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DJC Newsletter September 2006 |
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underlined links to navigate through the newsletter. Highlight and print
selected portions.This issue of the DJC Newsletter focuses on informal supports given to youth as they transition from institution to the community. Model County Programs DJC will reserve space in each newsletter to highlight county
programs that are especially effective in promoting juvenile
accountability, competence building and public safety. If you have
a contribution for the next newsletter, please forward it to Janell
Lathrop at janell.lathrop@doc.state.wi.us no later than November 15,
2006. Thank you. |
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Over the past three years, the Division of Juvenile Corrections has been working on a major project to improve how youth transition from correctional institutions back to their home communities. Our work has included consultation with national experts, the development of "best practices" and procedures, staff training and informational sharing with the counties and service partners. The Division has developed several booklets that outline how the re-entry model is being implemented with youth as they leave an institution. The booklets provide an introduction, background information, guidelines, procedural steps and forms to guide in the implementation. The three toolkits are entitled: Best Practice Procedures for State Provided Aftercare DJC staff follow detailed procedures outlined in the Division’s Case Management manual. The Best Practices for State Provided Aftercare is intended as a shortened overview for counties that contract with the Division for aftercare services. The other toolkits have been written to guide case managers in counties that provide their own aftercare and for staff of residential care centers as they transition youth to a permanent placement. In recent months Division staff have attended DHFS regional meetings to brief supervisors on the re - entry initiative and distribute appropriate toolkits. The cornerstone of the Division’s new transition process is the incorporation of a 90-day structured Transition Phase for all DJC youth. Youth returning to counties with state – provided aftercare are assigned an agent that will guide them through the Transition Phase. Working with the youth and youth’s institution social worker, the agent focuses on specific re-entry steps that will promote continuity of programming and bridge youth to their next placement and eventually to their home community. The agent arranges Team Meetings and reach-in services designed to introduce youth to service providers and informal support systems prior to their departure from the correctional institutions. Much of this work is done with oversight by the Office of Juvenile Offender Review (OJOR). By making early linkages and collaborating with service providers and others, youth will be able to make a more successful return to the community. In addition to the "best practices" created, the production of a DVD illustrating components of the Transition Phase is now complete. The DVD is a great training tool to use with new and existing staff. Each county should have received their DVD by this time. If your county has not yet received their copy of the DVD, please contact Gretchen Kubnick at (608) 240-5915 or gretchen.kubnick@doc.state.wi.us to request one. The goal of the Division is to keep you informed about our work as we fully implement this re-entry protocol, and to invite you to use the transition process whenever possible. |
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The Going Home Project, carried out by DJC and county partners between July 2002 and July 2006, served youth age 14 to 25 years of age, adjudicated delinquent for serious and violent offenses and placed in a secure Juvenile Correctional Institution (JCI). Male and female Project youth returned to either Milwaukee or Brown counties. The Going Home Project enrolled a total of 125 youth. Of these youth, 23 were supervised by Brown County Human Services Department and 102 were supervised by the Division of Juvenile Corrections. Phase One (The Institution Phase), which occurred while the youth was in a secured Juvenile Correctional Institution (JCI), was projected to be 120 days in length. In practice the Division served 125 youth with an average stay of 177 days in Phase One. There was one (1) youth that remained in Phase One until he was terminated from the project due to relocating to a county that was not served by the Going Home Project. The youth moved into Phase Two-A (The Institution Based Transition Phase) 90 days prior to release, and followed with Phase Two-B (The Community Based Transition Phase) projected to be another 90 days. Throughout the project, Phase Two-A averaged 112 days and Phase Two-B 196 days. At the end of the project there were two (2) youth that remained in Phase Two-A in the institution and fifty-nine (59) youth that were released to Phase Two-B but never progressed into Phase Three and stabilized. Phase Three (The Stabilization Phase), is characterized by a transfer of support and oversight from formal to informal mechanisms. Throughout the project there were sixty-three (63) youth that progressed to Phase Three of the Going Home Project. Phase Three averaged 172 days in length. On June 30, 2006, the Department of Corrections had 125 youth who completed the Going Home Project for the following reasons:
·
93 had
graduated successfully from the program; Fourteen of the 31 terminated youth offenders were charged for a new adult crime resulting in a prison or jail sentence or adult probation, within one year of release from a Juvenile Correctional Institution. With the 93 youth that graduated successfully from the program, the Going Home Project saw a 74.4% success rate with youth through the additional support they received during and after incarceration. During the last reporting period of 2005, DJC secured supplemental funding in the amount of $274,847 to hire an employment specialist. The specialist worked to enhance the process of connecting the youth to employment upon release into the community. The program components included:
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Work
Experience (WE) is
a 12 week subsidized meaningful work experience for correctional clients
to assist them in moving into regular employment. The employer agrees
to employ the individual in a permanent position, after a three-month on
the job training period is successfully completed. In addition to receiving a quality employee, there are other benefits to employers who partner with DJC to train and place our youth in employment opportunities. These benefits include;
·
Bonding –
serves as an insurance to protect employer against employee dishonesty,
stealing, theft, larceny and embezzlement. The Division of Juvenile Corrections is committed to sustaining the key elements of the re - entry initiative throughout the Division. Building on the strengths of existing programs and services available both within DJC and in the community, the Going Home project provided an opportunity to transform those strengths into a mission focused on safe and successful return of the youth to the community. The Going Home project was the catalyst for existing agencies and programs to re-assess their mission and practices toward collaboration and promoting effective re - entry of youth to the community. The Going Home project also created new opportunities for state and county collaboration in this mission. |
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Teachers Participation in Transition As a youth nears his or her departure from a correctional facility, transition meetings are taking place to make sure the needs of each youth will be fully met. One of the key personnel involved in these meetings is a youth’s teacher. Teachers are able to provide information for how to best meet the needs of the youth that may not otherwise be given during the transition meeting. Pam Richter - Boss, a teacher at Southern Oaks Girls School, has been fortunate enough to sit in on several of these meetings already. Pam states that the youth are less anxious about their transition into the community school by being involved in these transition meetings. By sitting in on the meetings herself, Pam is able to communicate the classroom strengths of the youth, and the educational needs for each youth. Overall, teacher input has promoted more effective transition team meetings. At Ethan Allen School, teacher Lynn Lindahl has been able to see the success from the transition meetings continue into the classroom. Once the meeting has taken place, youth are able to continue asking questions or addressing concerns with the teacher in the classroom. Lynn states that youth are proud to share their school successes with the Transition Team. In addition, Lynn is proud to be able to be an integral part of successful transition back to the community for the youth she teaches in the classroom. When youth realize that others have an interest in their successful transition back to the community, they become more interested in what they do inside of the classroom, according to Lincoln Hills School teacher Jane Sweeney. As someone who has daily contact with youth, teachers can be a very important piece of the puzzle at transition meetings. Not only can they discuss relevant information at the meeting, but the youth can also discuss the results of the meeting with the teacher upon its conclusion. While the scheduling has been challenging given DJC’s year round daily school schedule, it is obvious that teachers and youth are seeing the benefits from teacher participation in the transition meetings. As this program continues to grow, so will the positive outcomes that have begun already by teachers participating in the transition meetings. If a county correctional liaison wants a JCI teacher to participate in a youth’s Transition Team, contact the JCI Educational Director as listed below.
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Informal Institution Connections Courtesy of Pat Ogren, Superintendent, Southern Oaks Girls School Almost all of the girls at Southern Oaks Girls School who have family available receive family counseling through Clinical Services, in person but most often over the telephone. From the day a girl arrives, showing her family the facility and living unit is encouraged. Family visits are often frequented by staff working with the girl. Creating Lasting Families, though somewhat formal in nature, really builds family supports. Every girl at Southern Oaks has a mentor. Mentors are trained and oriented in professional ways to share with the girls and to assist the girls in independent decision making. They are consistent in their visiting patterns, and involved in other aspects of the institution such as Special Person's Banquet, graduations, and Girl Scout Ceremony attendance. Correspondence mentoring was introduced in 1994. Girls correspond anonymously with specially chosen mentors throughout the state. Mentoring has the ability to carry on once a girl is released. Clergy from home are encouraged to visit girls who have ties of any kind. Maranatha and New Tribes, both religious four year colleges, provide mentors on a regular basis. |
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Informal Institution Connections Courtesy of Reverend David Spong David and Judy Spong, J.O.Y. Ministries, have been an integral part of the Southern Oaks Girls School Program since October, 1994. They serve the spiritual needs of the youth placed in SOGS care with unwavering dedication. They coordinate and / or provide religious services, individual and group counseling including bereavement counseling, and mentors. Approaches are both interdenominational and very specialized to meet the unique needs of the girls. In total, David and Judy recruit and coordinate approximately 125 volunteers from a variety of churches that help serve the spiritual needs of the girls. David submitted this perspective on the role of a FBO in supporting youth in transition. A faith based organization (FBO) is uniquely situated to provide ongoing individual nonprofessional therapy for a youth that is in transition. Most faith based entities can and do have access within their immediate community to such important services as anger management, domestic violence, gang awareness programs, substance abuse counseling, parenting, aftercare programming, mentoring, etc. A FBO understands the importance of gender specific help and programming, thus behavioral issues tend to be treated in a positive manner, always with the intended goals of molding the youth into being a properly functioning member of society. The interim objectives are to create, challenge, build self - confidence, encourage proper social behavior, offer friendship, confront negative behavior and attitudes, teach by example, provide growth experiences, offer wise counsel, and encourage a winning life style. Faith based organizations being intrinsically involved on a daily basis with their immediate surrounding area have a finger on the pulse of the community, which allows for an easy transition of the student to either school or work, often with the FBO helping to find the job. Research over the decade of Southern Oaks existence tells us that most of the juvenile offenders genuinely seek to change their lives; the problem is that they have not previously had the support or skills to make the much needed change. Within the programming structure of most FBO’s, the ability to speak directly to those issues is easily accomplished, yet sadly these readily available resources are for the most part ignored. One of the highlights of a FBO’s involvement with juveniles is the concept of nonjudgmental mentoring. An FBO structured mentoring program takes on a life of its own. This generally occurs because it is of necessity gender specific. Also to be effective the mentor should be of a close age to the student. The program acknowledges that the lives of female offenders in all probability have been severely affected by sexism, which is exhibited in various forms, meaning less power and fewer options for them in society in general. A good well founded local FBO mentoring program provides a methodology to impart life skills and hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. A FBO is only a phone call away! |
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Training Opportunities Juvenile Court Intake Worker Training Opportunities Basic Juvenile Court Intake Worker Training September 11 – 15, 2006, Wisconsin Dells FULL November 13 – 17, 2006, Manitowoc January 2007, Wisconsin Dells April 2007, Jefferson County Workforce Development Center June 2007, Eau Claire For
registration information, contact Kim Boldon, Waukesha County DHHS at
(262) 548-7336 Juvenile Court Intake Worker Training Opportunities WJCIA / WJOA 2006 Conference September 27 - 29, 2006 Chula Vista Resort & Conference Center Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin For more information, contact Dave Boehm, Executive Director, at (262) 377.8675 or dboehm2@wi.rr.com
January 20 - 24, 2007 Tampa, Florida For more information, contact ACA at 1.800.222.5646 or http://www.aca.org/conferences/winter07/ October 25, 2006 Madison, Wisconsin For registration information, contact Elaine Olson at (608) 240-5922, elaine.olson@doc.state.wi.us or Gretchen Kubnick at 608-240-5915 gretchen.kubnick@doc.state.wi.us |
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Janell Lathrop accepts Juvenile Services Specialist Position Administrator Charles Tubbs announced that Janell Lathrop has been appointed as the Juvenile Services Specialist to provide technical assistance and consultation on juvenile justice and related community programming to Directors and Supervisors in County Department of Human / Social Services. She will serve as one of the statewide trainers of the Juvenile Classification System and provide introductory and update training on treatment and services in support of local juvenile justice programs and services. Janell will provide training and technical assistance to county intensive supervision programs, and coordinate the Division Newsletter and other electronic communications to counties. To begin, Janell will be contacting the Intensive Supervision Program Supervisors to determine what training and programming needs they currently have, as well as updating statewide information on how ISP is used in each county. If you have any questions before she contacts your ISP Supervisors, please do not hesitate to contact her at any time. Janell hopes to schedule a meeting of the ISP Workgroup in early September. Over the past two years, Janell has served as the School to Work Coordinator and Marketing Educator at the high school level in Verona, Wisconsin. While there, she taught marketing related courses, assisted students in work related issues, and oversaw multiple grants. Prior to taking that position, she was a Marketing and Business Educator at Ethan Allen School. Janell is available to provide training on the Division’s Juvenile Classification, Risk and Needs Assessment and its value in helping staff allocate services most efficiently. Please contact Janell directly at (608) 240-5938 or janell.lathrop@doc.state.wi.us if you have any questions. |
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D Steward is new Employment Programs Coordinator Administrator Charles Tubbs announced that D Steward has taken the position of Employment Programs Coordinator. His position is based out of Ethan Allen School and D’s work phone number is (262) 646-3341, ext. 674. D will be responsible for assessing and placing youth in employment and educational programs in the community. He will work in cooperation with the UW Systems and Technical Schools, Division of Community Corrections, Department of Workforce Development, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, community employers and other local and state entities. For the past year, D held the project position of Employment Programs Coordinator with the Division of Juvenile Corrections’ Going Home project. Prior to this, D served as Vocational Coordinator with St. Charles Youth and Family Services. He was responsible for teaching job readiness skills to at-risk teens. |