Durham Youth Treatment Court

1. Durham Youth Treatment Court Submitted by Dr. Janis Kupersmidt Dr. Ann Brewster Barbara Lowe innovation Research & Training (iRT, Inc.) Process Evaluation Results February 2005 iRT, Inc. Phone: (919) 493-7700 Website: www.irtinc.us

2. Presentation Overview • I. Program Components: • Program Admissions • Program Requirements • Sanctions • Incentives • Treatment • II. Program Facilitation: • Team Members • Case Coordination & Judicial Supervision • III. Completion of the Program: • Graduation and Termination • Challenges to Successful Completion of the Program • IV. Summary

3. Strengths: The procedure appears to have reduced the delay between arrest and admission. There is consensus among team members about whether to admit a new participant. Team members are generally very successful in generating parent/family buy-in to the program, a necessary component. Potential Barriers: Current program enrollment is 18, while program capacity is approximately 25. Referral rates are low considering the number of juvenile delinquents in Durham. Several team members believe that otherwise eligible juveniles who have IQ scores under 70 could benefit from the program. I. Program Components:Program Admissions(Screening, Referrals, Eligibility, Contract Procedures, and Enrollment Capacity)

4. Program AdmissionsRecommendations: • Current participant enrollment should be expanded. • Court should consider ways to accommodate youth with less than an IQ of 70, e.g., could offer alternative or rehabilitative services.

5. Program Requirements Potential Barriers: • Regular random drug testing does not appear to be occurring with all participants. • Some YTC participants are having difficulty complying with their probationary requirements of curfew and others of school attendance. • Graduating youth with less than one year in the program could lead to fewer long-term positive outcomes. (According to team members, early in DYTC’s history youth were graduated too early and did not have good long-term outcomes.) • Lack of a standardized aftercare program Strengths: • The three phase system seems to be effective in graduating successful youth. For example, one graduated youth reported that he learned much while in the program. After graduation, he was still clean and on A/B Honor Roll. • The detailed Policies and Procedures manual provides consistent guidelines about the functioning of the court is integral to DYTC. • Parental involvement seems to be crucial to the success of participants, according to the majority of team members and participants. (DYTC is already offering classes for parents of adolescents. Several participants reported the importance of their involvement in this aspect of the program.) • Several team members noted that participants with at least one year in the program were more likely to have more positive long-term outcomes than early graduates. • Graduation is an important component of the program: participants are given a party by the team, as well as a gift and recognition in court.

6. Program Requirements:Recommendations • Participants should be drug tested according to the standardized protocol. • Develop strategies to help participants maintain curfew and regularly attend school. • Include more probationary requirements in the Acknowledgement of Program Conditions agreement. • Continue current minimum program duration of one year. • Develop and universally implement a relapse prevention plan and an aftercare plan for each graduating YTC participant.

7. Strengths Team members use a variety of sanctions ranging from detention, to community service, to writing essays. Sanctions are applied in a fair manner with a clear rationale. Sanctions are individually tailored to fit each participant. Sanctions are delivered in court in front of all other drug court participants, thereby reinforcing the importance of compliance. Potential Barriers The court may be overly reliant on the use of detention as a sanction Community service activities may need to be re-examined for their effectiveness as a sanction. Sanctions

8. Sanctions: Recommendations • Participant sanctions should be predictable for participants and consistently used. • Develop more options for sanctions in addition to use of detention. • Develop new community service sanctions that are more recovery oriented. • The team could conduct a “cost/benefit analysis” examining how to keep non-compliant youth in the program longer. Perhaps a literature review would help with making this decision.

9. Strengths “A/B” List: Throughout the first three phases, the DYTC has instituted an “A/B” list system by which juveniles in any phase may attain an “A” list standing through current compliance with probation and DYTC stipulations. “A” list participants do not have to appear before the judge, although they may have to attend court. This gives a built in incentive that is available to all the youth at any phase. Incentives are given in the presence of the other participants in court. Hence, similar to sanctions, they vicariously reinforce the other participants to comply and reach their goals. In court sessions, graduates are brought up in front of the judge first to serve as role models for others. Potential Barriers The team could benefit from additional training on developing more ecologically valid, naturally occurring incentives and using incentives more strategically. The Durham YTC might benefit from having a wider range of incentives available for use with participants. Incentives

10. Incentives: Recommendations Incentives: • It is recommended that the court provide some training on how to get the community involved in donating various rewards, such as gift certificates and free youth-oriented services. • Either give out a standardized graduation gift or develop an individually tailored graduation gift that is equivalent in value across all participants. Furthermore, graduation gifts should be provided to help sustain and reinforce a pro-social, drug-free lifestyle. • Participants suggested that the court offer more fun activities as incentives, like a trip to an amusement park. It is recommended that the court look into offering activity-based incentives, as these will not only motivate compliance, but teach the youth how entertain themselves in a drug and crime-free manner.

11. Strengths: The DYTC uses multiple treatment providers who offer a number of treatment services. Youth commented on the importance of several programs: Parenting of Adolescents; anger management; Ropes (although mixed); and the documentary studies program, as contributing to their success in the program Potential Barriers: Substance abuse treatment services have been unstable for youth in Durham DYTC youth are dependent on team members for referral to services. Treatment

12. Treatment: Recommendations • It is recommended that the court continue to offer these classes, particularly the Parenting of Adolescents class, and further seek novel ways of involving parents in the recovery process. • Since many of the team and youth believe parental involvement is crucial, continue to find ways to help the family overall as well as incorporate family into treatment. Perhaps sponsoring a retreat for parents and youth might be an option, or expanding treatment services for families. • Develop a treatment aftercare program by which youth may continue to stabilize in a drug and crime free lifestyle. AA or NA might be a place to develop this kind of support. It does not appear that NA or AA are a formal part of the DYTC program. Perhaps the youth should be transitioned into recovery groups in the community so that they can more easily maintain recovery after being released from drug court. • Teach youth how to find substance abuse treatment and other resources in the community (e.g., NA, AA). • Continue to be innovative with searching for appropriate programs in the community and finding novel ways to treat clients.

13. Strengths: The court has been innovative in finding new services and adding new ancillary services when treatment availability has changed. School Supervision: School attendance and performance is a high priority for the DYTC team. At core team meetings, school attendance is almost always the first item reviewed for each juvenile. Moreover, school issues are regularly addressed in court. Currently, the Court Counselor, Court Coordinator, and Case Managers regularly attend to reports on juveniles’ school performance and attendance. Potential Barriers: Several team members agree that the court could benefit from a school liaison to get reports on the youth and to help advocate for needed school-related services within the schools, such as tutoring and working to provide the best learning environment for each juvenile. The administrator has indicated that he is working on this element of the program. Additional needs for ancillary services have been identified that are not systematically provided, e.g., after school programs, tutoring, employment mentors and places of employment who offer jobs for probationary youth. Many of these needs were highlighted in 2002-2003 SCOT analysis. Ancillary Services

14. Ancillary Services: Recommendations • Formally include a school liaison on the DYTC team. • Develop an action plan and carry it through regarding provision of/coordination with additional ancillary services e.g., after school programs, tutoring, employment mentors and places of employment who offer jobs for probationary youth. • Publicize in community more and ask for more help- e.g., recruit employers to mentor youth. Find novel ways to develop after school programs and find scholarships for activities that are tailored to the youth’s interests. • One of the team members commented that it is important to listen to the needs of the youth and meet their needs. For instance, to help find funds to get a client glasses or fix teeth so they can obtain work.

15. Strengths: There is a strong commitment by the majority of team members toward helping the youth and their families meet the goals of YDT court. The DYTC team members are well-prepared and trained for fulfilling their roles and responsibilities. Team members have backgrounds working with juvenile offenders and/or in substance abuse. There is generally democratic decision-making during team meetings The team has been innovative in finding resources in the community when resources have been scarce. In particular, the DYTC Judge and the Coordinator has been seen as essential by team members and participants to the functioning of the Durham YDTC Potential Barriers: There has been moderate rate of team member turnover (many involved less than a year). Official orientation, mentoring, and training does not seem to occur regularly on the job. Some team members felt there is a discrepancy about who the client should be. For example, there needs to be agreement about whether the program is for high-risk intervention or low risk prevention cases. Some key treatment decisions seem to be made by individual team members without the input and consensus of the full team regarding the use of sanctions, particularly. II. Program Facilitation:Team Members (Stability & Efficiency)

16. Team Members Recommendations: • Create orientation packets for new team members that would contain all procedural handbooks, current newsletters, and other pertinent information. • More applied training could be offered to the team. • Clarify roles and responsibilities, formally and informally, as well as clarify who the DYTC client is with regard to level of dysfunction. • Develop an organizational chart that delineates and specifies all roles, functions, lines of responsibility, hierarchies of communication, and hierarchy of authority. • Could consider strategically rotating team members to prevent “burn-out” as a result of dealing with this difficult and challenging population.

17. Case Coordination & Judicial Supervision Strengths: • It is apparent that effective monitoring is occurring within the program (e.g., home visits, phone calls to school and treatment providers, biweekly attendance in court, held in contempt if absent). Potential Barriers: • Urinalysis testing needs to be regulated according to plan (mentioned previously). • Number of days in detention varies if youth is not “picked up” immediately. • Files are not centrally located. • MIS system is not updated regularly.

18. Case Coordination & Judicial Supervision: Recommendations • One suggestion made for increasing monitoring ability is for the DYTC to have access to electronic house arrest technology. • Urinalysis testing needs to be regulated according to plan. • Develop strategies to keep number of days in detention uniform if youth is not “picked up” immediately. • Develop and maintain a centrally located file system. • Examine why the MIS system is challenging for team members to keep up to date.

19. Strengths Graduation may only occur if the juvenile has been in treatment court for at least a year and has completed all the phases of the program. In addition, juveniles must have attained 120 consecutive clean days prior to graduation, and the youth must have achieved family-specific goals as set by the treatment provider and case manager. At graduation, a party is often thrown for the graduate where his or her success is celebrated. Moreover, a gift is often given to the graduate from the court. Also, often probation time is often reduced and commitments to the DJJDP are often avoided once a client graduates. Potential Barriers The length of time to graduation has been addressed and lengthened; less than one year in the program has not been proven as successful. III. Completion of the Program:Graduation

20. Strengths The Court Coordinator attempts to keep in contact with terminated clients and offer support to them. Moreover, treatment may still continue through the outside agencies that are providing case management for the youth and family. Potential Barriers There is some disagreement among team members as to when to terminate clients as a general policy. Some team members want to give non-compliant clients more time, believing that lengthening their exposure to the program will help them. Other team members apply a “tough love” approach and want to terminate noncompliant clients sooner. Completion of the Program:Termination

21. Graduation and Termination: Recommendations • Determine with more clarity and develop as a general policy when to terminate clients.

22. Challenges to Successful Completion of the Program • Participant attitude • Low levels of family support • Low levels of mentoring (e.g., as could be provided by ancillary services)

23. IV. Summary Many strengths are associated with the Durham YTC including: • Dedicated and committed team members • Creative programming for youth • Range of mental health and substance abuse services • Policy and procedures handbook • Community awareness: Award: The community has also seen the impact of the DYTC as the Durham Human Relations Commission has selected DYTC for receive the 2005 Human Relations Youth Award to recognize their organization “as one that has demonstrated leadership and innovation in meeting the challenges that face our communities’ youth.” Some important areas for further development and improvement are: • Orientation manual and training for new team members • Team building and decision-making policies • Addition of some topics to the policies and procedures handbook regarding drug testing, termination, individual behavior contexts for sanctions and incentives • Developing effective alternatives to detention as a sanction that do not compromise community safety • Continuing to network with other community agencies • Establishing a school liaison person to participate on the YTC team • Develop more concrete aftercare program and alumni club

24. Testimonial • “If it weren’t for Youth Treatment Court, my child would be six feet under” --quoted from one team member, who quoted a family member of a youth who had actually been terminated from the Durham Youth Treatment Court program.