Meaningful Family and Community Engagement NDTAC Topical Call March 18, 2014.

Meaningful Family and Community Engagement

NDTAC Topical Call March 18, 2014

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Topical Call Agenda

Welcome and Introductions

The Importance of Family/Community Engagement

First Topical Call: Family Engagement at System Intake

Introduction of Presenters Today’s Topical Call:

The Role of Families/Caregivers While Youth Are System Involved

The Importance of Keeping Family/Community Connections for Youth Who Are System Involved

The Role of State TIPD Coordinators

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Welcome!

Who’s on the call?

4The Importance of Family/Community Engagement

Research has shown that there are many benefits when families/caregivers are involved in their child’s education:

Students are more willing to learn, and they feel better about themselves

They get better grades and attend school more regularly They are more likely to graduate from grade school or high

school and are more likely to continue their education They are less likely to use drugs and alcohol, and they have

fewer instances of violent behavior and suspensions

(Henderson & Mapp,2002)

5The Importance of Family/Community Engagement

Family/caregiver visitation of youth who are system-involved is associated with improved behavior and school performance

Programs that work with families (e.g. develop effective parenting skills, provide reinforcement) have shown success in reducing problem behaviors and increasing school success

Families/caregivers are potentially the most reliable sources of information about their child’s strengths, needs, and experiences and thus should be included in decision-making

(Agudelo, 2013; Garfinkel, 2010)

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Karen Francis joined us in December 2013 to: Discuss the necessity for meaningful family and

community engagement at the point of initial contact and system intake

Share strategies for success engagement at this stage

The First Topical Call

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A Sample of Important Take-aways: Family/caregiver engagement is important in reducing

recidivism and improving academic and behavioral outcomes for children

Families/caregivers should expect to be treated with respect and dignity

Facility and educational program staff should be able to communicate effectively with families.

Families need to be empowered to help their students be successful in and out of the facility.

TIPD coordinators can encourage subgrantees to include family/caretaker engagement in their TIPD applications

The First Topical Call

8Introduction of Today’s Presentation and Speakers

Importance of meaningful family/community engagement once youth are system involved

Grace Bauer, Executive Director, Justice for Families Ryan Shanahan, Sr. Program Assoc., VERA Institute of

Justice

“FAMILIES UNLOCKING FUTURES: SOLUTIONS TO THE CRISIS IN JUVENILE JUSTICE”

A REPORT BY FAMILIES

ABOUT FAMILIES

Family Involvement Matters: The Evidence

Maximizes kids chance of success Lower rates of recidivism Improved working conditions Safer facilities Brings relevant/missing information to the table Increased options and resources Reduced use of more costly and restrictive services Families more likely to participate in treatment and follow-up care

Polling Question #1

Polling Question #2

Polling Question #3

Barriers/Challenges

Lack of Value

Lack of Authentic Dialogue

No Common Vision

Lack of Trust

Overcoming Barriers

IndividualRecognize

Assumptions/BiasesChallenge Practice

Active Listening

SystemCreate Space

InvitePrepare Staff

Provide AccommodationsEnlist Experts

Value Perspectives

NOT Family Friendly

It is our belief that the vast majority of parents care about their

children, and parent them to the best of their ability. It is also our belief that some parents, due to their life experiences, current circumstances, skill level, socioeconomic status, degree of social support, special needs

of their children, and other factors, could benefit from receiving additional information about effective parenting (e.g., child

development and the changing role of parents), skill building, resources, and social support from both professionals and other parents.

It is also our belief that the vast majority of children and adolescents want to please their parents, and are looking to them for love, approval,

guidance, limit- setting, and consistency. When these needs are not sufficiently met, children may display problematic behaviors in order to

call attention to these unmet needs.

Family Solutions, Family Voice

Provide families with peer support/family partners who can help them navigate

unfamiliar school, arrest, court, probation, and placement rules

Adopt Family Bill of Rights

Involve lived family voice at all decision-making points within the youth justice

system

Slide 18

Why Family Engagement is Key

March 18, 2014

Ryan Shanahan, PhD, Senior Program Associate, Family Justice Program

Family Justice Program

• Vera’s Family Justice Program provides extensive training and strategic support to government and community partners to help them effectively draw on the resources of families and communities. These systemic interventions are designed to benefit people at greatest risk of cycling in and out of the justice system.

• The Vera Institute of Justice is an independent nonprofit that combines expertise in research, demonstration projects, and technical assistance to help leaders in government and civil society improve the systems people rely on for justice and safety.

Build on Family InteractionsA family-systems approach not only

reduced recidivism rates for justice-involved youth as compared with other models of treatment, but also reduced rates of siblings’ involvement in the justice system. (Klein, 1977)

The protective effect of receiving parental visits during incarceration exists regardless of the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship. (Monahan, Goldweber, Cauffman, 2011)

2 - 7 months 7 months to 1 year More 1 Year0

20

40

60

80

100

120

44

70

109

28

52

66

15

4553

No visits Less 1 Week Weekly

Time at the facility

Ave

rage

num

ber o

f inc

iden

ts

Youth who Receive Visits Have Fewer Behavior Incidents

Youth who Receive Visits Have Fewer Behavior Incidents

Never Infrequent Regularly0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

1614

6

4

Average behavior incidents per month

Visitation Frequency

Num

ber o

f beh

avio

r inc

iden

ts

Youth who are Visited Weekly Have Better GPA’s

Never Less 1 week Weekly70

75

80

85

90

80.482.0

85.0

GPA

Visitation Frequency

Continuum of Family Involvement

Small Changes • No cost, staff-led

family-focused initiatives

Medium Changes• Some cost• Administrative

buy-in

Large Changes• Creating Family-

Focused Culture throughout system

Continuum of Family Involvement

START SMALL• No cost, staff-lead

initiatives focused on family partnership

TAKE STEPS• Administrative buy-

in and small financial commitment

COMMIT• Creating a family-

focused culture throughout the system

Best Practices:• KENTUCKY

– Juvenile Justice teachers send survey home to parents to learn how they want to be contacted for school updates

• CALIFORNIA– Family dinners at camps;

Family Councils• TEXAS & DC

– Parent Bill of Rights• MINNESOTA

– No metal detectors at visitation

• NEW YORK– Close to Home Initiative;

Adolescent Portable Therapy

• INDIANA– Lifted visitation

restrictions• EPICS Family

Effective practice in community supervision– officers engaging family

• As a parent, you have the right not to be judged, blamed or labeled because of your child’s incarceration.

• As a parent, you have the right to be an active participant when decisions are made about your child.

http://www.tjjd.texas.gov/programs/parents_billof_rights.aspx

Parent Bill of Rights

Polling Question #4

Polling Question #5

Steps Educators can Take • Send home good assignments/tests/quizzes to

younger siblings • Video tape students reading a children’s book for

their child or younger siblings• Invite parents to IEP meetings and

allow them to visit before or after• Invite families to graduation and

take photos• Help students enroll in home school• Send photos of school projects home

Incorporating Family into Subjects:

• History• Family tree or family history research

project• Conversations about family’s traditions

• English/Writing• Practice writing by journaling about family• Writing plays telling family’s story• Write about successful people in family

• Science • Family DNA projects

www.vera.org/centers/family-justice-program

Ryan Shanahan, PhD Senior Program Associate

rshanahan@vera.org

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The Role of State TIPD Coordinators

Strategies that TIPD coordinators can use include: Encourage subgrantees to include family/caretaker

engagement as a part of their TIPD applications Section I in the Nonregulatory Guidance states that "an SA [State agency]

must assure that it will work with parents to secure their assistance in improving their children's and youth's educational achievement and, as appropriate, preventing further involvement in delinquent activities…an SA, to the extent possible, must give parents the opportunity to participate in their children's and youth's educational plans.”

Include family/caregiver community as part of your monitoring plan

Support, to the extent feasible, use of TIPD funds to encourage family/caregiver engagement in programs and facilities

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Q&A

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Next Topical Calls

Meaningful Family/Community Engagement, June 24 Reminder: All topical call presentations and recordings

are available on the ND Communities website at http://www.ndcommunities.org/

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Resources

Available on the NDTAC website:     NDTAC

Toolkit: Facility Toolkit for Engaging Families in Their Child's Education at a Juvenile Justice Facility

NDTAC Guide: Family Guide to Getting Involved in Your Child's Education at a Juvenile Justice Facility

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Resources

Additional resources: Families Unlocking Futures: Solutions to the Crisis in Juvenile

Justice http://us.mg4.mail.yahoo.com/neo/www.justice4families.org

"Family Comes First, A Workbook to Transform the Juvenile Justice System by Partnering with Families.“ Available for ordering online at http://www.campaignforyouthjustice.org/family-comes-first.html