Search

This article discusses the feasibility of conducting educational research in juvenile justice settings from two divergent perspectives, researchers and juvenile justice agency/facility staff. An inquiry into feasibility, barriers, facilitators, and areas in need of research was conducted with the two groups of participants. Differences in each category, as well as subthemes between researchers and agency/facility staff, are discussed. The implications address the need to ensure rigorous research while also adhering to the facility's processes and procedures and simultaneously improving outcomes for youth. Suggestions for improving research efforts in juvenile justice facilities are offered.

A shift from reactive and punitive practices in secure juvenile facilities has prompted facilities in the United States to adopt multitiered systems of support such as facility-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (FW-PBIS) to address climate and culture concerns. To date, most implementation efforts have focused on defining adult behaviors and systems. There is limited understanding of the role of youth voice related to adoption and implementation of the advocated practices. This pilot study sought to understand youth perspectives of FW-PBIS implementation as viewed through the lens of facility/organizational climate assessment. We piloted a facility climate survey for use in juvenile facilities and conducted focus group sessions to capture youth voice. Facilitator and barrier themes related to facility climate with FW-PBIS implementation were identified. Implications for practice, as well as limitations and future directions for research, are discussed.

In this study, we assessed the feasibility and social validity of an adapted approach to positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) implementation in secure juvenile facilities. The authors developed a comprehensive model of facility-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (FW-PBIS) for use in secure juvenile correctional facilities, both detention and long term, as well as state and privately run. FW-PBIS leadership team members that included all major facility roles (education, corrections, mental health, medical, recreation) participated in staff development activities and implemented the advocated approaches over the course of the study. We assessed the fidelity, feasibility, and social validity of FW-PBIS in a repeated-measures evaluation study across 50 secure juvenile facilities. We collected intervention fidelity data using a version of the School-Wide Evaluation Tool modified to reflect the unique features of secure juvenile facilities. We also gathered behavioral incident data from the facilities, but it was not possible to combine these data across sites due to the vast differences in data collection, definitions/classifications, and storage systems from state to state. Results indicated that all participating facilities were able to achieve acceptable FW-PBIS implementation fidelity. Staff rated the intervention as acceptable, feasible, and were willing to implement FW-PBIS practices. Staff members also reported gains in sense of efficacy in their roles. Results are discussed in terms of limitations of the current study, future research, and practice needs.

Self-determination refers to a person's ability to have control of their life choices, decisions, and interactions with others. Self-determination skills include: 1) decision-making, 2) goal setting, 3) self-awareness, 4) problem-solving, 5) self-advocacy, 6) self-monitoring, and 7) self-efficacy. Researchers suggest that youth with or at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are less knowledgeable about self-determination skills and how to apply them to their daily lives. This is particularly true for those served in restrictive education settings (e.g., juvenile justice facilities) who often struggle with setting goals and self-monitoring progress. Equipping youth with or at-risk for EBD in restrictive education settings with self-determination skills is a critical aspect of positive youth development. The purpose of this manuscript is to assist staff in juvenile justice facilities with strategies so as to infuse self-determination instruction into five key areas: 1) resiliency, 2) assessments, 3) treatment/programming, 4) education, and 5) transition. An overview of each area is provided, along with examples of self-determination integration. Special considerations for implementing self-determination into these facilities also is discussed.

A majority of youth in residential facilities such as residential children's treatment centers and juvenile justice facilities have a history of exposure to traumatic events, contributing to a multitude of long-term mental and physical concerns. Residential facility teachers and staff have the unique opportunity to create trauma-informed spaces - safe, healing environments in all aspects of a youths' life during their stay. Trauma-informed spaces may help youth develop healthy relationships, build resilience, and increase social and emotional skills, all establishing a foundation for future success in their home, school, and community. This article provides suggestions for incorporating trauma-informed strategies across all spaces of the facility to mitigate the negative effects of trauma using Harris and Fallot's (2001) five core values of safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment.

Staff who work in juvenile justice settings frequently face high levels of occupational stress, secondary trauma, and burnout as a result of numerous stressors. Without recourse, these stressors can negatively impact staff well-being, and decrease staff self-efficacy and ability to implement treatment programming to the youth they serve with fidelity. One way to reduce staff levels of occupational stress and improve well-being is consistent use of self-care practices. It is critical to develop an effective approach to support the increase of self-care practices among staff in juvenile justice facilities. The I-CARE instructional approach, influenced by the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) and multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) frameworks, is one such method for teaching daily self-care practices. We describe the I-CARE instructional approach and how it can be supported within juvenile justice facilities.

Strategy instruction is a common instructional method for teaching academic skills, particularly reading comprehension, and it is commonly combined with self-regulation components (e.g., goal setting, self-monitoring). Previous meta-analyses and reviews have examined the effectiveness of strategy instruction on reading comprehension, but have not examined how reading comprehension is assessed, an area of need considering that reading comprehension assessments are not created equal. In this systematic review, sixteen articles were examined to determine the methods for assessing reading comprehension, self-regulation, reading motivation/attitudes, and social validity. In addition, the Council for Exceptional Children's "Standards for Evidence-Based Practices in Special Education" were applied to all included studies. Limitations and recommendation for future researchers are presented and discussed.

This study investigated the effectiveness of the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) instructional approach with middle school youth with behavior challenges served in a residential treatment facility. Youth were taught the TRAP ("T"hink before reading, "R"ead a paragraph, "A"sk what is the main idea/important details, "P"araphrase the paragraph; Mason et al.) mnemonic as a means of increasing reading comprehension as measured through oral retell. Using a multiple-probe across participant single case design, a functional relation between the TRAP mnemonic and oral retell scores was observed. Treatment fidelity, social validity, and academic engagement are presented. Implications for practitioners, limitations, and areas for future directions are outlined.

Mentoring programs for incarcerated youth have shown promising outcomes with researchers suggesting that this population can benefit from mentoring relationships. A mentor provides guidance and support to youthful offenders. Having a caring adult involved in the life of a youth at risk may help them overcome adversity and develop the skills necessary to successfully transition back into the community. Due to this population's unique nature, special considerations should be taken when developing and implementing mentoring programs. The authors provide more insight into developing mentoring programs for incarcerated youth with a particular focus on implementation, special considerations, and adaptations for implementing programs in juvenile justice facilities. An overview of recent mentoring efforts is provided, followed by the potential impact of mentoring programs on incarcerated youth.

Secondary students with high incidence disabilities who also display disruptive behaviors struggle to be successful in general education settings. As a result, general education teachers are looking for ways to utilize technology to provide them with opportunities to implement evidence-based interventions in their classrooms. In this study, teachers used MoBeGo, an iPad application, in a single-case withdrawal design (ABAB), to implement self-monitoring in high school general education classrooms with four students who received special education services for a high incidence disability. The results of this study indicate that teachers could implement MoBeGo with fidelity to improve students' academic engagement and appropriate behavior. Additionally, both the teachers and students rated MoBeGo as a socially valid intervention. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Students with academic, social, and emotional disabilities often demonstrate challenging behaviors and struggle to remain focused on the lesson, learn less that their peers, resulting in lower academic achievement. Research has demonstrated that the more actively engaged students are in the lesson, the more they learn, and therefore the more successful they will be academically and behaviorally. Oftentimes, in content intensive courses such as mathematics and the sciences, teachers need strategies to engage the learners in practice and review of the content to determine the need for re-teaching a set of skills before continuing to the next skill set. This study compared the use of response cards to the more traditional method of hand raising in high school classes required for graduation, taught by certified teachers, and inclusive of students with various disabilities and a history of challenging behaviors. The students with disabilities and challenging behaviors in this study are compared with typical, non-disabled peers. An alternating treatment method was used during daily reviews to investigate this interactive strategy to engage the students. The use of response cards increased the number of times all students attempted to participate during the daily class review as well as showing an increase in long term retention of the material reviewed using response cards. In addition, the results of a social validity assessment completed by both students and teachers report various benefits to using response cards as an instructional strategy.

Check-in/check-out is a secondary-tier intervention within the positive behavior interventions and supports framework. Check-in/check-out pairs the use of an adult mentor with a daily progress report to help students meet individualized behavioral goals. This study adds to the research base by examining the effects of check-in, check-up, check-out for students with moderate intellectual disability. A modified version of the traditional check-in/check-out cycle was implemented with three high school students during vocational training. All three students demonstrated decreases in off-task behavior. Treatment fidelity and social validity were assessed. Limitations, future directions, and implications for practice are discussed.

While facility-wide positive behavioral supports and interventions (FW-PBIS) has begun to be implemented within secure juvenile care settings, in a 24/7 model, there is a need to gather the perspectives of agency-stakeholders to better understand the feasibility and sustainability of FW-PBIS within these settings. To date, only two studies have been published that include perspectives of PBIS implementation within secure care. This study extends the current literature, and provides an overview specific to agency-level feedback on FW-PBIS implementation. Surveys were distributed to agency-level decision makers within two states implementing state-wide FW-PBIS for two or more years. Survey themes related to facilitators, barriers, systems, data, and practices, identified using the constant comparative method, are presented. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

This study investigated the effect of the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) instructional approach on the reading comprehension of systems-involved youth served in a secure juvenile justice setting. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial (CRT) pretest/posttest design, youth in the treatment group were taught the TRAP mnemonic (Think before reading, Read the paragraph, Ask yourself what the paragraph is mostly about and what is the most important information, and Paraphrase the paragraph). Results indicate modest improvement within the treatment group as compared to the control group, along with high treatment fidelity and social validity. Implications for practitioners, limitations, and suggestions for future research are presented.

Emotional regulation (ER) is essential for youth in juvenile justice facilities (JJFs) so that they can be equipped to identify, process, and resolve complex emotions and stress. Emotions such as anxiety, anger, depression, jealousy, resentment, and disappointment are difficult emotions for any youth to identify and acknowledge, but these emotions may be compounded for youth within JJFs. Staff within JJFs can assist these youth in processing these various emotions by educating themselves on current, positive ER practices for youth within JJFs. The following article details specific strategies for ER including Talking about Risk and Adolescent Choices (TRAC), breathing techniques, and mindfulness. Though there are many ER strategies, these particular strategies were selected so that all staff within JJFs can implement the strategies, often without the need for outside resources such as specialized training, additional curriculums, or physical manipulatives and materials. Through the use of such strategies, youth in JJFs will be better able to address their emotions and the emotional situations they encounter within JJFs, as well as generalize those skills learned for success once they have transitioned back into their community.

Youth within juvenile justice facilities (JJFs) are often some of the most vulnerable and marginalized population in our communities. These youth often have experienced trauma, social-emotional learning (SEL) issues as well as difficulties in school. Many of these youth have had little opportunity to express their voice in positive and healthy ways. Youth voice, however, may be a key to help with not only treatment and programming within JJFs but also with successful habilitation and rehabilitation of youth. This article presents how combining youth voice and SEL may help youth within JJFs, and then explore how the whole youth model lens could create an environment to effectively utilize youth voice, in combination with SEL, to improve youth treatment and programming engagement within JJFs.

The current study investigated perceptions on reading comprehension instruction within a residential treatment facility. Four special education teachers participated in a focus group, identifying facilitators and barriers to teaching reading comprehension within a restrictive education setting to youth with and at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. Study findings indicate that facilitators for reading comprehension instruction within the classroom include the belief that reading is a life-long skill, the importance of differentiating instruction, and an understanding that youth learn in different ways. Contextual setting and youth attributes, a delay in academic instruction, incomplete instructional toolbox, and teacher and youth buy-in are identified barriers to reading comprehension instruction within a residential treatment facility. Suggestions for addressing these barriers, as well as future directions for research are outlined. This study highlights a need for additional investigation into stakeholder perceptions regarding reading instruction in restrictive educational settings.

Two functionally-indicated choice-making interventions were implemented by a classroom teacher to determine the effects on the percentage of task completion, accuracy, and classroom disruption for 9 sixth through eighth grade participants with emotional and behavioral disorders in a residential math classroom using a reversal design. Results indicate that choice of task sequence for two of the three participants with avoidance-maintained behaviors exhibited reduced disruptive behaviors and increased task completion and accuracy. Results were mixed for the six participants with access-maintained behavior. The three participants decreased their disruptive behaviors and increased task completion and accuracy. For the other three participants, decreased disruptive behavior and increased task completion and accuracy occurred for the non-functionally indicated avoidance type of choice. Future directions for choice-making interventions are discussed as well as limitations of the present study.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of choice-making and intensified self-statement instruction on persuasive writing performance using an iPad after receiving instruction in self-regulated strategy development through a reversal design with a student with autism and comorbid mental health diagnoses in a residential treatment facility. The student was taught the POW+TREE (Pick my idea, Organize my notes, Write and say more, Topic sentence, Reasons, Explain reasons, Ending) persuasive writing strategy with intensified self-statement instruction (e.g., positive self-talk during writing tasks) then responded to a writing prompt on an iPad in two ways: (1) no choice in prompt topic and (2) choice between two prompt topics. After post-instruction, student writing performance (e.g., essay elements when given a choice between prompt topics) and positive self-instruction statements during writing tasks increased. These gains maintained and generalized to other contexts in the facility (e.g., positive self-talk with peers on outings). Student self-regulation, self-efficacy in writing, and motivation increased post-intervention. Limitations and future directions are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intertwined academic and behavior deficits, often referred to as the failure cycle, of students with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) negatively impact learning and skill acquisition. Reading comprehension is one academic area where students with and at risk for EBD display significant deficits. The self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) instructional approach is one method that accounts for students' metacognitive skills and learning behaviors, making it a promising approach for use with students with and at risk for EBD, including students served in more restrictive settings. This article provides an overview of SRSD, a reading comprehension strategy taught using the SRSD instructional approach, and describes how to integrate low-intensity behavior strategies into SRSD reading instruction to further support the needs of students with and at risk for EBD.

Self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) is an effective instructional approach used to teach academic strategies for skills such as writing and reading comprehension. Included in SRSD are direct strategy instruction and explicit procedures for teaching self-regulation skills, a method that has been effective at improving academic skills of students with disabilities, including those with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). However, due to pre-existing deficits in self-regulation skills, students with EBD may benefit from intensifying the four self-regulation skills already present in SRSD. This article provides practical examples for intensifying goal setting, self-monitoring, self-instructions, and self-reinforcement within the existing SRSD instructional approach.

This study examined the effects of peer-mediated oral reading fluency instruction and narrative texts on the reading fluency and comprehension skills of adolescent struggling readers in an alternative high school setting over a period of 10 weeks. The results of this study indicate that peer-mediated repeated reading appears to be the most effective intervention for this population of students. Considerations for future directions of research, along with limitations of the study, are discussed.

Choice-making is a strategy that can be implemented across varying age levels and abilities to target problem behavior as well as academic engagement/performance. It can be embedded within multitiered systems of support frameworks as an individual or group approach as well as a Tier 1 or 2 strategy, depending on students' need and response, thus requiring limited planning and resources on the part of educators. This article presents the systematic steps for implementing choice-making as well as a variety of choice options along with the process for adapting choice at Tier 1 and Tier 2. In addition, function-based choice-making is described and classroom-based illustrations of function-based choice provided.

To address the behavioral needs of youth in juvenile settings, many juvenile agencies and facilities have adopted a multitiered system of supports framework that is predicated on teaching, modeling, and reinforcing expected prosocial behaviors while making data-based decisions with the underlying logic of all (universal, tier one), some(targeted, tier two), and few (intensive, tier three). As the adoption and implementation of this framework has produced positive results (e.g., improved behaviors and increased engagement for youth, improved staff self-efficacy), it has been hypothesized that the tiered framework may be useful when applied to staff as well. Staff within these settings may experience stress and burnout given the facility context and the youth being served. We describe how the tiered framework can be used with staff to address their self-care needs along with some specific strategies per tier from the staff stress and burnout literature.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) exhibit behavioral and social challenges that affect their ability to access instruction in the classroom. Despite this, there is a paucity of research on reading interventions for students with E/BD. Recent researchers have demonstrated positive effects when pairing simple interventions to comprehensive reading programs. This study extends the literature base by building upon the tiered supports provided to a student with E/BD in a self-contained alternative education school and evaluating the effects of adding self-graphing before and self-graphing after reading multiple passages on oral reading fluency. Social validity and intrinsic motivation also were assessed with implications for practice and future directions discussed.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) and those with challenging behaviors are often served in alternative education (AE) settings due to behavior that interferes with their learning and the learning of others to a degree that warrants placement outside of the traditional, neighborhood school environment. Placement in AE settings, however, is temporary as it is expected that students will transition out of the AE setting and back to their neighborhood school. Therefore, it is necessary for district schools collaborating on the transition of students between alternative and traditional placements to plan for the successful integration or reintegration of students in the least restrictive environment. This paper details the collaboration of one school district considering the use of the school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) framework to assist in the integration and/or reintegration of students with behavioral challenges from the district alternative school to traditional middle school and vice versa.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differential classroom structure and efficacy reported by general and special educators at the elementary and secondary level. General and special educators (n = 774, return rate of 37%) from a large school district in the southeast US participated in the study. The participants completed a modified version of the Bender Classroom Structure Questionnaire in order to determine their use of cognitive strategies, management strategies, and individualized instructional strategies. In addition, the teachers completed a modified version of the Teacher Efficacy Scale to probe their efficacy in serving students with disabilities. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was conducted to determine level of variance within and between participants. Findings indicate differences in classroom structure between elementary and secondary settings and that special and general educators differed in their instructional practices. (Contains 5 tables.)

The purpose of this study was to extend the Great Leaps Reading Program (GLR) knowledge base by combining the fluency intervention of the GLR Program with a comprehension strategy. The participants were 59 first, second, and third grade students who were randomly assigned to one of two treatments. The Treatment group one received the GLR Program as it was designed. The Treatment group two received the GLR Program and a strategy for answering three comprehension questions. Over 15 weeks, students were provided with approximately 10 minutes of instruction twice a week. Pre- and post-test measures included the Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement III and the Test of Word Reading Efficiency. Analyses of variance indicated that Treatment one performed statistically better in the area of Broad Reading as compared to Treatment two. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of reading fluency and reading comprehension and whether the addition of a comprehension strategy is an efficient way of increasing student's reading fluency while also increasing reading comprehension skills. (Contains 2 tables.)

One possible behavioral strategy that could be used in juvenile facilities as a low-intensity tier two option for youth consistently presenting problem behaviors during their daily programming is a positive behavioral agreement (PBA). A PBA can be used by juvenile staff to "reset" a youth's behavioral path through a targeted, problem-solving conversation and explicit agreement on how both the youth and staff should address the problem behavior.