Initiative Forges Partnership to Reintegrate Youth

• NCJ Number: 174932
• Journal: School Safety (Winter 1997) Volume: Issue: Dated: Pages: 6-11
• Author(s): C Gilham; D Montesano; P McArthur; G Kruse; M Woodruff; C Lehman
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 6 pages
• Grant Number(s): 95-MU-MU-0032
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes how the Oregon Transition Support Initiative (OTSI) is building partnerships among communities, schools, and families to benefit adjudicated youth who are attempting to continue their education and their transition from the juvenile justice system back into mainstream life.

Abstract

The OTSI, through the Juvenile Corrections Education program in the Oregon Department of Education, facilitates a partnership between educators and State corrections personnel to address the reintegration of adjudicated youth into communities. This effort is team-based. The specific goal of the program is to reduce the number of students who violate their parole or probation. The program has four components: research, training, the Summer Institute, and the school model. The research has involved three pilot communities that agreed to participate in a multiple case study design to test and evaluate the programs and strategies designed to implement the OTSI. The training component focuses on the enhancement of the knowledge and skills of public school personnel who are responsible for providing educational programs and services to adjudicated youth who are returning from treatment programs and incarceration. During the planned 1997 Summer Institute, participating school district personnel will be instructed in the knowledge and skills necessary to work with adjudicated students, write curricula, and formulate team strategies for planning and assessment. The school-model component is conducted within the juvenile corrections facility and begins 24 hours after juveniles arrive at the facility. It begins the process of transition into the community. The school program is student-centered; open entry/open exit; collaborative; assessment-driven; and characterized by communication that emphasizes a safe and secure learning environment, assessment, prosocial communication, and prosocial behaviors for all students and staff. 11 notes