Transcript Innovative Practices in Juvenile Corrections: Positive

Innovative Practices in
Juvenile Corrections:
Positive Behavior
Supports
C. Michael Nelson
National Center for Education, Disability,
and Juvenile Justice
National Center for Positive Behavioral
Interventions and Supports
Overview
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Background
Rationale for application of Positive
Behavior Support in juvenile corrections
Overview of Positive Behavior Support
Description of the juvenile justice/positive
behavior support initiative
Background
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Have been a partner in EDJJ and PBIS
centers since their inception
Over my career, have visited, monitored,
evaluated, and worked with many
programs in the juvenile justice system
PBIS re-competed in 2003, signed on to
design a strategy to facilitate use of
positive behavior support in juvenile justice
programs
Why PBS in Juvenile
Corrections?
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Is proving to be an effective and efficient
alternative to harsh, inconsistent, and ineffective
disciplinary methods in public schools
Discipline provided in many juvenile justice
facilities is not any better than in most public
schools--often worse, because of inconsistency
Decisions about disciplinary systems in juvenile
corrections tend not to be linked to data on youth
behavior
What is Positive Behavior
Support?
PBS is a broad range of systemic &
individualized strategies for
achieving important social &
learning outcomes while preventing
problem behavior.
PBIS “Big Idea”
Goal is to establish host
environments that support
adoption & sustain use of
evidence-based practices
(Zins & Ponti, 1990)
Positive Behavior Support
Supporting
Decision
Making
Supporting
Staff Behavior
SYSTEMS
PRACTICES
Supporting
Student Behavior
DATA
Systems
Discipline is….
The actions caregivers take to increase
youth success
(Charles, 1980).
Prevention
Rules,
Routines,
Arrangements
Reaction
Positive and
Negative
Consequences
Discipline Works When ….
Prevention creates more positive than
negative consequences
Reinforcement
(success)
4:1
Punishment
School-wide Positive
Behavior Support
Systems
Classroom
Setting Systems
School-wide
Systems
Positive
Behavior Support
Systems in JJS Programs
Housing Units
Facility-wide System
CONTINUUM OF
SCHOOL-WIDE
INSTRUCTIONAL &
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR
SUPPORT
~5%
~15%
Primary Prevention:
School-/ClassroomWide Systems for
All Students,
Staff, & Settings
~80% of Students
Tertiary Prevention:
Specialized
Individualized
Systems for Students
with High-Risk Behavior
Secondary Prevention:
Specialized Group
Systems for Students
with At-Risk Behavior
Key word: PREVENTION
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Primary
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Secondary
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Reduce # new cases
Reduce # current cases
Tertiary
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Reduce complications, intensity, severity
of current cases
Does this model apply to
programs in the JJS?
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Does the proportion of incarcerated youth
who are discipline problems approximate
that found in public schools?
√ ~80%-- 1 or 0 discipline reports per
month
√ 10-15%-- 2-5 per month
√ 1-5%-- multiple discipline reports
Facility-Wide Behavior Support
System
Commitment by >80% of staff to
preventative approach to problem behavior
Preventive facility-wide systems of
proactive discipline
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Available to all youth, &
To which >80% of youth respond predictably &
successfully
Facility-Wide Positive Behavior
Support System
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Facility-wide leadership team to oversee
program-wide PBS & discipline
Administrative support, leadership, &
participation
Data-based decision making
Data
Why Collect Discipline
Information?
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Decision making
Professional Accountability
Decisions made with data (information)
are more likely to (a) be implemented, and
(b) be effective
Key features of data systems
that work
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The data are accurate
The data are very easy to collect (1% of staff
time)
Data are used for decision-making
 The data must be available when decisions
need to be made (weekly?)
 Difference between data needs at a facility
versus data needs for a state
 The people who collect the data must see the
information used for decision-making.
What data to collect for
decision-making?
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USE WHAT YOU HAVE
 Behavior Reports (BRs)
Measure of overall environment. Data are affected
by (a) youth behavior, (b) staff behavior, (c)
administrative context
 An under-estimate of what is really happening
 Collect & analyze # BRs per Day per Month
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Administrative segregation, detention
Other?
Examples of DataDriven Disciplinary
Planning
Rob Horner, George Sugai,
Anne Todd, Teri Lewis-Palmer
Marilyn Nersesian, Jim Watson
Focus on Facility-Wide
System if:
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More than 35% of youth receive 1 or more
BR
Average number of BRs per youth is
greater than 2.5
Focus on Non-Classroom
Systems if
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More than 35% of BRs come from nonclassroom settings
More than 15% of youth who receive a BR
are referred from non-classroom settings.
Focus on Classroom Systems
if
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More than 50% of BRs are from classroom
settings.
More than 40% of BRs come from less
than 10% of the classrooms.
Focus on Individual Student
Systems
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Targeted Group Interventions
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If 10 or more youth have 10+ BRs
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Example (check-in, check-out BEP)
Intensive Individual Interventions
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Youth with multiple needs
Intense, individualized support
 Wrap Around
 Personal Futures Planning
 Functional Assessment
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Data Decision Questions in
Juvenile Corrections
Programs
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How many BRs occur
Per day?
Per week?
Per month?
Where do behavior problems occur?
Location
Time of day
Activity
How are incidents distributed among youth?
CONTINUUM OF
FACILITYL-WIDE
INSTRUCTIONAL &
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR
SUPPORT
~5%
~15%
Primary Prevention:
FacilityWide Systems for
All Youth,
Staff, & Settings
~80% of Youth
Tertiary Prevention:
Specialized
Individualized
Systems for Youth with
Multiple Needs
Secondary Prevention:
Specialized Group
Systems for Youth with
Repeated Problem
Behavior
Practices
All Staff Agree to
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A consistent set of rules for youth behavior
Consistent routines, especially for problem
areas
Alter physical arrangements associated
with problem areas
Teach and Reinforce
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Rules, expectations, and routines across all
settings
Reward compliance
Treat misbehavior as an error--emphasize
correction over punishment
Pre-correct--teach routines to prevent problem
behaviors in settings where they are likely to
occur
Emphasize the Positive
Increase ratio of positive to negative staff to
youth interactions
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At least 4 to 1
Positive event/interaction every 5 minutes
Follow correction for rule violation with
positive reinforcer for rule following
Common Features of School-Wide
Behavior Management Systems
(Fitzsimmons, 1998)
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Total staff commitment to managing behavior,
whatever approach is taken
Clearly defined and communicated expectations
and rules
Consequences and clearly stated procedures for
correcting rule-breaking behavior
An instructional component for teaching students
self-control and social skill strategies
A support plan to address the needs of students
with chronic challenging behavior
The Juvenile Corrections PBS
Initiative
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Develop a blueprint/self-assessment tool
to guide implementation of PBS in
programs for juveniles
Establish a network of trainers/coaches to
facilitate implementation
Evaluate impact of PBS in juvenile
programs
How Juvenile Programs Differ
from Public Schools
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24-hour day
Multidisciplinary staff
Primary focus is security
Educational personnel not in charge of
discipline
Others?
Issues
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Belief that incarceration shouldn’t be
“positive”
Data on youth behavior aren’t
systematically collected or used for
decision-making
Data aren’t centrally collected or analyzed
Staff don’t communicate across disciplines
Others?
Next Steps
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Team visits sites in which PBS is being
implemented to identify barriers, issues, &
strategies (7/05)
√ Observe
√ Interview staff, youth
√ Conduct focus groups
√ Meet with state Juvenile Justice leaders
Develop initial draft of blueprint
Circulate to PBIS work group for review and
input
Your Suggestions &
Comments
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[email protected]