OBSERVATIONS ON CHANGE

1
OBSERVATIONS ON CHANGE

• Parent organizations have the obligation to
  establish standards and teach values that support
  the mission and vision of the agency.
• When the values and standards that defined the
  agency mission are eroded by neglect and the
  mission loses its clarity, then alternate values
  emerge that begin to influence change.

2
Whats in a name?

• CONSIDER
• The youth authority was conceived as a vehicle to
  provide delinquent youth with opportunities for
  self-improvement and growth.
• Its facilities were characterized as schools and
  youth camps and its mission reflected standards
  for child care, education, treatment and
  training.
• Its staff were identified as youth counselors,
  group leaders, treatment team supervisors and
  treatment program administrators.

3
Changing Values, New Names

• Over time
• The Ventura School became the Ventura
  Correctional Facility.
• Group supervisors became youth correctional
  officers.
• Youth counselors transformed into correctional
  counselors.
• Uniforms replaced attire.
• Rank replaced functions as Sergeants,
  Lieutenants, Captains, and Majors populated
  living units and jobs became posts.
• Over time the Youth Authority became a mirror of
  adult correctional structures and nomenclature.
• The transformation of a youth centered agency
  culture became adultified.

4
Expectations

• Crowding impacted youth care and raised barriers
  to effective supervision and treatment
• Perceptions govern behavior
• Some prophecies became self-fulfilling
• Punishment replaced treatment and use of force
  was seen as the proper response to acting out
  behavior.
• External control methods replaced prevention and
  graduated intervention.
• Lock-up and lock-down became a common practice.
• Cancellation of programs reflected the gradual
  devaluation of treatment.

5
Polarization

• Black, white, brown and others are youth
  transformed into isolated groups.
• Teaching and modeling of tolerance, mutual
  respect, and cultural appreciation has given way
  to management of gang and racial antagonism.
• Solutions are predicated on a return to system of
  intervention and treatment.

6
A Normative Culture

• 1. Creates a rehabilitative/treatment
• environment within the facilities and programs.
• 2. Recognizes the importance of establishing
  social
• rules and expectations centered on respect for
  the
• individual, the community and the program.

7
A Normative Culture

• Norms include
• Teaching non-violent resolution of disputes
• Teaching respect for divergent points of view
• Constructive communication to promote positive
  norms and to confront negative norms
• Accepting responsibility for ones behavior
• Recognizing that ones behavior impacts the group
  and using the group process to repair harm caused.

8
Program Structure

• Normative culture treatment approaches
• teach skills for
• Conflict resolution skills, including tolerance,
  mutual respect and appreciation of other cultures
• Anger management
• Social skills and communications
• Character development and criminal thinking error
  analysis
• Gang allegiance interventions
• Accepting personal responsibility and
  accountability
• Management of behavior goals

9
DJJ FACILITIES PROFILE

• Of six camps, all but two camps have been closed.
• 7 of 8 DJJ facilities are 40 years old.
• Chaderjian, the newest facility is an adult
  prison design.
• There is a shortage of single rooms balanced by
  region
• Single rooms are preferred.
• 30 of DJJ beds are in open dormitories.
• DJJ facilities unit size range from 30 to 60.
• 100 of DJJ living units, exceed ACAs unit size
  standard.
• Two housing systems co-exist one for youth 17
  and under and one for youth 18 and older.

10
FACILITIES

• ACA Standards require all newly constructed
  facilities to be
• 150 beds or smaller.
• Limit living unit sizes are limited to 16 youth
  or less.
• The 1995 OJJDP Conditions of Confinement Study of
  over 1000 juvenile institutions found dormitories
  to be inherently unsafe.
• The Conditions of Confinement Study recommended
  limiting existing dormitories to no more than 11
  beds
• and banning all new dormitory construction.

11
FACILITY DESIGN MUST ACCOMMODATE DIFFERENCES IN
AGE AND RISK

• Little effective distinction exists in design and
  programming between these age groups.
• Access to program spaces are separated from
  housing areas producing movement management,
  group size, and supervision of group separation
  issues.
• Violence, gang activity, and intimidation
  characterize daily living experiences for most
  DJJ youth.

12
CONDITIONS

• Routine maintenance and facility upgrades have
  been deferred for years.
• Living and programming space does not match
  security or treatment needs of the population.
• Structural and utility systems are in bad repair.
• Architecturally limited designs incorporate long
  corridors, blind spots, faulty or non-functional
  security systems, a lack of CCTV camera coverage,
  inadequate communications, and present movement
  control and program access challenges.
• None of the existing facilities are adequate in
  design by contemporary standards.

13
CAPITAL PLANNING

• Establish a regional services model plan.
• Develop a comprehensive facility resources
  inventory and needs profile by region.
• Incorporate institutions, transition facilities
  and community parole service centers into the
  model.
• Establish immediate, short term, and long term
  targeted goals for priority repair and
  maintenance and unit replacement.
• Establish design standards for clustering
  facilities, replacement of existing housing
  units, construction of new facilities, including
  planning and designs for transition beds and
  community service centers.

14
Incorporate Design concepts

• Group management, housing, and control
• benefit from good security design.
• If YOU CANNOT SEE, YOU CANNOT SUPERVISE.
• IF YOU CANNOT CONTAIN YOU CANNOT CONTROL.
• IF YOU CANNOT COMMUNICATE, YOU CANNOT MANAGE.
• DIVIDE AND CONQUER.
• SIZE MATTERS, THE SMALLER THE BETTER!

15
DESIGN FACTORS FOR POPULATION MANAGEMENT

• 1. Divide and conquer, always keep grouping as
  small as possible.
• 2. Sub-divide whenever possible to provide
  alternative activities.
• 3. Isolate whenever necessary to permit
  individual intervention and reflection.
• 4. Control all points of access and egress to
  structure stability and manage impulsivity.
• 5. Control circulation patterns to limit contact
  to prevent competitive interactions.
• 6. Provide structured programming during waking
  hours, w/o idle time.
• 7. Establish staffing ratios that support
  building relationships and modeling behavior.
• 8. Recognize and reward achievement.
• 9. Provide individual and group programming that
  addresses risk, need and responsivity.

16
SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT

• Effective Juvenile Correctional Systems have the
  following
• management methods
• They are driven by policies and practices
  grounded in contemporary national standards of
  care and practice.
• Local practices based on policy requirements must
  be approved and they must incorporate all the
  mandated policy requirements.
• Training requirements are established in policy
  that are competency based and require from each
  trainee measured evidence of understanding of the
  purpose, approved method, and can demonstrate
  skills.
• Audit requirements are established for each
  policy and internal and external audits
  periodically measure compliance and outcomes.
• Corrective action with administrative response
  and accountability are established for each audit
  finding.

17
Accountability

• Managers are held to be responsible for all
  operational requirements and compliance with
  policy.
• Personnel evaluations are linked to demonstrated
  and measured outcomes.
• All policies are reviewed annually and updated as
  necessary.
• Training needs are predicated on audit and
  proficiency reviews