Literacy and System-Involved Youth: Strategies for improving outcomes

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Literacy and System-Involved YouthStrategies
for improving outcomes

• June 23rd, 2008
• Evan Elkin - Director of the Adolescent Reentry
  Initiative Adolescent Portable Therapy, Vera
  Institute of Justice

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Goals of Presentation

• Scope of the problem Overview of relevant
  national and local research findings on literacy
  and incarcerated youth
• Overview of promising practices and blueprint
  recommendations in the literacy education field
  for incarcerated youth
• Snapshot of recent literacy programming
  developments here in New York City
• Describe a new literacy initiative and pilot
  program developed by the Vera Institute of
  Justice in partnership with NYC Council, DOC and
  the Queens Public Library
• Workshop exercise generating new recommendations
  for the field

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Criminal Justice System-involved Youth Key
Research Findings

• Youth in correctional facilities on average read
  at the 4th grade level (Brunner 1993)
• 80 of incarcerated youth read at one or more
  grade levels below their same age peers (Malmgren
  Leone, 2000)
• More than 50 of youth on Rikers Island read
  below the 6th grade level (Internal statistics,
  Island Academy)
• Matching national figures, roughly 35 of Rikers
  youth carry a special education classfication
  (Internal statistics, Island Academy)

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Key Research Findings Contd

• Less than 1/3 of youth returning home from NYC
  jails enroll in school (Fruedendberg, 2000)
• Youth with significant academic delays are twice
  as likely to recidivate or violate parole
  (Archwamety Katsiyannis, 2000)
• High school dropouts are 3.5 times more likely
  than graduates to be arrested (US DOE, 1994)
• Incarcerated youth were 37 less likely to return
  to prison if they learned to read at re-entry
  (Criminal Justice Policy Council, 1998)

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The Problem

• Low Literacy is correlated with
• Disengagement from formal education
• Unemployment and lower wages
• Arrest, incarceration recidivism
• Programming options (GED prep, vocational
  training etc) for low readers (Below 6th grade)
  are profoundly limited
• Lack of innovative literacy teaching strategies
  tailored to the needs system-involved youth and
  young adults

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Veras Involvement with Literacy Developing a
set of program recommendations

• ARI program faced the crisis of excluding half of
  eligible youth because of literacy levels and
  lack of community programs
• Vera conducted a detailed review of the
  literature and existing promising programs
• Examined evidence-supported and promising
  practices through a re-entry lens
• Developed a set of a recommendations
• Assembled NYC stakeholders to reach consensus on
  a blueprint
• Vera developed and launched a literacy
  intervention pilot

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Recent Developments in NYC

• Deputy Mayor Gibbs office and CEO launched a
  literacy intiative this year
• Based on Vera blueprint
• Drawing on NYC strengths library systems,
  literacy providers contracted through DYCD
• Seeks to stimulate innovation and curriculum
  development
• Multi-site implementation of the CEPS model in
  NYC
• Promising early results
• Will play a coordinating/guiding role with the
  CEO initiative
• Veras Adolescent Reentry Initiative (ARI)
  launched a pilot of a literacy model for youth
  returning from adult jail
• Plans to continue to refine and test curriculum
  and programming approach
• Our goal is to take the program to scale and
  expand to other populations

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Promising Programs

• NYC Community Education Pathways to Success
  (CEPS) model
• Integrates literacy learning with wraparound
  youth services in a community based setting
• Developed by the Youth Development Institute
  (ydiinstitute.org)
• Uses Ramp Up curriculum
• Oakland CA Project Choice
• Integrates literacy learning with multi-target
  prison reentry services (pre and post-release
  phases
• 34 improvements in recidivism
• Designed and tested their own curriculum
• Yo! Baltimore
• Community center approach with multiple
  services including job readiness and placement, a
  recording studio and a health club
• Serves criminal justice, child welfare involved
  youth as well as school disconnected youth
• Modest improvements in recidivism and strong
  employment outcomes
• Literacy element consists of online and tutoring
  for GED prep

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Promising Curricula

• RAMP Up
• Used by CEPS programs
• Strong outcomes for youth reading at 6th grade
  and above
• Integrates vocational material
• Read 180
• Used by Job Corps
• Software driven and bilingual
• Good track record with adults
• Not tested with a system involved youth
  population
• REWARDS
• Success with 2.5 to 4.0 readers
• But its use has been with 4th and 5th graders,
  not older adolescents, young adults or
  system-involved populations

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Integrating Re-entry Needs of the System-Involved
Youth Lessons from ARI

• History of academic failure leads to very low
  frustration tolerance and sense of hopelessness
  about entering an educational program
• The re-entry window - where motivation to make
  changes is high can close very quickly
  (nationally - 25 of youth drop out of programs
  at 30 days post reentry)
• A traditional classroom setting can be daunting
  for youth who have been disengaged from school
• Rigid rules and excessive structure may be
  difficult from some youth post-incarceration
• Program attendance lost wages The need to earn
  money can make regular attendance in a program
  challenging for some youth
• Class/semester schedules dont line up with
  release dates

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Youth Re-entry Needs Contd

• Rates of substance use, mental health
  difficulties and family problems among detained
  and incarcerated youth are very high
• Stigma of criminal justice history makes return
  to traditional education settings daunting (and
  often impossible without advocacy)
• Many community programs have little experience
  and high anxiety about working with incarcerated
  youth
• Ages 16-18 can cover a broad development spectrum
• Competing with the streets/gangs

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Primary Blueprint Recommendations Program
Structure

• Comprehensive, holistic and strength-based
  assessment
• Begin engagement and services pre-release
• Embed programming in a youth-focused,
  multi-target support environment
• Resistance is the norm build in assertive and
  flexible recruitment and retention strategies and
  expect disruption and disengagement
• Leverage supportive power of the classroom group
  itself
• Peer led and directed process for engagement and
  retention
• Stipends
• Individualized attention (eg., CEPS primary
  person approach)
• Pragmatic, fun, flexible atmosphere
• Bridge to next steps

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Primary Blueprint Recommendations Curriculum

• Anticipatory strategies students know what they
  will learn before they learn it
• Classroom strategies accommodate multiple
  learning levels and paces
• Student centered encourage multiple learning
  strategies to achieve learning goals
• Culturally relevant and student-driven curriculum
  content
• Authentic/pragmatic texts
• Reconcile literacy with living Dont sidestep
  issues of criminal justice system involvement,
  race and priviledge etc. as it pertains to
  literacy
• Arts and media integration - recognize and build
  on students literacy with other forms of text
  print, visual, oral, musical, electronic

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Veras Literacy Pilot Goals

• Develop a new literacy teaching curriculum
  responsive to the blueprint
• Embed the literacy learning experience in the
  re-entry wraparound services provided by ARI
• Implement the program in an accessible community
  context
• Partner with an organization (QBL) with a strong
  teaching infrastructure and shared mission to
  address adult and young adult literacy
• Evaluate implementation process and refine model
  and curriculum

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Key Components of Vera Literacy Model

• Integrating literacy programming with
  multi-target re-entry intervention SA, MH,
  Family, life skills, housing, work readiness
• Ongoing relationship with a case manager
• Integration of vocational, career and higher
  education goals with literacy programming and
  with the curriculum itself
• Blending of authentic texts with traditional
  literature
• Arts and media integration - recognize and build
  on students literacy with other forms print,
  visual, oral, musical, electronic
• Structured rolling admission
• Stipends
• Job development services and linkages with
  further training and education post literacy
  program

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Evaluation, Outcomes, Next steps

• Tracking youth progress
• Intermittent formal testing
• Testing and refining the curriculum
• Prioritizing youth feedback on whats working
• Planned series of curriculum revisions
• Development of a teacher training manual for the
  curriculum
• Process and implementation evaluation
• Goal for a more comprehensive evaluation post
  pilot
• Begin teaching pre-release?
• Bring program to scale and target other youth
  populations

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Breakout Group Exercise