in corrections programs consist of worksheet-based drill and practice

• Constant disruptions occur in these facilities due to disciplinary segregation, mental health services, protective custody and lock downs

U.S. Department of Justice, 2010

Strain Theory vs. Control Theory

• Strain theory suggests that youth who have academic failure from unfilled achievement of academic goals are more likely to be delinquent

• Control theory research, in contrast, suggests that delinquency results in failure to internalize conventional norms and a breakdown of bonding between the individual and society

Elliot and Voss, 2013

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

-Carl Bard

TROUBLING STATS

“There are 600 districts in the U.S. that suspend less than 3% of students with disabilities. There are 300 districts that suspend more than 25% of students with disabilities.

“The difference between these places is not the students. The difference is in the training of staff and the discipline policies.”

-- Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan

Troubling Statscont.

Nearly six in ten public school students were suspended or expelled at least once between seventh and twelfth grades.

Students involved in school disciplinary system averaged 8 suspensions and/or expulsions during middle school years, while 15% of involved students were disciplined 11 or more times.

Students who were suspended or expelled for discretionary violations were nearly three times as likely to be in contact with the juvenile justice system the following year.

Purpose of Zero Tolerance in Schools

To keep drugs and weapons out of schools

To emulate retributive justice interventions such as mandatory minimums and structured sentencing

To provide consistent consequences in proportion to the harm caused

What the Data Say

There is no evidence that zero tolerance results in safer schools or increase in academic achievement.

Zero tolerance punishments put students at greater risk for:

Decreased connectivity to school

Increased participation in risky or illegal behavior

Poor academic achievement and school drop out

Mara Schff, PH.D Peace Works Consulting, Inc. 2014

What the Data Say (cont.)

School suspension and expulsion increases:

The likelihood that students will be held back a grade, not

graduate, and become involved in the juvenile

justice system

Higher suspension rates = lower academic

achievement and standardized test scores, even when controlling for factors such as race and socioeconomic status.

What Can Schools do? Interventions that are Evidence

Based

• Collaborate with school districts, child welfare agencies, mental health and probation

• Effective Literacy Programs in and out of Detention facilities (i.e. Read 180, Read-On)

• Out of School Programs, tutoring and mentoring programs, shared data bases (i.e. Boys and Girls Club)

• Professional training for teachers and administrators on identifying a child with problem behaviors and who may be at-risk for serious school failure…delinquency

Evidence Based Practices in Education

• Education programs that engage students, have high expectations with support and innovative structure

• Students enrolled in career academic programs are less likely to drop out, more likely to attend school, have more opportunity to set goals and reach academic objectives

• Long term support programs in grades 9 through 12

• Good instruction with targeted interventions is KEYKemple and Snipes 2000

Restorative Justice

Views crime or harm primarily as a violation of individuals, relationships, and communities that “create obligations to make things right”“Justice” is about repairing the harm caused to victims, offenders, and communityTo the greatest extent possible, restorative processes seek to rebuild relationships damaged by crime and other conflicts

Structure produces behavior.

Changing underlying structures can produce different patterns of behavior.

Redesigning our own decision-making redesigns the system structure.

What Creates Protective/Resiliency in at-risk youth?

• Family Milieu including a positive relationship with at least one parent or parent figure such as a mentor

• Community availability of caring and supportive adults and community activities

• High Expectations of youth: Incentive programs for graduation rates, Scholarships, School Attendance and Student evolvement in school activities

Why School?

“Teaching carries with it the obligation to understand the people in one’s charge to teach subject matter and skills, but also to inquire, to nurture, to have a sense of who a student is”.

- Mike Rose

Top 15 Influences on Achievement

29

Rank Most Influence ES

1 Self-reported grades/Student expectations 1.44

2 Piagetian programs 1.28

3 Response to Intervention 1.07

4 Teacher credibility 0.90

5 Providing formative evaluation 0.90

6 Micro-teaching 0.88

7 Classroom discussion 0.82

8 Comprehensive interventions for learning disabled students 0.77

9 Teacher clarity 0.75

10 Feedback 0.75

11 Reciprocal teaching 0.74

12 Teacher-student relationships 0.72

13 Spaced vs. mass practice 0.71

14 Meta-cognitive strategies 0.69

15 Acceleration 0.68Hattie, 2012

Bottom 15 Influences on Achievement

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Rank Least Influence ES

136 Teacher subject matter knowledge 0.09

137 Changing school calendars/timetables 0.09

138 Out-of-school curricular experiences 0.09

139 Perceptual-motor programs 0.08

140 Whole language 0.06

141 Ethnic diversity of students 0.05

142 College halls of residence 0.05

143 Multi-grade/multi-age classes 0.04

144 Student control over learning 0.04

145 Open vs. traditional 0.01

146 Summer vacation -0.02

147 Welfare policies -0.12

148 Retention -0.13

149 Television -0.18

150 Mobility -0.34Hattie, 2012

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Evidence Based Interventions for all Students

• Positive behavior support system (PBIS)

• Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

• Tiered Instruction and Intervention in Response-to-Intervention Model (RTI)

1 in 20

PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS

are identified with specificlearning disabilities (SLD)

struggle in learning due to unidentified behavior, learning, and attention

issues

ANOTHER 15 PERCENT

Response to Intervention (RTI)

11%

89%

Students without disabilities

Students disciplined Students not disciplined

46%54%

Students with disabilities Students disciplined Students not disciplined

ARIZONA

PBIS

36

37

38

UDL

www.udlcenter.org

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Who is Responsible?We All Are!

• Anyone that can interact with youth to reduce the influence on violence and at-risk behavior: school administrators, school districts, teachers, parents, juvenile agencies, communities' and welfare/foster care agencies

• Partnerships with caretakers/parents, child welfare staff, community programs, school staff and juvenile correction/detention agencies.

• A system of care and joint programing, planning for transitioning youth

“It takes a village to raise a child”OJJDP.com

THANK YOUGail L. Jacobs, Ed.D.,

Alternative Education Consultant

gjacobs.isas.@gmail.com or dr.glj45@gmail.com

Phone: 602-499-6096

Questions?