Transcript Document

Think Exit at Entry:
Preparing Youth in Secure Care for
Successful Reintegration/Transition
Back to the Community
Dorothy (Dottie) Wodraska
Correctional Education Specialist/
Director of Federal Education Grant Programs
Arizona Supreme Court,
Administrative Office of the Courts
Juvenile Justice Services Division
Arizona Secure Care Education
 Secure Care education is defined as every education
program which exists in a county detention, county jail,
state juvenile corrections, and state prison facility in the
State of Arizona excluding Native American and federal
facilities.

AOC
14 county juvenile detention facilities (age 8-18)

Jails
15 county jails (age 14-22)

ADJC

ADC
4 state juvenile correction facilities (age 8-18)
10 state prisons and 3 private prisons (age 14-22)
TOTAL: 46 facilities statewide
Arizona Secure Care Education
 Secure Care Education must address these
acknowledged needs:
1) Institutional confinement programming must prepare youth for
a successful reintegration back to their community.
2) Lessons and skills learned in secure care environments must
be monitored and reinforced outside of the institution.
3) Reintegration of students from the juvenile justice system
requires cooperative and collaborative relationships with local
school districts prior to release from a secure care facility to
ensure a continuum of services and appropriate placement which
can reduce recidivism.
Juvenile Detention Education – Arizona
 Statewide Financial Support (County Equalization Funds),
supplemented by Federal Funds
 Shared Jurisdictional responsibility between the County
School Superintendent and Presiding Juvenile Court Judge
 Coordination and Oversight by the Arizona Supreme Court,
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
 14 Juvenile Detention Schools served 12,913 youth in FY03
 Approximately 21% of students require Special Education
Services
Juvenile Detention Education - Arizona
 Fully Certified Teachers with Special Education endorsement
preferred
 12 Month Programming - Minimum of 225 Instructional Days-4hrs.
 Average Length of Stay in Facility is 12-15 days Statewide
 Educational/diagnostic Screening; student-focused educational
instruction utilizing both individualized computer curricula and
classroom instruction; transition planning
 Curriculum correlated with Arizona Academic Standards
 Special Programs Candidate – North Central Association
Accreditation
Juvenile Corrections Education - Arizona
 Dr. Jude Lanphar, Education Superintendent
 Statewide Financial Support, supplemented by Federal
Funds
 Average Length of Stay – 7 months
 Average Stay on Parole – 6 months
 Accredited by North Central Association
 Fully Certified Teachers with Secondary and Special
Education endorsement preferred
Juvenile Corrections Education - Arizona
 4 facilities statewide serving 2,076 students in FY 2002
 Schools
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•
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Adobe Mountain School
Black Canyon School
Catalina Mountain School
Eagle Point School
Beds
Actual
438
115
143
150
318
77
116
125
 12 Month Programming - Minimum of 182 Instructional Days
 Approximately 40-45% of students require Special
Education Services
 Intersession (3 weeks) will involve “catch up” on academics
in core areas
County Jail Schools- Arizona
 Fully Certified Teachers with Special Education
endorsement preferred
 12 Month Programming - Minimum 225 Days
 Average Length of Stay - 67 Days
 Juveniles with felony charges remanded as adults
 Approximately 60% return to the community after
completing their jail time
 Approximately 40% of the juveniles are sent to prison
 30-35% are special education students
 Approximately 350 inmates daily/FY 2004 9,300 total
County Jail Schools- Arizona
 SPECIAL EDUCATION

Teacher case management

Disability(s) accommodation

Annual audio/vision testing

Parental Involvement in Individual Education Plan (IEP)

Supplemental Programs/ALPHA/A.A./C.A.

Anger Management Class

8th Grade Certificate Program/GED

Psychological Evaluation

Transition Planning beyond jail/ Merging Two Worlds
curriculum
Adult Prisons Education - Arizona
 13 facilities statewide serving over 32,000 in FY 2004
 12 Month Programming - Minimum of 208 Instructional Days
 Screen over 2,500 inmates under the age of 22 annually for special
education needs and eligibility
 Approximately 14% of students require Special Education
Services…More students are being identified yearly due to the new
NCLB laws and the new screening procedures conducted at each
facility.
 Fully certified teachers with certifications ranging across all ages
and areas
 Average length of stay is 34 months
 Award , on average, 1,321 GEDs annually
Local Challenges…National Focus
 Transient student population
 Students have attended various public
schools/charters and/or have dropped out of
school due to lack of success.
 Delayed records exchange for prompt provision of
specialized instruction if a student has a history of
special education.
 Reluctance of schools/districts to accept students
upon release from secure care.
Local Challenges…National Focus,
Cont’d.
 Conflicting organizational philosophies within
agencies between security (punitive) and
education (rehabilitative).
 Reintegration: lack of consistent cooperative and
collaborative relationship with the local school
districts prior to release from a secure care
facility to ensure continuum of services and
appropriate placement which can reduce
recidivism.
 Shortage of adequately trained personnel in the
area of correctional education.
Effective Reintegration/
Transition Strategies
 Link between education and recidivism
 In Arizona, it costs an annual average of $5,200 to
educate a student, compared to $56,000 in ADJC and
$32,000 in ADC to house an inmate annually. Reducing
recidivism decreases the burden and expenses to
taxpayers.
 Interagency collaboration
 Effective transition practices are those that are shared by
correctional education staff, as well as personnel from
public schools and other community based programs,
such as mental health and social services.
Effective Reintegration/
Transition Strategies Cont’d.
 Team based planning/Intra-agency collaboration
 Transition services need to be developed and
implemented by the IEP team in cooperation with the
correctional counselors, probation/parole personnel
and vocational instructors.
 Tracking and Monitoring
 Systematic and continuous monitoring of the youth
through the juvenile justice system facilitates achieving
transition goals and outcomes. The present secure
care system is disjointed and has no means of
following a student to determine outcomes.
Promising Practices to Facilitate
Successful Reintegration/Transition
 Linkages with community, business and professional organizations

Cooperative contractual agreements among local agencies that
provide transition services need to be established to maintain a
seamless continuum of care.
 Wraparound services to deliver comprehensive and coordinated
services
 Historically, transition services for juveniles offenders have been
fragmented, inefficient and disconnected. These services must be
individualized and encompass all aspects of the youth’s life.
 Pre-release training in social skills, independent living and pre-
employment training
 Students who receive training or support in these areas are more
likely to succeed upon release from a secure care facility.
(Correctional Education Bulletin, June 2001)
Components Of A Comprehensive
Reintegration/Transition System
 Component 1: Develop Individualized Transition Plans
(ITPs) specifying the skills and supports required currently and
in the future based on the youth’s educational and vocational
needs, abilities, interest, and preferences
 Component 2: Develop and Implement a Student Education
Passport/Portfolio collecting meaningful information on youth’s
educational and vocational needs, their strengths and
competencies and samples of their work that will be transferred
with students as they move along a continuum of appropriate
transition services
 Component 3: Establish a Seamless Transfer of Education
Records and Services to ensure educational programming and
services that build upon the student’s prior placement with
common assessment and portfolio information that will be
relevant across all education programs in which students are
placed
(Rutherford et al., 2001)
Components Of A Comprehensive
Reintegration/Transition System Cont’d.
 Component 4: Increase Interagency Linkages and
Communication at the administrative level and among line staff
of schools and agencies on a student-by-student basis, with
these predictable and reliable contacts initiated immediately
upon entry into the detention facility due to the relatively short
period of time detained
 Component 5: Establish a Youth Tracking System to assure
that no youth is “lost” in the system and that all youth receive
appropriate transition services
 Component 6: Transition, Special Education and Related
Services in Short-term Juvenile Detention Facilities and Jail
responsible for the immediate identification of students with
disabilities and initiating or updating ITP’s, beginning portfolio
assessments and student education passports, and establishing
linkages with school, community and employment
(Rutherford et al., 2001)
Secure Care Education Committee
(SCEC)
Mission
 To advocate for excellence in secure care education which leads to student
centered seamless reintegration from correctional facilities into community
settings in order to reduce recidivism.
History
 The SCEC was formed in 1998 by staff of the Arizona Department of
Education and secure care educators from across the state to address the
glaring educational needs of youth and adults in correctional settings.
Accomplishments
 The SCEC has developed the Merging Two Worlds (MTW) Curriculum
through a ADE grant-supported partnership with the Pima County School
Superintendent’s Office, Special Programs Division.
www.ade.az.gov/ess/securecare
 Since 1999 the SCEC has hosted four statewide conferences for training
educators on implementation of the MTW, developed a statewide regional
structure for ongoing training, mentoring and technical assistance and
standardized special ed reporting forms.
Implementation in Arizona
 Arizona Department of Education/ESS

ADE has over-site responsibility for all secure
care facilities to insure delivery of educational
services for all incarcerated youth.

A special position was created to monitor, train,
fund and assist educators in secure care
settings.

ADE annually hosts a state wide Transition
Conference to update educators on the
implementation of transition services for all
students.
Implementation in Arizona
 Juvenile Detention Education - Statewide
Coordination by Arizona Supreme Court, AOC

Integrating MTW in Detention Ed Curriculum

Integrated Technology Assisted Individualized Instruction

NCA/CASI to Facilitate Credit Transfer & Recovery

GED Preparation & Testing Available As Needed

AZ Detention Transition Project (ASU) – Phoenix
 5 Goals
 Develop Individualized Transition Plans (ITP)
 Develop & Implement a Student Education Passport
 Seamless Transfer of Educational Records & Services
 Increase Interagency Linkages & Communication
 Establish a Youth Tracking System
Implementation in Arizona
 Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

Family mental health and vocational rehabilitation located
in parole offices

Educational Transition Coordinators work with youth
behind the fence and support appropriate educational
placement after release

Developed programs for CFT and FFT from different
funding sources

Emergency special education certification/ 100% tuition
reimbursement

$5,000 stipend for certified sped teachers/

Volunteer groups

Line staff and education working together to develop
effective ways to manage kids with disabilities

Elevating education to an equal partner at the facilities
Implementation in Arizona
 Arizona Department of Corrections:

All persons remanded to ADC tested using TABE
(Test for Adult Basic Education)

GED Preparation Program

Functional Literacy Program

Vocational Education/carpentry,water treatment
program, masonry and custodial.

Special Education/transition

Merging Two Worlds Curriculum
To Ensure A Successful Transition
REMEMBER TO
“THINK EXIT AT ENTRY”
Contact Information
Dorothy (Dottie) Wodraska
Correctional Education Specialist/
Director of Federal Education Grants Program
Arizona Supreme Court, AOC
Juvenile Justice Services Division
1501 West Washington, Suite 337
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone: (602) 542-9573
Fax:
(602) 542-9479
Email:
[email protected]