Successful Re-Entry: A Look at Getting
Juvenile Offenders Back into School and
Keeping Them Engaged
Session Outcomes
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Overview of Project STAY OUT
Identify youth barriers to re-entry
Describe re-entry strategies for juvenile offenders
Define Transition Specialist’s key activities
Understand importance of community partners in
re-entry
Examples of practices in each area
DEANNE UNRUH & MIRIAM WAINTRUP
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
NICK MOORE
EUGENE 4J SCHOOL DISTRICT
JERMAINE WHITAKER
MULTNOMAH ESD
OREGON STATEWIDE TRANSITION CONFERENCE
FEBRUARY 2017
PORTLAND, OREGON
Project STAY OUT: Strategies Teaching Adolescent Young
Offenders to Use Transition Skills
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Funded by US Department of Education, Office of
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Office of Special Education Programs
Model Demonstration Project on Reentry of Students
with disabilities from Juvenile Justice Facilities into
Education, Employment, and community Programs
3 funded across nation: (1) Oregon, (2) Minnesota,
and (3) Arizona
A 3 State Collaboration
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Arizona State University: Project RISE (Re-entry
Intervention & Support for Engagement
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University of Minnesota, Institute on Community
Integration: MAP Project
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Focuses on developing a model for effective reentry of youth
with disabilities from a long-term secure care facility back into
schools, employment, and community programs.
Supports juvenile offenders transitioning from juvenile justice to
secondary education, post secondary education, and
employment opportunities in St. Paul and surrounding
communities.
University of Oregon: Project STAYOUT
Project STAY OUT Overview
Goal 1: Build community
capacity to serve young
offenders w/ disabilities by
providing training and PD to
school personnel and JJ
system
Goal 2: Develop curriculum
and training materials to
support transition-related
special educators in a young
offender’s reentry into their
home schools, employment,
and community living.
Key Features
• Transition Specialist, employed by
school, trained in needs of JJ youth
• Youth-driven planning
• School engagement focus
• Community-based Employment
options
• Targeted social skill training
• IMMEDIATE access to age
appropriate and culturally
appropriate services
Target Population
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Must have an active IEP or be eligible for one
Be 14-21 years of age
Already be in school or not yet enrolled but coming
from detention, residential treatment, or close custody
facility (they must have stayed longer than 10 days to
be un-enrolled in school)
Has been adjudicated
Primary Transition Specialist Activities
Employment Services
Career awareness activities
Career exploration/job seeking activities
Vocational Education participation
Educational Services
Support records transfer; IEP
support/planning;
Review and provide guidance for credit
recovery
Tutoring support (Specified coursework)
Independent Living/Community
Services
Time/organizational management
Citizenship/problem solving
Peer relationships
Transportation
Social/Family Services
Family intervention
Access to mental health services
Disability awareness
Strategies to Support Youth to Stay
Engaged in School
Additional areas of focus above providing evidencebased transition services:
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Individual
Education
Family/Living Environments
Employment
Promoting Positive Peer Relationships
Building Community Agency Capacity
Focus Area: Individual
Individual youth barriers include: self (poor decision making,
lack of self advocacy skills); mental health needs; and moving
from a structured to unstructured environment.
Target
Interventions
Increase good decision making
skills, locus of control, selfregulation skills
Access to continued Cognitive
Behavior Therapy and other
mental health services in the
community.
Develop youth’s selfdetermination & advocacy
skills.
Focus Area: Education
Education related barriers included lack of basic academic
skills and difficulty accessing school records and youth’s IEP.
Target
Interventions
Strategies to increase
engagement in education
Facilitate records transfer and
transition planning for IEP
Match education programs to
youth’s interests and academic
needs. (Relevance)
Provide flexible education
opportunities.
Focus on maintaining
attendance rates
Focus Area: Family/Living Environments
Family & Independent Living related barriers include not being
able to return to family, lack of consistent support; stable
housing and lack of independent living skills.
Target
Interventions
Improve familial emotional support
Support Family/home stability
Increase family & youth support
services in the facility and community.
Ensure services are culturally
appropriate.
Improve independent living skills
Provide referrals to increase home
stability: food pantries, referral for
adult mental health or substance use
treatment
Target Independent Living skills in IEP
Focus Area: Employment
Employment related barriers include lack of employment
history or training, stigma of being involved in JJ, lack of
transportation.
Target
Interventions
Increase rate of employment
Develop targeted employment
services.
Job matching based on youth
strengths.
Practice helping the youth talk
about disclosing their JJ
involvement on the job or
interviews
Focus Area: Promoting Positive Peer
Relationships
Barriers related to peer relationships in the community include
negative peers, gang issues, and access to drugs & alcohol.
Target
Interventions
Increase pro-social networks
Natural supports may develop
through new friend sets in
school, employment.
Engage youth in healthy
community activities related to
interests, strengths, and hobbies.
Focus Area: Community Agency
Capacity Building
Community capacity building barriers include dealing with
multiple schools, availability of mental health/drug treatment,
and stigma of JJ youth by schools and community agencies.
Target
Interventions
Increase multi-agency
collaboration
Educate all partners about the
JJ system process and IDEA law
Regular planning meetings
relative to systems and youth.
Develop records sharing and
transfer process.
Learn eligibility requirements
for each agency
Resources
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http://www.neglecteddelinquent.org/sites/default/files/NDTAC_Issue_Brief_FAPE_1
2_15.pdf National Technical Assistance Center for the
Education of Neglected or delinquent Children and Youth
http://www.jlc.org/sites/default/files/ESSAJJ_Factsheet_Final
WebinarVersion_Jan262016.pdf Summary of Every Student
Succeeds Act and Youth returning from JJ system
http://www.parentcenterhub.org/topics/juvenile-justice/
Center for Parent Information and Resources: webinar from
September 20, 2016
Contact Information
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Jermaine Whitaker,
[email protected]
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Nick Moore, [email protected]
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Miriam Waintrup, [email protected]
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Deanne Unruh, [email protected]