Performance-based Standards (PbS) for Youth Correction and Detention Facilities

1. Performance-based Standards (PbS) for Youth Correction and Detention Facilities Using Performance-based Standards (PbS) to Measure Evidence-based Practices Correctional Education Association March 31, 3009 Annapolis, MD

2. PbS: Measuring Performance and Improvement • Ned Loughran, executive director/project director • CJCA • National non-profit organization dedicated to improvement of youth correctional services and practices so youths succeed when they return to the community • Unites nation’s youth correctional CEOs to promote best practices, address common concerns and provide leadership for juvenile justice • Directs several grant projects: • MacArthur Foundation Model for Change, • CJCA Yearbook • OJJDP Mental Health Model, New Directors Seminar • Committed to expanding the adoption of PbS as a best practice to improve conditions of confinement

3. Presentation Overview • How PbS was developed • The scope of PbS: Standards and Outcomes • How PbS works • PbS Tools for the Field • Outcome Measure Examples • NDTAC Recommendations for PbS/CJCA Surveys • Questions and Answers • www.pbstandards.org for more information

4. Performance-based Standards (PbS) Information, outcome measures, reports: • What’s going on • Injuries, climate, fairness, staff-youth relationships • Risk management • Suicidal behavior, screening, isolation • What works, what doesn’t • Education, programming, health/mental health services • Evaluation and evidence-based practices • Treatment, behavior management

5. Performance-based Standards (PbS) Conditions of Confinement • Quality of life for youths and staff • Making sure facilities are safe, hold youths accountable and provide rehabilitation that prevents future crime

6. 1994 Conditions of Confinement Study • About 1,000 secure facilities and found “substantial and widespread deficiencies:” • High rates of youths and staff getting hurt • High rates of suicidal behavior • Few timely or professional health screenings • High levels of staff turnover • Adherence to existing standards did not mean “better” facility

7. Participants: October 2008 • 178 facilities • 25 states, 9 counties • 116 correction • 48 detention • 14 assessment centers • 23 all-female facilities • 73 facilities < 50 youths • 26 facilities 50-99 youths • 79 facilities > 100 youths • 14,000 youths

8. How PbS Works: The Blueprint • A set of seven goals and 27 standards for corrections and 19 standards for detention facilities to assess: • Safety • Order • Security • Health and mental health • Programming • Justice • Reintegration (Corrections Only) Performance toward meeting each standard is measured using one or more outcome measures, which are compared over time and to other participating facilities. PbS is a standards based performance improvement measurement system

9. PbS Standard Layout Each of the seven areas are formatted in the following manner: Area: XXX Goal XXX1 Performance Standard

10. PbS Goals • Safety: To engage in management practices that promote the safety and well-being of staff and youths. • Order: To establish clear expectations of behavior and an accompanying system of accountability for youths and staff that promote mutual respect, self discipline and order. • Security: To protect public safety and to provide a safe environment for youths and staff, an essential condition for learning and treatment to be effective. • Programming: To provide meaningful opportunities and services to youths to improve their educational and vocational competence, to effectively address underlying behavioral problems and to prepare them for responsible lives in the community.

11. PbS Goals • Justice:To operate the facility in a manner consistent with principles of fairness and that provides the means of ensuring and protecting youth’s and family’s legal rights. • Health and Mental Health: To identify and effectively respond to residents’ health, mental health, and related behavioral problems throughout the course of confinement through the use of professionally appropriate diagnostic, treatment, and prevention protocols • Reintegration: To prepare youths for successful reintegration into the community while they reside at the facility

12. PbS Outcome Measures

13. How PbS Works: Improvement Cycle • April and October are data collection months. • Draft Site report is received within 48 hours of close of data entry. • Data corrections are made to anomalies, not recorded and outliers • Final Site Reports are generated along with summary reports for all data collection forms 14 days after receipt of the draft reports • Improvement plan is developed and entered into website with targeted outcome measures.

14. Data Collection • Administrative Form • 1 per site, 46 questions • Incident Reports • All incident reports for data collection period (12,849) • Youth Record • 30 random YR, 93 questions (5274) • Youth Climate Survey • 30 random youths, 38 questions (5668) • Staff Climate Survey • 30 random staff, 38 questions (5999) • Youth Exit Interview • All youths released since last data collection, 24 questions (5899) • Ongoing data entry

15. Site Reports and Analysis • Divided Between Areas: • Safety, Order, Security, Health/ Mental Health, Programming, Reintegration • Corrections: • 105 outcomes • Detention: • 59 outcomes • Compare over time, to the Field Average

16. Facility Improvement Plans Components of a Sites FIP • Targeted Outcome Measures • Targeted Outcome Measure Goals • What is the problem? • Action Steps • Progress Notes • Ongoing Review by Facility Administrator , PbS State Coordinator, and PbS Coach

17. Measuring Performance • PbS outcome measures adhere to definition of performance outcomes as rates, frequencies, numbers that show change in status, occurrence or prevalence • PbS outcomes are measured twice a year to reflect change from one data collection period to the next • PbS reports performance to users in many ways: performance over time, in comparison to the field average of other participating facilities, performance on outcomes targeted for improvement and outcomes critical to safe and effective operations

18. Facility Site Reports and Performance Profiles • Provide a compass for future improvement opportunities • Create a culture where it is accepted that data was not going to be used to “catch” people • Reliable, accurate data will be used to manage and drive improvement

19. Facility Improvement Plans • PbS Coaches use Performance Profiles and Site Reports to guide sites to opportunities for improvement • Sites develop Facility Improvement Plans after each data collection • Ask sites to develop PbS sampling, definition, comprehensive reporting, and thorough data collection competencies first. PbS Sustained Improvement

20. Facility Improvement Plans Components of a Sites FIP • FIP Status: • Open or Closed • Targeted Outcome Measures • Targeted Outcome Measure Goals • What is the problem? • Action Steps • Progress Notes • Ongoing Review by Facility Administrator and PbS State Coordinator

21. PbS Technical Assistance Web site, data collection and data quality • Technical assistance with data collection, site reports and facility improvement plans, both by phone and email • Linkage to OJJDP Training and Technical Assistance • Distance Learning Calls Consultants/coaches, staff • Assist with Site Report Analysis, FIP development, coaching • Data quality review site visits

22. Why PbS Works: • PbS gives facilities data, twice year, showing levels of safety, order, security, programming, health/mental health services, justice and reintegration • PbS improvement process guides facilities in ways to use the information to identify what works and celebrate success as well as see what is not working and a structured path to create change • Improves accountability: facilities have data to share • Prevents future incidents, lawsuits by improving compliance with best practices and high standards • Identifies progress over time, compared to other facilities • Ongoing, personalized customer support • Access to resources, networking across USA (Yale School of Management’s Survey of PbS Users)

23. How do we know? • Field testimonials: word-of-mouth and money • 2004 Innovations in American Government Award • CRIPA analysis: Legal protection • Mapped 10 years of investigations with PbS • Conclusion: Facilities that implement PbS as intended and should not expect a CRIPA investigation because CRIPA investigates based on failure to meet the bare minimum Constitutional standards and PbS sets the highest standards for operational success. • PbS Research: Each kid’s individual experience best way to impact facility safety

24. Field Responses: • Directors, managers and staff are using data to understand facility performance and services • PbS demonstrates data can be provided within the context of improvement: • PbS site reports identify the good and not-so-good; • Expected practices and processes provide a roadmap of ways to improve • FIP process integrates continuous work and monitoring over time to demonstrate accountability and effectiveness

25. Benefits of PbS • Provide sites and agencies with a system of continual improvement • Tool to measure and track key indicators of facility performance and services • Able to compare performance to similar participating facilities across the country • Allow facilities to demonstrate success with data rather than anecdotes • Become more accountable and gain public support

26. Outcome Measure Example: Order • Goal: To establish clear expectations of behavior and an accompanying system of accountability for youths and staff that promote mutual respect, self discipline and order. • Standards: • Maximize responsible behavior by youth and staff and conformance to facility rules; • Minimize the facility’s use of restrictive and coercive means of responding to disorder; • Maximize opportunities for youths to participate in activities and programs. • Outcome Measures: Incidents of youth misconduct; use of physical restraint; use of mechanical restraint; use of isolation or room confinement and; average duration of isolation or room confinement.

27. Order 3: Physical Restraint Use • The denominator is constructed using the total number of youth population for the month (2533) • The numerator is constructed from incident reports of all physical restraints • Raw score for the October 2008 data collection was 23 physical restraints

28. Outcome Measure Example: Programming • Goal: To provide meaningful opportunities and services to youths to improve their educational and vocational competence, to effectively address underlying behavioral problems and to prepare them for responsible lives in the community. • Standards: • Provide an education program that is tailored to each youth’s education level, abilities, problems, and special needs, and improves education performance and vocational skills while confined. • Address the behavioral problems of confined youths by developing and implementing a level system and associated programming that prepares youths for progressively increased responsibility and freedom in the community and that promotes healthy life choices. • To provide a support system to ensure that services are gender‐specific, culturally sensitive, language appropriate and tailored to fit the individual needs to the youths.

29. Programming 2: Reading Scores • Percent of youths whose reading scores increased between admission and discharge

30. Programming 6: Vocational Programming • Percent of youths whose records indicate that they received the vocational skills programming prescribed by their individual treatment plans

31. NDTAC Recommendations for PbS/CJCA Surveys • Include education as a heading/category of its own, separated from the programming goal • Creating three education standards • General education • Special education • Vocational education • Include additional items that focus on: • Special education services • Advanced student outcomes • Educational transition • Teacher qualifications

32. PbS Standard Layout Each of the seven areas are formatted in the following manner: Area: XXX Goal XXX1 Performance Standard

33. Standard 1: General Education Educational Programming: Currently in PbS

34. Standard 1: General Education Educational Programming: Recommendations

35. Standard 1: General Education Student Academic Outcomes: Currently in PbS

36. Standard 1: General Education Student Academic Outcomes: Recommendations

37. Standard 1: General Education Teachers/Staff: Currently in PbS

38. Standard 1: General Education Teachers/Staff: Recommendations

39. Standard 1: General Education Transition/Reintegration: Recommendations

40. Standard 2: Special Education Currently in PbS

41. Standard 2: Special Education Recommendations

42. Standard 3: Vocational Education Currently in PbS

43. Standard 3: Vocational Education Recommendations

44. Recommendations for PbS/CJCA Youth Surveys • Programs/Education • I am in class (6 hours or more), five days per week. • I have what I need to complete my lessons in my classes. • I have received a copy of my most recent report card. • The school library is available for me to use during school hours.

45. Recommendations for PbS/CJCA Youth Surveys • Classes and Teachers • Overall, the courses here are challenging. • Overall, the teachers here care about my education. • Overall, the teachers here help me if I don’t understand something in my lesson.

46. Recommendations for PbS/CJCA Youth Surveys • Transition • I have talked with a school staff member about my educational plans when I am released. • School staff encourage me to get a high school diploma. • School staff encourage me to get a GED.

47. PbS Website and Email Address www.pbstandards.org help@pbstandards.org • Availability of Trial Facility to experience PbS website design, data collections, outcome measures and reports.