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Promoting family involvement of youth with disabilities in juvenile corrections is critical to improving educational outcomes, providing successful transition and reentry into homes and communities, and decreasing recidivism.
Various agencies at several levels of government are involved with providing services to youth with disabilities in correctional facilities and planning for their reentry into the community.
Research tells us that juveniles experience extremely high recidivism rates (up to 55%), and it is even worse for those with disabilities. Moreover, many youth do not reengage with educational systems after exiting from correctional systems.
Youth with disabilities are disproportionately represented within correctional facilities, with nearly four times as many students requiring special education and related services in the adjudicated population versus the general population. According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), youth with disabilities must be identified and receive the special education
This report describes three innovative projects that have developed strategies for improving the reentry of youth with disabilities from juvenile justice facilities into school, community, employment, and family. One of the goals of juvenile justice programming is to prevent recidivism and to support youth to successfully rejoin their communities upon release.
This website is a hub of information focused on Family Engagement.
This website includes numerous tools and supports specifically for parents and families, schools and educators, and communities.
This archived webinar was developed by the Family Engagement Resource Provider (FERP) Project. Presenters were Jane Sharp, Education Information Resource Center and Debra Jennings, Director of the Center for Parent Information and Resources and the Statewide Parent Advocacy Support
Overview and key principles of practice as they relate to facility-wide practices for juveline justice. Historically, juvenile correctional facilities have operated under a deficit- or punitive-driven model when addressing the behavioral and academic needs of youth with disabilities.
The Intervention IDEAs brief series describes interventions based on evidence, for practitioners and parents that address the academic, developmental and behavioral domains of infants and toddlers as well as school-aged children and youth with or at risk of disabilities. This brief covers intervention IDEAs for infants, toddlers, children, and youth impacted by opioids.
Reentry planning for youth with or without disabilities should begin as soon as a youth arrives at a facility and should outline transition issues, plus academic, career, and educational goals, and provide students with educational and career programming that prepares them for the challenges they might encounter after release from custody. The 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates that students with disabilities who are older than 16 years must have specific documentation of age- and disability-appropriate transition services and plans in their individualized education program (IEP). Transitioning to community-based schools should be coordinated, be outcome oriented, and promote successful movement between the facility and the community, using established evidence- and research-based practices. This is a complex issue that needs to be organized by a transition team, including correctional staff, the youth themselves, their families, community partners, and local educational representatives. A consistent transition counseling and youth reassessment process while at the facility and a planned sequence of services after release are integral to the plan’s success.
During the webinar, CIPP staff will present the new tool, Demonstrating Evidence across the Project Cycle, which discusses the different types of evidence that can be used throughout the project cycle to monitor progress and fidelity in implementation and to demonstrate results. Participants will learn about the tool and how OSEP grantees can use it during initial project planning, implementation, and evaluation.
As a condition of receiving Federal funds under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), States must demonstrate to the U.S. Department of Education that they have policies and procedures in place to fully comply with the law’s requirements. IDEA guarantees that youth with disabilities within correctional facilities have access to a free appropriate public education (FAPE).To ensure the availability of FAPE, IDEA specifies procedures to identify youth with disabilities, address their needs, and design individualized supports and services to help them meet academic and behavioral expectations. In addition, IDEA requires youth to be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE). For youth with disabilities in correctional facilities, this means that, to the extent possible, they are to be educated with those who are not disabled. Removing youth with disabilities from the regular educational environment should occur only if the severity of the disability is such that satisfactory performance in regular classes cannot be achieved. Also, under IDEA, eligible youth are entitled to an individualized education program (IEP) that details the specially designed instruction and related services that they require. IDEA compliance requires (1) the identification of youth with disabilities who have not previously been identified by the school before they entered the correctional facility, and (2) for identified youth, the continued adherence to their IEPs while they are enrolled in a facility.
Document on 325K. Sample PROJECT Measures aligned with PROGRAM Performance Measures for the PDP CIPP.
This interactive tool discusses the different types of evidence that can be used throughout the project cycle to, for example, support theories of action, choice of interventions, and provide formative feedback on how project activities are progressing. It also discusses how to use the evidence collected to monitor progress and fidelity in implementation with the goal of demonstrating ultimate
The Intervention IDEAs brief series describes interventions based on evidence, for practitioners and parents that address the academic, developmental and behavioral domains of infants and toddlers as well as school-aged children and youth with or at risk of disabilities. This brief covers intervention IDEAs for infants, toddlers, children, and youth impacted by lead exposure.
This website is maintained by the Monitoring and State Improvement Planning Division (MSIP) division of OSEP. It provides resources pertaining to States’ compliance with IDEA, including archives of each State’s annual State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) and technical assistance resources to support States in meeting their SPP.
OSEP’s third symposium in the 2017 Symposia Series, “Conveying Our Stories--Displaying Our Data,” focused on how States, districts, and Part D-funded investments can develop engaging stories and effectively use data to improve communication strategies used with stakeholders, leadership, and decision makers. The symposium explored best practices and tips for more impactful and effective communication efforts. Examples included: Information on building an effective dissemination plan and Using infographics and data visualization practices to communicate the meaning of data in a way that is accessible, accurate, and actionable for a variety of stakeholders. Tips covered: Using social media to improve outreach and Measuring success using analytic tools.
The alternate assessment in Massachusetts is one pathway to meet the state requirements for earning a "competency determination" needed to receive a regular high school diploma. Therefore, it was necessary to calibrate performance levels precisely between the alternate assessment and the general assessment, especially at the Needs Improvement level, which is the level required to earn the competency determination. Massachusetts decided to use an analytical rubric to convert raw scores to performance levels. Combinations of scores that could be obtained across the alternate assessment scoring rubrics for Level of Complexity, Demonstration of Knowledge and Skills, and Independence were discussed and reasoned perceptions were used to assign performance levels of Awareness, Emerging, Progressing, and Needs Improvement or above (Proficient, Advanced) in each portfolio strand. The reasoning behind the Massachusetts approach and the ways in which performance levels in each strand are combined to produce an overall performance level is described further in the report. This approach reflects not only the Massachusetts standards, but also its unique culture and values.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) website brings together IDEA information and resources from the Department and our grantees. Whether you are a student, parent, educator, service provider, or grantee, you are here because you care about children with disabilities and their families and want to find information and explore resources on infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.