PbS

Named a finalist in the corrections category for the 2022 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award, Juvenile Corrections Center- Lewiston (JCC-Lewiston) made remarkable and significant progress reducing suicidal and self-injury behaviors of young people in residential care.

The focus on reducing self-harm and suicidal ideation became an immediate priority for JCC-Lewiston, a facility for 27 young men, ages 13-21, located near Idaho’s upper northwest boarder with Washington state. JCC’s own site-specific initiatives showed inconsistent results in meeting field average safety standards over the course of several years. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), incarcerated young people die by suicide at a rate two to three times higher than that of young people in the general population.

The team at JCC-Lewiston recognized that suicidal and self-harm behaviors often have a ripple effect in a facility, starting with one young person and spreading through the building. Because of this, staff knew they had to get ahead of the issue by taking a proactive versus a reactive approach.

Through discussions with the young people in the facility, staff feedback and data analysis, the team at JCC-Lewiston made two determinations: Certain types of activities and offerings reduce the risk of self-harm and suicidal ideation and specific locations and times of day increase the risk of self-harm and suicidal ideation. Equipped with this information, staff specifically focused on the living quarters of young people between the hours of 9-11pm with the goal of augmenting activities, opportunities and engagement to reduce both the severity and frequency of harmful behaviors.

To create sustainable change, the team at JCC-Lewiston formed a committee to brainstorm and gather ideas, leading to the creation of a 60-day incentive challenge with incremental individual and group rewards. Items such as candy, bouncy balls and pencil toppers were awarded to young people who kept themselves safe on a weekly basis. After 15 days, groups could earn collective awards such as longer showers or sleeping in. At 30 days, groups earned snacks and drinks, with a movie in pajamas added in at 45 days, and Little Caesars pizza and soda at day 60.

Upon successful completion of the 60-day challenge by all groups, all young people were rewarded with a field day in the recreation yard with games and activities. The challenge reoccurred throughout the year, allowing for each group to earn the top reward, keeping each young person engaged and invested on a personal level, but also as part of a group and a community.

Through this process, staff noticed that young people began to take proactive steps in managing their emotions by using coping skills and communicating when they needed additional resources. The team at JCC-Lewiston emphasized that these proactive steps were paramount to the success of the incentive challenge and noticed young people checking in one each other, especially before heading to bed.

What’s more, PbS data reports showed the incidents of self-harm and suicidal behavior at JCC-Lewiston dropped significantly after these changes were implemented. Congratulations to the team at JCC-Lewiston for their success! We applaud your dedication and commitment to the safety and well-being of every young person in your care.

The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Her dedication to improving the quality of life in facilities has helped drive PbS to its current success. The award is given to a correction, detention/assessment and community program who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating every young person as one of our own by developing and implementing strategic plans aimed at creating positive outcomes for young people, staff and families.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

This week’s 2022 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight is a spoken poem titled "Destiny" from Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center. Delivered with confidence and poise, without added dramatic flair that would have detracted from the spare prose, the words conveyed a message that lingered long after this talented young writer delivered the final line.

Or perhaps it was the final line that summed up the impactful presentation: “As I come to a close, I want you all to remember that we’re all like a flame stuck inside a cage, put out in the midday and relit in the winter phase.”

We want to thank this talented finalist for sharing his words with us and for encouraging us to think deeply and ask questions. One impressed Talent Contest Selection Committee member remarked about the young writer, “The space you’ve created here for your audience to analyze the ideas of fate and destiny are wonderful. Great artists make you think and question—you did just that!”

Watch the video here.

The annual PbS Kids Got Talent Contest invites all young people in Performance-based Standards (PbS) facilities and programs across the country to submit their talents for a chance to show off their skills. This year, we received 55 entries from 63 young people in 8 states and 22 different facilities. After careful consideration, 12 finalist performances were selected and shared with the Kids Got Talent Selection Committee.

Each of the 12 performances will be featured in the 2022 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight blog over the coming weeks as our committee determines a solo winner and a group winner. The winners will be selected based on creativity, stage presence and talent. The winning soloist will perform live at the PbS Awards Night in August.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

Nashville, TN — Performance-based Standards (PbS) held their annual PbS Awards Night on Aug. 13, 2021, honoring and celebrating the many efforts of our juvenile justice partners to improve the lives and opportunities of young people in their care.

The PbS Awards Night — sponsored by the PbS Education and Employment Foundation — announces the recipients of the PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award, which is given to correction, detention, assessment and community residential programs who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own. The winners are selected for demonstrating extraordinary leadership and commitment to ensuring safe and healthy facility cultures, effective programming and achieving positive outcomes for young people, staff and families using data as the foundation for making and sustaining positive changes. PbS is pleased to announce the finalists of the 2021 PbS Awards:

2021 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award Finalist – Correction: Ferris School, Wilmington, DE

2021 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award Finalist – Correction: North Dakota Youth Correctional Center, Mandan, ND

2021 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award Finalist – Detention and Assessment: Maricopa County Juvenile Detention Center – Durango, Phoenix, AZ

The winners of the 2021 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award are aspirational leaders in the field that have gone above and beyond to embed that founding belief and met the challenges of the pandemic, staff shortages and increasingly complex needs of young people. The winners of the Award honored at the PbS Awards Night are:

2021 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award Winner – Correction: Naselle Youth Camp, Naselle, WA

2021 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award Winner – Detention and Assessment: Illinois Youth Center – Warrenville Reception, Naperville, IL

The PbS Awards Night also celebrates the recipients of the PbS Education and Employment Foundation's three awards — the Scholarship, Employment Matching and Reentry Awards — established to help young people finish college degrees or earn credits, gain job skills and work experience and purchase basic living necessities when they leave residential placements.

The evening ended with the highlight of the night, a spectacular live performance by the 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent contest winner from Green Hill School in Chehalis. This year and despite the many challenges, there were many outstanding entries – 37 entries from 40 young people in 14 juvenile justice facilities across 13 states – who showcased their many and varied talents.

For more information about the PbS Awards, please visit www.pbstandards.org/awards.

About PbS

Since 1995, Performance-based Standards’ (PbS) has worked with juvenile justice agencies across the country with the simple theory: the best way to turn around young lives is to treat all youths in custody as one of our own. Our work has integrated research into daily practices in facilities that ensure young people are safe, the programming is effective and the culture is healthy and nurturing. We do this through national standards and performance outcome measures. The vast majority of young people incarcerated come from communities of color and have faced disadvantages of violence, poverty, homelessness, abuse, unemployment and trauma that led to their incarceration. We believe every young person deserves the chance to succeed.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight: Green Hill School

PbS is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest from Green Hill School: two original songs, a group original performance and a moving spoken word performance.

Congratulations on becoming finalists and thank you for sharing your talents!

View the “Explicame” video here. View the “Last Minute” video here. View the “Hardaway” video here. View the spoken word video here.

The annual PbS Kids Got Talent Contest invites all youths in PbS facilities and programs across the country to submit their talents for a chance to show off their skills. This year, Performance-based Standards (PbS) received 40 entries and the competition was extremely tough. After careful consideration, 12 finalist performances from 7 PbS facilities were selected and shared with the Kids Got Talent Contest Judges Panel.

Each of the 12 performances will be featured in their facility’s 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight blog over the coming weeks as our judges determine a solo winner and a group winner. The winners will be selected based on creativity, stage presence and talent.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

Maricopa County Juvenile Detention Center- Durango has been named as a finalist in the detention and assessment category for the 2021 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award for reducing isolation and confinement in their facility.

In 2017, the Durango facility team implemented policy and practice changes aimed at reducing the average time youths spent confined to their rooms. A growing body of research and experience was demonstrating the negative impact of isolation and confinement on mental and physical health. At Durango, the use of the practices as punishment was not showing effective results and was at odds with their vision to establish a stabilized and supportive culture that had long-term impact.

The changes initially led to an increase in staff fearing for their safety, which the Durango team was prepared for. They quickly created an improvement plan to ease staff fear and persevered. They established feedback channels and safety and behavior management committees, as well as held numerous conversations with staff and youths. They saw the culture shift to focus on relationship-building and programming for the youths.

The efforts to reduce staff fear helped the Durango team meet two recent challenges: the pandemic and the transfer of youths and staff from a nearby facility that was closed. They took this transition as an opportunity to strengthen their improvement plan. The team made a conscious and deliberate effort to create an environment of open communication and embed the feedback and conversations into practice. Being under one roof meant that the team could coordinate a schedule for staff and supervisors that allowed for longer hours of overlap of staff between daily shifts. They found that the additional staffing decreased staff burnout, enhanced staff presence on the floor and increased opportunities for youth engagement. As a result of the changes the number of hands-on incidents decreased, as did staff and youth injuries. Ultimately this generated an environment where both staff and youths felt safe and supported.

The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Her dedication to improving the quality of life in facilities has helped drive PbS to its current success. The award is given to a correction, detention/assessment and community program who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own by developing and implementing strategic plans to change practices that results in positive outcomes for youths, staff and families.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight: Lincoln Hills School

PbS is pleased to announce an original song as the finalist for the 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest from Lincoln Hills School.

Congratulations on becoming a finalist and thank you for sharing your talent!

View the video here.

The annual PbS Kids Got Talent Contest invites all youths in PbS facilities and programs across the country to submit their talents for a chance to show off their skills. This year, Performance-based Standards (PbS) received 40 entries and the competition was extremely tough. After careful consideration, 12 finalist performances from 7 PbS facilities were selected and shared with the Kids Got Talent Contest Judges Panel.

Each of the 12 performances will be featured in their facility’s 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight blog over the coming weeks as our judges determine a solo winner and a group winner. The winners will be selected based on creativity, stage presence and talent.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight: South Carolina Juvenile Detention Center

PbS is pleased to present a cover of Luke Combs’ “Better Together” as a finalist for the 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest from South Carolina Juvenile Detention Center.

Thanks for sharing your talent and congratulations on becoming a finalist!

View the video here.

The annual PbS Kids Got Talent Contest invites all youths in PbS facilities and programs across the country to submit their talents for a chance to show off their skills. This year, Performance-based Standards (PbS) received 40 entries and the competition was extremely tough. After careful consideration, 12 finalist performances from 7 PbS facilities were selected and shared with the Kids Got Talent Contest Judges Panel.

Each of the 12 performances will be featured in their facility’s 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight blog over the coming weeks as our judges determine a solo winner and a group winner. The winners will be selected based on creativity, stage presence and talent.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight: Broad River Road Complex

PbS is delighted to call this artistry from Broad River Road Complex a finalist for the 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest!

Thank you for sharing your talent with us and congratulations on becoming a finalist!

View the artwork here.

The annual PbS Kids Got Talent Contest invites all youths in PbS facilities and programs across the country to submit their talents for a chance to show off their skills. This year, Performance-based Standards (PbS) received 40 entries and the competition was extremely tough. After careful consideration, 12 finalist performances from 7 PbS facilities were selected and shared with the Kids Got Talent Contest Judges Panel.

Each of the 12 performances will be featured in their facility’s 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight blog over the coming weeks as our judges determine a solo winner and a group winner. The winners will be selected based on creativity, stage presence and talent.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

Employment assistance is listed by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) as one of the keys to turning around the lives of young people involved with juvenile justice systems. A meaningful job can be the critical lifeline a young person needs to pay their bills and establish themselves yet the majority of youths leaving juvenile justice programs face significant barriers to finding and keeping employment – largely due to their system involvement. Most come from disadvantaged backgrounds and have not had opportunities to develop the skills and work experience needed to find gainful employment.

To promote and support such opportunities for young people with lived experience in juvenile justice, the PbS Employment Matching Award was created in 2017. Each year young people living in PbS participating facilities and programs can apply to double their wages earned between June-Sept. 1. This year, all who applied – two from each of the following facilities – were named award recipients:

Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center, OK

Green Hill School, WA

Kenneth Rubenstein Center, WV

Each applicant submitted an essay in which they described their professional goals, as well as how they plan to achieve them. One young man wrote about his desire to open his own farm-to-table restaurant. He is employed at a local eatery where he is gaining food preparation and customer service expertise. Another young man dreams of joining the Air Force and wrote about how his job at a clothing company is helping to prepare him by teaching him “patience, assembly line work and quick thinking.”

In addition to extending our congratulations to the six recipients, we would also like to acknowledge the juvenile justice, business and community leaders connecting these young people with work opportunities. To learn more about how you can support real second chances, visit the PbS Education and Employment Foundation website.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

Naselle Youth Camp (NYC) has been named as a finalist in the correction category for the 2021 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award for their work in reducing confinement and shifting to a culture where youths are rarely in their rooms and never sent there as punishment.

Starting in 2017 the staff at NYC decided to take on a “lingering” practice from earlier days: putting the young men in their care in their rooms as punishment for non-egregious behaviors such as acting out in school or refusing to participate in programming. Their PbS data showed that the use of room confinement and isolation at NYC was out of alignment with agency behavior intervention practices and policies, which promoted strengths-based, youth-centered care. The practice was also noticeably higher than the PbS field average for similar participating facilities. Like all reform initiatives that address well-established practices, the change required leadership, planning, communication and support.

NYC’s PbS team took a multi-pronged approach to reduce the use of room confinement and eliminate it as punishment. They realized the practice had become a deeply ingrained first response habit and it resulted in youths missing opportunities to socialize, practice community skills and further their education. The team focused on helping staff understand the negative consequences and risks of putting youths in their rooms and benefits of taking the time to better understand the strengths and struggles of the young men in their care and engaging them in programming instead. Responding to the staff concern that a “tool” was being taken away from them, NYC leadership provided staff training on alternative techniques to address acting out behaviors and build trust and respect with the youths. A new position was created ensuring that one staff member was available as needed to work with any individual who was struggling or acting out in school, giving him the time to calm down so he could return to class instead of being sent to his room. The practice of making youths eat in their rooms as punishment was also stopped to demonstrate that the change did not result in any negative consequences, in fact it promoted more positive outcomes. The team also doubled down on policy requirements limiting the use of room confinement to one per incident and increased reporting of incidents to track efforts made to avoid the use of room confinement. They also engaged staff in creating alternatives and new programming to engage the young men and coach them when they were in distress. Staff suggested and developed incentives for the youths, established new cultural programs including Native American drumming and they began to see and feel change.

The data was proof that the culture had shifted: in October 2020 NYC’s use of room confinement was below the national field average.

The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Her dedication to improving the quality of life in facilities has helped drive PbS to its current success. The award is given to a correction, detention/assessment and community program who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own by developing and implementing strategic plans to change practices that results in positive outcomes for youths, staff and families.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight: Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility

We are pleased to present an original vocal performance and a duo dance to the theme song to “Max and Ruby” as the finalists for the 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest from Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility.

Thanks for sharing your talents and congratulations on becoming finalists!

View the original song “Pain Still Hurt” here.

View the “Max and Ruby” dance here.

The annual PbS Kids Got Talent Contest invites all youths in PbS facilities and programs across the country to submit their talents for a chance to show off their skills. This year, Performance-based Standards (PbS) received 40 entries and the competition was extremely tough. After careful consideration, 12 finalist performances from 7 PbS facilities were selected and shared with the Kids Got Talent Contest Judges Panel.

Each of the 12 performances will be featured in their facility’s 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight blog over the coming weeks as our judges determine a solo winner and a group winner. The winners will be selected based on creativity, stage presence and talent.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight: Ferris School

PbS is pleased to present a duo performing an original song for the 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest from Ferris School.

Thank you for sharing your talents with us and congratulations on becoming finalists!

View the video here.

The annual PbS Kids Got Talent Contest invites all youths in PbS facilities and programs across the country to submit their talents for a chance to show off their skills. This year, Performance-based Standards (PbS) received 40 entries and the competition was extremely tough. After careful consideration, 12 finalist performances from 7 PbS facilities were selected and shared with the Kids Got Talent Contest Judges Panel.

Each of the 12 performances will be featured in their facility’s 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight blog over the coming weeks as our judges determine a solo winner and a group winner. The winners will be selected based on creativity, stage presence and talent.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

North Dakota Youth Correctional Center (NDYCC) has been named as a finalist in the correction category for the 2021 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award for developing an enhanced culture of safety and a supportive environment in their facility.

In recent years, NDYCC has focused their improvement efforts on fostering a safe and rehabilitative environment that best serves their youths. In particular, the team turned their attention to reducing the use of restraints by adopting and implementing a model to enhance a culture that prioritized healthy relationships, trust, dignity and respect.

Staff were trained and re-educated on early intervention, de-escalation and prevention methods using elements of the Mandt system to build a professional rapport with youths. Low staff to youth ratios were also implemented ? sometimes as low as one staff to every two youths ? to create ample opportunities for staff-youth engagement, early intervention and active supervision.

Staff discussions around restraints were critical for examining what worked and what didn’t. “’We are obligated to ask ourselves: What could have prevented the use of this restraint? What are the teachable moments for self-regulation, conflict resolution and healthy rapport with staff? How can we prevent this scenario from happening again in the future?’” said Courtney Staub, the site’s quality assurance manager and PbS site coordinator. The team also reduced isolation and found that it also resulted in a reduction in the use of restraints, creating positive outcomes for both youths and staff.

The NDYCC team also made improvements to their intake process to accurately assess and understand each youths’ individual mental, physical and psychological needs. Staff also complete a de-escalation preference form with every youth to identify their individual coping skills, triggers, preference of staff gender when experiencing crisis, any history of trauma and additional input from the youth to ensure their level of comfort and feeling of safety during their stay at NDYCC.

The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Her dedication to improving the quality of life in facilities has helped drive PbS to its current success. The award is given to a correction, detention/assessment and community program who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own by developing and implementing strategic plans to change practices that results in positive outcomes for youths, staff and families.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) made a June 2021 update to its guidance for juvenile justice facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In part provided by Performance-based Standards (PbS), the recommendations relate to Title II Formula Grants Program compliance monitoring, COVID-19 health and safety risk mitigation; reentry and community-based services; punitive isolation vs. medical isolation; PPE, vaccinations and testing; programming and education; and visitation and access to legal counsel.

Visit our website to learn more about how PbS is responding to the pandemic.

2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight: Maricopa County Juvenile Detention Center - Durango

We are thrilled to present a brilliant cover of “All of My Love” by Led Zeppelin on the keyboard and an outstanding original vocal performance from Maricopa County Juvenile Detention Center – Durango.

Thank you for sharing your talents and congratulations on becoming finalists!

View the video for "All of My Love" here.

View the video for an original vocal performance here.

The annual PbS Kids Got Talent Contest invites all youths in PbS facilities and programs across the country to submit their talents for a chance to show off their skills. This year, Performance-based Standards (PbS) received 40 entries and the competition was extremely tough. After careful consideration, 12 finalist performances from 6 PbS facilities were selected and shared with the Kids Got Talent Contest Judge Panel.

Each of the 12 performances will be featured in their facility’s 2021 PbS Kids Got Talent Contest Finalist Spotlight blog over the coming weeks as our judges determine a solo winner and a group winner. The winners will be selected based on creativity, stage presence and talent.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

Launched in 2015, the annual Performance-based Standards (PbS) Kids Got Talent Contest celebrates and showcases the many and varied talents of young people in juvenile justice facilities. Despite the many challenges and obstacles the year brought, PbS received many outstanding entries as talented young people weren’t going to let the pandemic stop them from sharing their impressive skills.

After careful consideration, the internal PbS judging team selected 12 awesome performances as finalists for the Kids Got Talent Contest Judge Panel. PbS will not publish the youths’ names to respect and protect their privacy but they include:

• • An original vocal performance from Maricopa County Juvenile Detention Center - Durango, Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Department
• • A cover of "All of My Love" by Led Zeppelin on the keyboard from Maricopa County Juvenile Detention Center - Durango, Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Department
• • A duo performing an original song called "Dear Mama" from Ferris School, Delaware Youth Rehabilitative Services Division
• • An original song from Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility, Ohio Department of Youth Services
• • A duo hip hop dance to the theme of “Max and Ruby” from Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility, Ohio Department of Youth Services
• • Original artwork from Broad River Road Complex, South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice
• • A cover of "Better Together" by Luke Combs from South Carolina Juvenile Detention Center, South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice
• • A solo artist performs an original song “Explicame” from Green Hill School, Washington Juvenile Justice and Rehabilitation Administration
• • A group perform an original song called “Last Minute” from Green Hill School, Washington Juvenile Justice and Rehabilitation Administration
• • A solo artist performs an original song “Hardaway” from Green Hill School, Washington Juvenile Justice and Rehabilitation Administration
• • A spoken word poem from Green Hill School, Washington Juvenile Justice and Rehabilitation Administration
• • An original artist performs from Lincoln Hills School, Wisconsin Division of Juvenile Corrections

Congratulations to the finalists and all performers. Stay tuned for spotlights on each of the performances over the coming weeks.

Thank you to all the facility staff and agency directors who supported the youths throughout this process. We appreciate your encouragement and dedication.

A big thank you also to our judges:

• • Andrea Coleman, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
• • Camille Germinal, Summer Intern, Justice Policy Institute
• • Patrick Griffin, Senior Program Officer, Criminal Justice, MacArthur Foundation
• • Ridha Kapoor, Policy and Field Relations Associate, Coalition for Juvenile Justice
• • Samantha Millar, Communications Intern, Justice Policy Institute
• • Gail D. Mumford, Senior Associate, Annie E. Casey Foundation
• • Maggie Peake, Musician
• • Marc Schindler, Executive Director, Justice Policy Institute

Ferris School in Wilmington, DE has been named as a finalist in the correction category for the 2021 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award for their impressive work creating a safer environment for staff and young people in their care.

A thorough review of their data collected in PbS over a couple of years enabled the Facility Improvement Plan (FIP) team at Ferris School to identify areas where they could reduce assaults, fights and improve staff and youth safety. The team got to work on the buy-in portion of the FIP by laying the foundation of trust and transparency. They first implemented a system for staff to provide anonymous and honest feedback along with the reassurance that their concerns would be listened to and addressed.

The challenges brought on by the pandemic amplified the importance of safety for all at the facility and the need to feel supported and connected. The team at Ferris School took on each challenge and found opportunities to improve their approach to make their staff and youths feel secure and engaged. Staff devised ways that youths could receive positive recognition and extra incentives for following new safety and hygiene protocols. The team also ensured that every young person was able to connect with their family on a weekly basis using tools such as FaceTime and Google Duo and quickly created ways to deliver remote learning, with many of the staff learning and adapting to new digital tools. With an emphasis on safety, strategic improvements were made to staff training processes and the Morale Committee developed a number of staff appreciation programs and morale boosting events. Additionally, Superintendent Tanya Banks convened two building-wide forums to give staff an opportunity to openly discuss and share their thoughts and feelings on the current social and political themes taking place in the country, in addition to the hardships they were experiencing with the pandemic.

The team at Ferris School plans to continue to encourage open dialogue with all team members to sustain the positive changes. Site Coordinator George Iannetta says one of the things he is most proud of is: “The fact that we were able to maintain some sense of normalcy within this building and our residence during this abnormal time in the world.”

The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Her dedication to improving the quality of life in facilities has helped drive PbS to its current success. The award is given to a correction, detention/assessment and community program who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own by developing and implementing strategic plans to change practices that results in positive outcomes for youths, staff and families.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

Performance-based Standards (PbS) is very proud to announce the finalists for the 2021 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award that recognizes facilities that best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own. We were pleased to receive several applications this year – all using PbS’ data-driven improvement model to develop and implement strategic plans that changed their practices and services.

The five finalists presented thorough facility improvement plans that have been their focus for a combined 20 years. Not only did each address and overcome an obstacle, but they successfully navigated the additional health and safety challenges brought on by the pandemic.

The 2021 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award Finalists are:

Correction Category

• Ferris School, Wilmington, DE: Assistant Superintendent George Iannetta, Superintendent Tanya Banks, Deputy Director Renee Ciconte and Delaware Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services Director John Stevenson
• Naselle Youth Camp, Naselle, WA: Facilities Administrator Chris Dorman, Mental Health Treatment Coordinator Heather Brainard, Superintendent Pat Escamilla, Institution Program Administrator Debbie Lyne and Washington Juvenile Rehabilitation Interim Assistant Secretary Rebecca Kelly
• North Dakota Youth Correctional Center, Mandan, ND: Quality Assurance Manager Courtney Staub, Director of YCC Tim Tausend, Quality Assurance Administrator Casey Traynor and North Dakota Division of Juvenile Services Director Lisa Bjergaard

Detention and Assessment Category

• Illinois Youth Center- Warrenville Reception, Naperville, IL: Clinical Services Supervisor Cherryl Holliday, Superintendent Lynette Pangburn, Interim Public Information Officer/Senior Policy Advisor Omar Jamil and Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice Director Heidi Mueller
• Maricopa County Juvenile Detention Center- Durango, Phoenix, AZ: Operations Manager Bryan LaBrake, Deputy Chief of Detention Services Bureau Michaella Heslin and Maricopa County Juvenile Chief of Probation Eric Meaux

Stay tuned over the summer for spotlight blogs about the finalists' impressive work.

Award winners and finalists will be celebrated during the PbS Annual Awards Night on Aug. 13, 2021 in Nashville, TN.

The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Her dedication to improving the quality of life in facilities has helped drive PbS to its current success. The award is given to a correction, detention/assessment and community program who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own by developing and implementing strategic plans to change practices that results in positive outcomes for youths, staff and families.

This article was originally published on the PbS blog.

April 26-30 was National Reentry Week!

The National Reentry Resource Center in partnership with the Second Chance Act technical assistance providers, presented a series of live webinars to educate and raise awareness about reentry.

The weeklong event included a presentation by PbS Executive Director Kim Godfrey Lovett on: "Putting Research into Practice: Giving Youths Real Second Chances." The webinar presentation provides an overview of PbS’ findings from the Juvenile Reentry Measurement Standards project, a collaboration between the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and PbS Learning Institute.

The webinar is available now! Read more on our blog.

PbS has partnered with Handel IT to integrate PbS data with facilities’ daily operational data on RiteTrack. RiteTrack is a web-based software solution developed specifically for juvenile facilities, to log data such as incident reports, case notes, clinical data and other important operational documentation. PbS participants will now also be able to automatically submit their biannual reports directly to PbS through the RiteTrack plaform.

Want to find out more? Join us for a 30-minute webinar with the PbS and RiteTrack team to understand how integrating the data from these two systems will benefit your facility in improved youth care and optimal facility management.

When: Wednesday, April 7, 2021, 2 p.m. EDT

Register now: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1182878111233293837

PbS is honoring the many amazing women who have made a difference in America’s juvenile justice systems.

• We are proud to share some of these remarkable women's stories on our blog. Check back regularly; we'll be posting throughout the month.
• Please also join us on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at 2 pm ET/11 am PT for a live webinar panel discussion, "Moving Juvenile Justice Forward?—Women's Perspectives." Register now!

Performance-based Standards (PbS) is pleased to announce the winner of the 2020 PbS Youth Art Contest. In honor of PbS’ 25th anniversary, youths were asked to share their thoughts on success with art and a short companion essay and the winner was selected based on how well the piece reflected the theme of success. PbS received 48 entries from 44 artists across the country.

Please join us in congratulating our winning artist from North Dakota Youth Correctional Center for an inspirational and star-studded display of what success looks like to them.

Click here to view the winning artwork.

Performance-based Standards (PbS) is very pleased to announce Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center (FPJDC) in Covington, LA, as the winner of the 2020 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award in the detention category. FPJDC was selected as a winner for their impressive plan to reduce the use of restraints.

Inspired by the PbS process and community, FPJDC has been committed to learning new approaches to detention and continually improving their policies and procedures. Striving to keep practices aligned with the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) model, the team reflected on their use of restraints and asked themselves: “If this was your child at home and things were getting out of hand, would you handcuff them?”

In revisiting practices, several changes to protocols were made including only authorizing supervisors to use certain types of restraint tactics. Most other staff were authorized to use less invasive tactics such as Handle with Care (HWC) in situations that would have otherwise led to a restraint. Use of verbal de-escalation techniques were emphasized and encouraged. With less invasive techniques, direct care staff could establish a good rapport with youths, and youths felt more open to trusting staff. Keys to the process were training on CBT, as it emphasizes changing negative thinking, and increasing supervisor support of staff.

Through these efforts, not only does FPJDC consistently remain below the field average for restraint use, but they have stronger and more positive staff-youth relationships.

Congratulations to the team at Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center. Read our blog for more about the 2020 winners and finalists.

The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Her dedication to improving the quality of life in facilities for young people has helped drive PbS to its current success. The award is given to a correction, detention/assessment and community program who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own by developing and implementing strategic plans to change practices that results in positive outcomes for youths, staff and families.

Performance-based Standards (PbS) is very pleased to announce McLaughlin Youth Center (MYC) in Anchorage, AK as the winner of the 2020 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award in the correction category. MYC was selected as a winner for their comprehensive plan to reduce fear for safety.

Following multiple data collections with PbS Staff Climate Survey results showing a high level of fear for safety, management knew it was time for a change. They knew improvements would require a lot of staff input and must include unit programming and behavior management training in order to be successful.

In addition to monthly staff meetings, unit leaders met with staff individually to discuss specific concerns. Superintendents also joined monthly staff meetings to be more involved. Individual meetings really helped to gather information from all staff about concerns and progress through the changes. Trust was built in a new way and there was a notable shift away from staff feeling as though they were being managed from an “ivory tower.”

While an increase to communication between leadership and staff was a key to MYC’s success, the facility team implemented new trainings about trauma. They implemented the Trauma-Informed Effective Reinforcement System (TIERs) program on girls’ units and cross-trained on other units. Training of secondary trauma, symptoms, effects and supportive services available were provided to all line staff and trainings on the Control Tactics behavior management system were completed and implemented.

Additionally, policies around safety and security are under frequent review at monthly staff meetings. Improvements were made to existing programs and new trainings were added, including a Verbal Judo de-escalation curriculum for staff.

With all of the changes and improvements to training and communication, MYC is seeing less staff turnover, fewer assaults involving staff and the lowest rates of staff fear for safety in over a decade.

Congratulations to the team at McLaughlin Youth Center. Read our blog for more about the 2020 winners and finalists.

The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Her dedication to improving the quality of life in facilities for young people has helped drive PbS to its current success. The award is given to a correction, detention/assessment and community program who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own by developing and implementing strategic plans to change practices that results in positive outcomes for youths, staff and families.

Performance-based Standards (PbS) is very pleased to announce Mat-Su Youth Detention Facility in Palmer, AK as one of the finalists for the 2020 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award in the detention category. Mat-Su was selected as a finalist for their impressive plan to improve emergency response efforts.

Located in an area with an increased potential for natural disasters, a review of the facility “Continuity of Operations Plan” inspired a plan to update it. The team chose to focus on response training and emergency supplies. Staff including nursing, maintenance, administration, probation and line staff, were all on board and engaged in brainstorming. They formed a workgroup to carry out the steps for planning and implementation developed using PbS’ facility improvement planning process.

Not only did the facility work to purchase emergency supplies including blankets, alternate means for cooking, emergency radio and a 3-day supply of water and freeze dried food, but they signed up for an experiential mock drill, the “Great Alaskan Shake Out,” to put their plan to the test. A month after the mock drill, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit their region. Staff and youths knew exactly what to do.

With real events validating the necessity – and success – of their efforts, the facility team is focused on sustaining the progress made and will continue to require an annual interactive scenario based training, annual inventory of all emergency supplies and frequent safety and security discussions at staff meetings. Additionally, staff were encouraged to create emergency plans for themselves and loved ones.

Stay tuned for more blogs about the 2020 finalists.

The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Her dedication to improving the quality of life in facilities for young offenders has helped drive PbS to its current success. The award is given to a correction, detention/assessment and community program who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own by developing and implementing strategic plans to change practices that results in positive outcomes for youths, staff and families.

Performance-based Standards (PbS) is very pleased to announce Robert F. Kennedy School (RFK) in Middleton, MA as one of the finalists for the 2020 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award in the correction category. RFK was selected as a finalist for their impressive plan to improve family engagement.

The PbS team’s strategy shifted focus to families in 2013 as part of a statewide initiative to integrate family activities throughout programming to promote interaction, connections and investment in treatment. Within the first three years of the improvement plan, the team was met with several complex administrative challenges, including relocating to a new region 50 miles away that led to a 98% turnover in staff.

Amidst these obstacles, the team continued to take a close look at each barrier to family engagement and began to address each one effectively. Efforts included updating family resource documents with feedback from youths and their families, increased opportunities for family treatment, establishing special visiting times for families, offering and coordinating transportation when possible, increased awareness of family events and implementation of FaceTime as an option for communication.

As in-person family visits are limited now more than ever, a lot can be learned by the work of the team at RFK. They overcame challenges by becoming a family within the facility. The team demonstrates how family engagement can also consist of caseworkers, regional staff and youth enjoying quality meals and activities despite not having family members present.

Stay tuned for more blogs about the 2020 finalists.

The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Her dedication to improving the quality of life in facilities for young offenders has helped drive PbS to its current success. The award is given to a correction, detention/assessment and community program who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own by developing and implementing strategic plans to change practices that results in positive outcomes for youths, staff and families.

The PbS Learning Institute (PbS) recognizes winners of the 2020 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award for improving conditions of confinement and the quality of life for youths in secure placements. Facilities volunteer to work with PbS and use its continuous improvement model to meet national standards with regularly reported data and development of improvement plans. The winners were selected for best use of the improvement planning process to guide culture changes and practices at the facility. They create safe, nurturing environments for youths and staff and provide skills and opportunities for youths to continue on a path to healthy adolescent development.

Two winners were selected, one correction facility and one detention center.

The 2020 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award winners are:

• Correction: McLaughlin Youth Center, Anchorage, AK
• Detention: Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center, Covington, LA

Read the full press release.

Performance-based Standards (PbS) is very pleased to announce Maricopa County Juvenile Detention Center- Durango in Phoenix, AZ as one of the finalists for the 2020 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award in the detention category. Maricopa was selected as a finalist for their impressive plan to reduce confinement.

After noticing an increase in confinement in their PbS data, the leadership team worked together to develop strategies for facility-wide change. Focusing on positive youth development and stronger communication with staff, the facility has significantly reduced the use of confinement and strives to reduce it further.

With an understanding that significant change would require a lot of training, communication and leadership involvement, the key interventions all included consulting with staff to ensure buy-in and a greater positive impact. The behavior management system was modified to include more mediation and conflict management as well as added incentives for positive behavior. To better meet the needs of the youth, staff continue to provide feedback as they implement changes to the behavior management system.

The overall engagement has reduced the frequency and duration of confinement and has enhanced safety for youths. The team at Maricopa continues to improve their behavior management system by introducing more incentive-based programs for the youth, while also keeping an open line of communication with staff.

Stay tuned for more blogs about the 2020 finalists.

The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Her dedication to improving the quality of life in facilities for young offenders has helped drive PbS to its current success. The award is given to a correction, detention/assessment and community program who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own by developing and implementing strategic plans to change practices that results in positive outcomes for youths, staff and families.

The PbS Kids Got Talent Contest launched in 2015 to challenge the field to extend their commitment to treating all youths as one of our own. The PbS team is very grateful for all of the entries we received this year despite the many challenges and obstacles our communities are facing.

This year, we received a total of 30 entries. After careful consideration and a lot of video-watching, the internal PbS judging team selected 12 awesome performances as the finalists to send to the Kids Got Talent Contest Judge Panel. (PbS will not publish the youths’ names this year to respect and protect their privacy.)

• A solo cover of “Fade to Black” by Metallica from Bethel Youth Detention Facility, Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice
• Spoken words and an original song from Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center, Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs
• A timely original rap called “Hold On COVID” from Circleville Juvenile Correction Facility, Ohio Department of Youth Services
• A solo cover of The Amity Affliction’s “All Messed Up” from Copper Lake School, Wisconsin Division of Juvenile Corrections
• An important PSA on PREA by a group from Ferris School, Delaware Youth Rehabilitative Services Division
• A band performance and a solo drum performance from Lincoln Hills School, Wisconsin Division of Juvenile Corrections
• A solo cover of “Quién Te Entiende,” an original piano piece and a solo cover of “Mi Niña Traviesa” from Maricopa County Juvenile Detention Center – Durango, Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Department
• A video production cover of Ed Sheeran’s “Photograph” from Rogue Valley Youth Correctional Facility, Oregon Youth Authority

Congratulations to the finalists and all performers. Performing takes not only talent but confidence and commitment and they all rocked! Stay tuned for spotlights on each of the performances over the coming weeks.

Thank you to all the facility staff and agency directors who supported the youths throughout this process. We appreciate your encouragement and dedication.

A big thank you also to our judges:

• Jozy Bernadette, musician, former contestant on The Voice
• Katie Dodds, Communications Intern, Coalition for Juvenile Justice
• Patrick Griffin, Senior Program Officer, Criminal Justice, MacArthur Foundation
• Chyrl Jones, Deputy Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
• Mary Ann Scali, Executive Director, National Juvenile Defender Center
• Marc Schindler, Executive Director, Justice Policy Institute

The intensive technical assistance will be provided by the PbS Learning Institute and its partners as part of the cooperative agreement with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice, for the project entitled: Improving Juvenile Reentry Data Collection, Analysis and Reporting.

The application for intensive technical assistance to improve the collection, analysis and reporting of juvenile reentry data is available now and can be completed in two parts:

I. Intent to apply

II. Application

The intent to apply will let us know your team is interested in becoming a technical assistance site and will be completing the full application when time permits. The intent to apply must be submitted by Monday, July 20, 2020. The complete application must be submitted by Friday, July 31, 2020. Please submit each, Part I and Part II, via email to Patricia Seekell at pseekell@pbstandards.org

Sites will be selected in August and the work will begin in the fall. We will be monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on travel and in-person meetings and adjust the work accordingly. Please contact us with any questions.

Application is available now: https://pbstandards.org/media/1247/pbsreentry-application-intensivetechnicalassistance.pdf

Performance-based Standards (PbS) is very pleased to announce Juvenile Corrections Center- St. Anthony (JCCSA) in St. Anthony, ID as one of the finalists for the 2020 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award in the correction category. JCCSA was selected as a finalist for their impressive plan to improve mental health programming.

The PbS team’s strategy focused on mental health programming due to an increased need for mental health services within the youth population. They developed a process with more individualized programming to address the impact of mental health issues with youths and reversed the historic approach: rather than make the youth “fit” the facility’s behavioral management program, the team adapted the programming to “fit” the youth.

By sharing behavioral health information with the staff at the beginning of a youth’s stay at the program staff were better able to adapt treatment interventions based on the individual needs of the youths. This resulted in a positive impact and more effective utilization of time spent in programming. Staff and peer groups were better able to focus on the root of the behavioral issues before a problem arose rather than figuring out how to intervene with the youth afterward. As this was a paradigm shift for staff, treatment staff were educated and trained on individual needs of youths. Rather than imposing program components on the youths, staff were able to match the youths to offered program components. The team at JCCSA continues to prioritize the work of this improvement plan.

Stay tuned for more blogs about the 2020 finalists.

The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Her dedication to improving the quality of life in facilities for young offenders has helped drive PbS to its current success. The award is given to a correction, detention/assessment and community program who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own by developing and implementing strategic plans to change practices that results in positive outcomes for youths, staff and families.

Performance-based Standards (PbS) is very proud to announce the finalists for the 2020 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award that recognizes facilities that best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own. We were pleased to receive applications from 11 sites – all using PbS’ data-driven improvement model to develop and implement strategic plans that changed their practices and services.

The six finalists all addressed and overcame obstacles, providing examples for all of us as we navigate a year that has presented significant health and safety challenges.

The 2020 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award Finalists are:

Correction Category:

• Juvenile Corrections Center- St. Anthony, St. Anthony, ID: Regional Quality Improvement Specialist Katie Withers, Quality Improvement Services Director Jessica Moncada and Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections Director Monty Prow
• McLaughlin Youth Center, Anchorage, AK: Juvenile Justice Superintendent I Kira Bishop, Social Services Program Coordinator Melissa Glorioso and State of Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice Division Director Tracy Dompeling
• Robert F. Kennedy School, Middleton, MA: Program Director Emily Daniels, Director of Residential Operations Nancy Carter and Massachusetts Department of Youth Services Commissioner Peter Forbes

Detention and Assessment Category:

• Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center, Covington, LA: Training Coordinator Courtney Casnave and Florida Parishes Juvenile Justice District Executive Director Joey Dominick
• Mat-Su Youth Detention Facility, Palmer, AK: Superintendent Theron Powell, Social Services Program Coordinator Melissa Glorioso and State of Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice Division Director Tracy Dompeling
• Maricopa County Juvenile Detention Center- Durango, Phoenix, AZ: Operations Manager Bryan LaBrake, Deputy Chief of Detention Services Bureau Michaella Heslin and Maricopa County Juvenile Chief of Probation Eric Meaux

Be sure to check back frequently for spotlight blogs about the finalists’ specific efforts to treat every youth as one of our own.

The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Her dedication to improving the quality of life in facilities for young offenders has helped drive PbS to its current success. The award is given to a correction, detention/assessment and community program who best exemplify PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own by developing and implementing strategic plans to change practices that results in positive outcomes for youths, staff and families.

The past week has been an extremely painful one for many people, as Minneapolis and countless other cities, including our hometown of Boston, have seen people gather to protest the racial injustice and racial violence still present in our country. It is this injustice that has led to the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. The PbS Learning Institute strives to treat all youths as one of our own, and we strongly denounce racism in any form as we seek to help create a more racially equitable juvenile justice system and society. We support the rights of protesters everywhere and hope that people will view these difficult times as a call to action, and an opportunity to finally eradicate the racism that is so deeply rooted in our society. Thank you.

Sincerely,

The PbS Team

The youth at the Juvenile Justice Campus (JJC) in Fresno, California joined together in designing posters thanking First Responders in the Central Valley (including their staff at the JJC). The posters are being distributed to different agencies throughout the city thanking them for their service. Letters and drawings of encouragement from the youth were delivered to a Senior Citizen retirement establishment, brightening their day and bringing joy to their community during this time of ”sheltering in”. All youth were provided the opportunity to participate in a mask making project for themselves. The youth appreciated the opportunity and enjoyed the activity.

Please share with us all anything that is helping ease the challenges of our current times!

Posters thanking first responders from JJC's J Unit.

The girls in Cottage 5 at McLaughlin Youth Center (MYC) in Anchorage, Alaska are making masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 at MYC. This has been a fun and rewarding experience that all of the girls have taken part in. Some are experienced at sewing, but most are learning how to sew for the first time. Thank you to the staff and members of the public that have helped contribute their time and resources to this great cause.

Please share with us all anything that is helping ease the challenges of our current times!

Cloth face coverings made by girls at McLaughlin Youth Center

Youths from the Delaware Unit at Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility (CHJCF) in Ohio had the idea to make signs to thank first responders. The idea was approved and the activity was supervised by unit staff. To the staff’s surprise among the posters is one thanking the staff at DYS (bottom left). All posters will be sent to the local agencies to thank them for all they do.

Please share with us all anything that is helping ease the challenges of our current times!

Inspiration from our friends at Cuyahoga Hills and all of Ohio. You'll see the staff forming the "O, H, I, O" and holding the "#InthistogetherOhio" banner near the end of the video, just before the postal worker. View the full video here.

Please share with us all anything that is helping ease the challenges of our current times!

The PbS Scholarship Application Form is available on the PbS website. The application requires a one-page essay describing how the applicant will use their education to pay it forward, a letter of recommendation and documentation or verification of acceptance into the educational program.

Applications will be accepted from March 1 through April 30, 2020. Applications can be submitted by mail, email or online through the PbS website. Interested applicants should read the full Scholarship Award eligibility and rules. New this year is a document for youth to reference called “Scholarship Application Tips: for Youths.” To get inspired, read quotes from past winners on how this award changed their lives!

A review of how Ferris School accomplished their goals of winning a PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award for their facility improvements in keeping kids safe.

Following their first data collection in PbS, Ferris School for Boys in Wilmington, DE realized they needed to address facility safety and order, specifically the amount of assaults and fights and their use of physical restraints.

Ferris School identified the relationship between youth on youth assaults and physical restraints and decided to address them together. After taking a deeper look into youths’ idle time, Ferris School realized that too many hours without structured activities can lead to a lack of meaningful youth engagement, which in turn negatively impacts the number of assaults and restraints. The team created an incentive-based approach to address the issue.

In an effort to boost youth engagement, incentive programs were implemented allowing youths to earn movie nights with snacks, monthly themed family events, and sports banquets for football and basketball. Staff were also offered some incentives for efforts made to engage youths, such as a self-care day with fresh fruits and a masseuse as well as a PbS Appreciation Day which allowed staff to play a trivia game and have fun. These programs proved to be relaxing for staff, thus making it easier to positively engage youth throughout the day.

Ferris School demonstrated great progress over the course of a couple of years in their 2016 Barbara Allen-Hagen Award application and earned national recognition as a finalist. Determined to improve the facility further and show even more improvement in 2017, they continued to assess the issue and develop additional interventions to accomplish their goals:

• Increase of positive interactions between staff and youth,
• Positive reinforcement,
• Relationship building with youth and staff,
• Holding youth who were restrained accountable by not allowing them to participate in prizes if their unit was to win the competition of having less restraints,
• Staff acknowledged youth as their partners in figuring out how to lower restraints and fights,
• Verbal de-escalation training was provided to staff,
• Youth team building,
• Healing garden,
• Safety teams and
• Focus groups for staff fears to be addressed.

The above interventions allowed for Ferris School to go 100 days with zero restraints. In only a few years, they went from having above average restraints to often having zero each data collection. It takes time and team dedication to get results. In honoring Barbara Allen-Hagen and her work with this award, PbS looks for facilities demonstrating positive change so all youths can have a better experience in the juvenile justice system.

“Where are they now”

Ferris School staff came together to overcome issues with facility safety and order by running programming intended to keep youths focused and motivated with positive activities and friendly competition.

Ferris School staff have worked hard to keep all of the programming added as part of this facility improvement plan running a part of their routine. Intramural sports programs continue to be an important part of each season, bringing guest teams to play against the residents in both lacrosse and football. Recently, Ferris School started a facility mentoring initiative “Little Brother- Big Brother” offering boys on the highest behavior management level the responsibility of mentoring the newest young residents.

PbS Coach Joyce Burrell admires the teamwork exemplified at the facility. “Ferris School is very dedicated to the PbS process and using a team approach. Their staff go the extra mile, especially taking on additional responsibilities when they are short-staffed to ensure important programs keep running.”

PbS is currently accepting applications for the 2020 Barbara Allen-Hagen Award and hopes other facilities can use Ferris School as an example to never give up. The most successful facilities see not winning as an opportunity to continue to improve and try again.

Ferris School Team Accepting 2017 Barbara Allen-Hagen Award

A timeline of PbS milestones by College for Social Innovation fellow Erika Cadena for PbS’ 25th Anniversary Celebration. A comprehensive report on the milestones will be published later this year.

Click image to enlarge or download

Performance-based Standards (PbS) hosted a webinar earlier this week to announce upcoming training opportunities that will be available through an Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) project to improve reentry data capacity within agencies and programs.

The webinar highlighted two OJJDP funded projects as examples of tools for data collection and analysis: the Initiative to Develop Juvenile Reentry Measurement Standards and the Juvenile Justice Model Data Project and detailed upcoming opportunities available through the Improving Juvenile Reentry Programs Data Collection, Analysis and Reporting project.

You can watch a recording of the webinar here and follow the links below to find copies of the slides.

Resources

Presentation Slides

Presentation Slides with Notes

An interview with PbS executive director Kim Godfrey by College for Social Innovation fellow Erika Cadena for PbS’ 25th Anniversary Celebration

Kim Godfrey, PbS executive director

When did you get started in the juvenile justice field?

I was first introduced to juvenile justice when I was a newspaper reporter. I worked for the Worcester Massachusetts Telegram and Gazette and I ended up being assigned to cover the case of a young man, whose name was Joe Perkins. At 16, Joe committed a horrific crime- he killed his grandmother, his mother and his grandfather. He never committed any other crimes. As I was covering this story, I learned of the suffering that he endured when he was young and of the abusive things done to him by his mother’s boyfriend. While this does not excuse his behavior, it is not unusual to hear of horrific lives that many of these kids who get into trouble end up leading. At the time I covered his case, Joe was age 19, he had been in the care of Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) since 15. He had done everything that was asked of him, but he was now a man and he was asking the judge to be released. His case became very political. There was a new governor, Governor Weld, and the district attorney felt he had blown the trial. When Joe first went to court, a green attorney was on the case and while it was a horrific murder of three people, the judge said “you gave me nothing to show that this kid should be dealt with as an adult and put into the adult system,” so Joe went to DYS. In their custody, he was a model kid and had done everything he was supposed to, he had done his time and was ready to go. But politics prevailed and the only people who really cared about Joe were from DYS. Through this case, I got to know Ned Loughran. He was the commissioner of DYS at that time and I really admired his dedication to making sure what was best for the kid was always in the equation. Also, learning about how that young man was not a danger to society and it was the political forces that kept him locked up. The situation got really ugly for everyone involved.

What compelled you to leave journalism for juvenile justice?

In the early 1990s, Joe was turning 21 and they finally decided to release him, newspapers were laying people off. Since I was one of the most recent hires, I thought I might be on the chopping block so I connected with people I talked to as newspapers sources. One of which was Jaime Fox, the Dean at Northeastern University School of Criminal Justice at the time and I explained how I was looking for an advocacy type job. I wanted to use what I knew and use my ability to write and communicate to advocate for system involved kids - for better practices, better services and better everything. Amidst all my conversations, Jaime suggested getting a degree at Northeastern. It was a one-year program and I took another six months to finish my thesis- interviewing all 60 kids that left DYS that year and trying to understand the relationship between their reintegration readiness and the emotions of shame, remorse and empathy. I loved it and it really allowed me to use my newspaper interviewing and writing skills and come up with something at the end that I was able to present to some DYS staff and spread awareness about how they treated the kids and could understand how kids were feeling. Again, Ned was there as my thesis advisor and his former research director became my lead thesis advisor. Also at this time, Ned was leaving state government and then started the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators (CJCA, now known as the Council of Juvenile Justice Administrators) in 1994 and I was the first employee hired. He said the first thing our national organization needs is someone to write the newsletter- I happily obliged.

Now is a very important time to see women in leadership roles, what advice would you give to the future generation of women advancing their careers?

Keep at it. You really have to advocate for yourself. Women are just intuitively really good leaders, probably better than men, because we have to be able to juggle households, competing interests, keep a lot of people happy, keep the trains running on time and still carry the energy of a room. I think all women have the capability to be a leader, it comes down to seizing opportunities. There’s a lot of fearlessness that goes into it. Stand strong, take a risk. If you really believe in something, go for it. Also, make sure you have mentors and supporters, a women’s circle. Have a really good group of friends and make sure to remember your “why” and the importance of it when times are tough to give yourself a little boost. Someday there will be a woman president.

Performance-based Standards (PbS) recently published a research brief written by Jennifer Woolard, PhD and Alyssa Mikytuck, MPP, of Georgetown University's Department of Psychology, finding an inverse relationship between family visitation and behavioral infractions.

The brief, “Family Visitation, Behavioral Incidents, and Staff Safety Concerns in Juvenile Correctional Facilities,” details the researchers’ work analyzing PbS’ administrative, incident and staff survey data from 2011 through 2016.

PbS invites researchers to use PbS data to help the field better understand and assess practices used in residential facilities and programs. PbS can provide de-identified aggregated data for correction, detention, assessment and community-based programs. Additional information including an application and instructions to access the data is available on the PbS website here.

In Performance-based Standards’ (PbS) latest brief, Understanding What Makes Justice-Involved Youths Prepared and Ready for Reentry, Executive Director Kim Godfrey describes the significance of collecting perception data from youths about their preparedness for reentry in addition to existing administrative data about services offered.

The brief also describes the recently launched PbS Youth Reentry Survey that will help agencies collect this information from youths leaving facilities and being released from post-placement supervision. Survey participation will give agencies two points in time to see how ready youths are for reentry and the different services and skills developed while in placement and on supervision. Read the brief for preliminary survey findings and analysis.

As we continue past October’s celebrations of Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM), let’s not forget to build on the celebrations of YJAM. Speaking as a formerly incarcerated youth, my passion is to educate others on the importance of youth voice. We know it is essential to move juvenile justice reform forward, but we need to start implementing it in every sense of the word. A little youth voice here and a little youth voice there is not going to solve systemic errors, nor will it solve the problems societal pressures present for those who are system involved. These problems range from negative stigmas to the expectations of youths to respond positively in toxic environments.

I have been fortunate enough to have been given several opportunities to have my voice heard at the tables of a state agency, major foundation and national juvenile justice non-profit. Not only is this important to me, but it is a step forward in the movement of juvenile justice reform to have opportunities for youth available. Not only is my voice valued throughout these spaces, it is necessary for this work to hear what young people need, from the young people. Youth engagement is necessary and who else better to tell you how and why than the young people who are waiting to be engaged. It means the world to me to know that I have a team of people who wanted me to succeed and their confidence in me and support led me to believe I will succeed. I am writing this in order to inspire more people to create opportunities for young people, specifically those with system involvement.

The opportunity that kick started my career was working as a Massachusetts Department of Youth Services’ (DYS) consultant. I provided input and feedback at agency meetings and participated in speaking engagements and panels. DYS staff trusted me and gave me every opportunity they knew would let my voice be heard and made sure nothing could prevent me from participating.

DYS staff also sent me the application to become a member of the Annie E. Casey Foundation Youth Advisory Council. They made sure I was prepared for all three interviews and slowly but surely, I was selected as one of 12 members of the council. The Youth Advisory Council taught me how to network, dress and act professionally, better my public speaking skills, what self-care looks likes like in the work place and outside of it, how to be articulate with speeches, how to create a professional development plan and follow through with it, how to map out a career plan and much more. Coming from a household that does not hold a career made it difficult to understand the basics of obtaining and sustaining one, the Annie E. Casey Foundation gave me the tools to create a successful career.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation work led me to my most recent opportunity: full-time employment as the first Youth Coordinator at the Performance-based Standards Learning Institute (PbS). I make sure the youth voice is included in all of PbS’ work to improve juvenile facility conditions and quality of life so youths are better prepared for success when they leave. The position has allowed me to obtain financial stability as well as give me hope for future positions like this one to be developed. I may be the first to hold a position like this, but I will not be the last.

These opportunities allowed me to not only feel supported and cared for by people who believed in me and believed in the importance of youth voice in juvenile justice, but also to gain confidence and experiences to believe in myself. I was given chances to be a contributing member of society and that gave me hope that similar opportunities are attainable for all youths. All it takes is one staff to believe in us and ask questions that pertain to our passions. Each opportunity I was directed to by staff or exposed to by staff ended up expanding into more opportunities. I was connected in my career because someone took the time to make sure I had what I needed to be successful.

I am honored that the Annie E. Casey Foundation listened to my ambitions and put me in contact with people who can and have helped me acquire a skill set that will allow me to positively start a career in juvenile justice as the first PbS Youth Coordinator. PbS’ Executive Director Kim Godfrey played a huge role in advocating for this position. She fought for a youth to have an opportunity to learn and become a part of an organization dedicated to treating all youths as their own in a way that gives me the space I need to continue to advocate for juvenile justice reform.

We need to create opportunities for young people, specifically those with system involvement, to contribute to solutions improving juvenile justice systems. Curious how you can begin to implement youth voice in your organization? Here are some first steps: Make sure your organization uses hiring practices that do not prohibit anyone with a record from employment, that they reach out to local social service organizations when posting positions and establish relationships with agencies working with young people who have been system involved. Stand with me and PbS as we continue to treat youths as one of our own.

My first PbS Conference!

PbS staff photo at my first PbS conference!

Performance-based Standards (PbS) is launching a new Youth Reentry Survey for use beginning Nov. 1 at PbS correction and community residential programs. The survey asks youths about their perceptions of preparedness and readiness to return to the community and live independently. Research has made clear that youths’ perceptions matter and that juvenile justice leaders need to expand the efforts to obtain and use youths’ perceptions as a cost-effective method to better understand the impact on youths.* The new survey will expand what we know about the impact of reentry services and is the first step to integrating the lesson learned from the recently completed Reentry Measurement Standards project into PbS.

Research and experience have shown that youths have the best chances for successful reentry -meaning both ceasing offending behavior and realizing positive life outcomes - when they are both prepared and ready. We also know that looking only at agency records of services provided, activities offered and certifications or credits earned provide “an incomplete account of developmental outcomes because they include little information about youths’ social and emotional assets.**” In other words, administrative data alone doesn’t tell us if the efforts have resulted in the youths being prepared and ready – we need to ask them.

So we will.

The Reentry Measurement Standards project, supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), developed a framework of standards and measures grounded in research and practice to assess youths’ preparedness and readiness when they leave residential placement and when their post-placement supervision and/or system involvement ends. The framework is grounded by guiding principles of fairness, accountability, family and collaboration and is organized by reentry domains key to preventing reoffending and achieving positive youth outcomes such as education and employment, well-being and health and connection to community as well as domains for best reentry practices such as assessment, case management, reentry planning and quality improvement and assurance. Each domain includes a list of measures that provide timely, short-term indicators of how well agencies prepare youths for reentry and how ready the youths feel as they are returning to the community. The final technical report to OJJDP is expected to be made available shortly.

PbS identified measures of preparedness that indicate the skills, tools, resources and safety nets research and experience have shown to increase chances youths will follow a prosocial lifestyle when they leave secure custody and community supervision. Funding for reentry services and programs has increased over the past several years based on the belief that investing in services and programs to prepare a youth to return to the community will put that youth on the path to healthy adolescent development and becoming a productive, purposeful citizen who is able to overcome the barriers they face resulting from their juvenile justice system involvement. Given the persistently high numbers of youths who continue offending behavior when they return to the community, the steep challenges they face and the developmental dynamics of the adolescent brain, PbS also identified measures of readiness that indicate a youth’s confidence, hope, resiliency and willingness to show up, whether or not prepared, and take action.

The new PbS Youth Reentry Survey will replace the current Youth Exit Interview for correction facilities and be the first survey for youths leaving community residential programs. Next, PbS will integrate data elements to the PbS Youth Record, PbS Family Survey and Staff Survey to complete the picture and continue our promise to provide a holistic approach to ensuring all youths are treated as one of our own.

*Schubert, C.A. & Mulvey, E.P. (2013). Perception and Outcomes in Adolescent Confinement. Chicago, IL: MacArthur Foundation.

**Dukakis, K. et al. (2009). Positive Youth Development: Individual, Setting and System Level Indicators. Stanford, CA: John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Families, Stanford School of Education.

What does it take for a youth to be successful after their involvement in the juvenile justice system? For some it is platforms, a place to be heard and listened to, while for others it is realistic opportunities in areas of interest.

What does it take for a system to be successful? On a macro level, the system needs to engage youths and steer them in the direction of the tools and skill sets it will take to get them where they want to go. What you can do is listen…a listening ear goes a long way.

How can you help ensure success for the youths in your care? Provide the tools! It’s easy: listen to a youth’s goals – really listen. Then work together to figure out what can be done for the youth, as well as who else the youth can count on to be engaged in positive opportunities.

For me, all I wanted was a platform for my voice and the space to advocate for youths as well as policies that impact them. I know I am not alone in saying who I was as a teenager is not who I am today. In light of Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM), I was invited to State House to independently testify for a juvenile expungement bill. This is important to me because so many youths are negatively impacted by the collateral consequences of having an accessible record.

PbS supports YJAM and strives to empower youth voice where it matters.

PbS Youth Coordinator Testifying for S.900/Bill number #1386

Youth Coordinator Jaclyn Cirinna Testifying for S.900/Bill number #1386

At the State House with Representative Marjorie Decker and Andres Vargas on October 8, 2019

The education of children in the juvenile justice system is a primary concern for juvenile justice administrators. Performance-based Standards (PbS) includes some outcome measures in the April and October data collections and the new reentry standards will focus much more attention on education as a key part of building competencies and skills that will keep youth out of the juvenile justice system. During this webinar, Professor of Law Joseph Tulman shared tools to help parents become better advocates for the educational needs of youth in the juvenile justice system and how to make sure those needs and vocational or career opportunities are woven into their reentry plans.

You can watch a recording of the webinar here, and follow the links below to find the resources referenced throughout Professor Tulman’s presentation.

Resources

• Joseph Tulman, Professor of Law: Bio
• PowerPoint Presentation
• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Substantive and Procedural Rights Handout
• Special Education Advocacy for Youth in the Delinquency System
• The School to Prison Pipeline: The Role of Culture and Discipline in School

Performance-based Standards (PbS), a national organization dedicated to treating all youths in custody as one of our own, sets national best practice standards for facility safety, programming and operations and collects data twice a year to provide a snapshot of the conditions of confinement and quality of life for youths, staff and families. PbS is clear that isolation should only be used as a last resort to prevent injury to the youth and others, and should be brief and monitored.

Did you know:

• Use of isolation in youth correction and detention facilities is increasing, but the average duration is decreasing;
• Most youths are put in isolation as a consequence for a rule violation; and
• Youths sleep for an average of about nine hours at night and spend over an hour of their day confined to their sleeping rooms.

Read more.