Academic and Workforce Development Programs for Court-Involved Youth, A Youth Development Approach

A Forum — November 20, 2006

This forum highlighted two programs directed at diverting juvenile offenders from the correctional system to alternative educational programs with a strong focus on youth development. The goals of both programs are to 1) discourage recidivism among the youth offenders and 2) provide academic and technical skills needed for youth to enter the workforce. This forum, fifth in a series sponsored by the GE Foundation, highlighted the educational and workforce development opportunities for young people involved with the juvenile justice system. The two programs presenting were the Court Employment Project and Career Exploration Project at CASES in New York City and Gulf Coast Trades Center (GCTC) based in New Waverly, Texas.

Joe McLaughlin, Director, Court Employment Project, CASES, described their programs to serve court-involved youth. CASES was formed in 1989 by a merger of the Court Employment Project and the Community Service Sentencing Projects established by the Vera Institute of Justice. The mission of CASES is to increase the understanding and use of community sanctions that are fair, affordable, and consistent with public safety. CASES’ programs provide court-involved young people and adults with meaningful opportunities to achieve positive and lasting change in their lives. By addressing the factors that underlie criminal behavior, such as poor education, lack of community support, inability to get and keep a job, substance abuse and low self-esteem, CASES helps young and adult offenders re-integrate into society.

The Court Employment Project’s goal is to provide young felony offenders services and support in lieu of jail or prison. CEP court representatives identify eligible young offenders and interview them to determine their suitability for acceptance into CEP. The screening process is designed to fully inform clients of what will be expected from them in CEP, get their commitments to do their best to comply with the requirements of the program, and ensure there are no significant public safety risks. After speaking with the defense attorneys and prosecutors, the court representatives advocate to judges to sentence eligible offenders to CEP, typically for 6 months. Approximately 70% of the participants successfully complete the program and receive 5 years probation and youthful offender status. Failure usually results in more severe penalties than the youth would have received if they had accepted the initial plea offer.

All CEP participants attend orientation groups and undergo a series of assessments within their first month in the program. This process results in the development of individualized program plans for each young person that specifically addresses their strengths, interests and needs. For many, that includes attending school during the day and reporting to CEP’s center in lower Manhattan for a variety of classes and activities. These services include, case management, educational instruction and GED preparation classes, social work, art therapy, activities and field trips as well as employment services. Attendance and participation is tracked carefully and reported to the intake judges regularly as well.

All CEP participants are eligible to apply for the Career Exploration Project (CXP), an intensive 14-week employment readiness program combined with a month-long paid internship in a field of interest. Developed in 1997 as a pilot project serving 45 young people in its early years, CXP has gradually expanded and now serves 120 youth annually. Approximately 70% of the young people accepted in CXP complete the daily, month-long job preparation portion and 50% complete the entire program. CXP works with local businesses and non-profits to place youth in a variety of substantive positions.

Youth also must remain in school during the program to be eligible. The program also continues to reach out to alumni to track their outcomes as well as provide continued support where necessary. Quarterly outreach to CXP alumni in 2006 shows that commitment to education remains high, 85% of the alums contacted last year continued their education:  22% began college, and 39% completed their GED or received their high school diploma. Most impressive, McLaughlin believes, is the fact that less than 5% of CXP alumni are convicted of a new felony within two years of leaving CASES, which is even lower than the felony reconviction rate of CEP graduates, which is 12% after two years.

In addition to the focused workforce development for youthful offenders, CEP has focused considerable attention on helping court-involved youth overcome the significant barriers they often face as they try to enroll in the public education system. For many of the young people CEP serves, who are often overage and under-credited, traditional high school diplomas may not be practical. For those participants, CEP offers GED preparation classes and is now an official GED testing site. All CEP participants who pass the GED predictor at any time during their tenure in the program, are contacted and invited to take the GED exam at CASES.

Both Court Employment Project and Career Exploration Project place a strong emphasis on connecting young people with appropriate services including education and employment services, helping them develop and improve pro-social skills and providing them with guidance and support. McLaughlin believes that this comprehensive approach is needed to help court-involved young people achieve self-sufficiency and avoid future involvement with the justice system.

Thomas M. Buzbee, Executive Director, Gulf Coast Trades Center, discussed the role of Gulf Coast Trades Center (GCTC) in providing positive experiences for young people involved with the juvenile justice system. Founded in 1971, GCTC serves adjudicated youth between the ages of 16-19 from across the state via referrals from county probation departments, the Texas Youth Commission, and the foster care system. Ethnically, the population of the program has become increasingly Hispanic, currently 52% of young people served. The program also has a right of refusal; it does not accept violent offenders and asks uncooperative youth to leave. Youth enrolled in the program stay for between six and seven months with an open entry/exit system. GCTC focuses on developing trade-related skills relevant to local economies, obtaining a GED, earning a driver’s license, gaining income during training, and successfully reentering the community. Buzbee discussed the Raven School, a fully-accredited charter school on site where students may work towards their GED based on assessments taken upon entry. Graduation ceremonies are held upon completion of the GED program including a ring ceremony. \

At the Raven School, all youth receive individualized case plans upon entry based on a variety of assessments including psychosocial reviews and assignment to a caseworker. GCTC uses a level system to measure a youth’s performance to determine awards and whether the youth will continue in the program. Besides caseworker supervision, other services on site include 24-hour medical/psychological services with weekly visits by a physician as well as meals and clothing. Students reside in assigned single-sex dorms and spend recreational time playing organized sports, offsite field trips, youth leadership training programs and council, and volunteering. These activities are rewards for student achievement, and community service represents an important aspect of overall development with most youth earning over 200 hours.

GCTC has recently expanded into the Rio Grande Valley area after a boom in population there as well as a rise in gang activity. The program features nearly identical programs and services, but is non-residential.

GCTC maintains detailed information about all of its participants through its Student Management Information System. This tracks both academic and vocational progress of all youth. Monthly evaluations are submitted by all adults working with the youth to track progress. Overall, GCTC has a 60% GED completion rate (60 students graduated last month), and youth are followed for one year to 18 months to continue to track outcomes. Once youth leave the program, aftercare is provided based on their residence including work with a Community Services Specialist who provides them with job leads based on their interests. Youth and families are also brought to the facility for counseling and support services, if necessary at no cost to them. This continued support has led to a recidivism rate of only 18%.

Funding comes from a variety of sources with a push towards self-sufficiency as much as possible, according to Buzbee. Auxiliary programs, including Youth Industries Education, make money from the products produced in the welding classes within juvenile facilities. These funds partly pay for the stipends of the youth in the program. Other projects are paid for through donated materials or federal, state, and local grants such as YouthBuild, which provides low-cost housing for the community while giving youth experience in construction.

Policy Recommendations

Both presenters made recommendations regarding the role of federal policy in relation to programs like CASES and GCTC that work with court-involved youth. These recommendations include:

• The federal government should continue RFPs to encourage collaboration to provide new services beyond the traditional ones in place. Both programs feel that more emphasis needs to be placed on mentoring, an aspect admittedly lacking in both programs due to funding constraints.
• Both programs agreed that grants should be tied to performance-based assessments rather than solely methodology, which has been used extensively in the past, with little proof of actual effective outcomes outside of theory.
• There must be cooperation between funders and the organizations receiving money about which performance indicators to use to ensure that long-term, hard-to-measure outcomes are still being pursued in a comprehensive system.
• Both programs encouraged the expansion of the AmeriCorps program with a focus on improving the quality of members as they often provide much needed staff for the programs with a substantially smaller financial burden.

• The US Department of Education should directly fund programs for at-risk youth outside of traditional high school programs. This recognizes that older youth who have fallen far behind in credits instead must turn to alternative institutions.
• These programs should be accredited and provide academic certification, occupational skills training, job placement, and aftercare to provide comprehensive, youth development for court-involved youth.
• NCLB should be reformed to provide for non-traditional programs, such as the Raven School which has a 0% graduation rate because of the short stay of youth and a college track not realistic for many students. However, the legislation should continue to promote other types of performance-based indicators as a measure of success for funding considerations.
• Federal officials should increase practitioner-involvement when crafting policy, in order to recognize best practices within the field and fit policy to ever-changing needs. They must also recognize the need for some exceptions to general rules for programs that fall outside of traditional systems.
• The US Department of Labor should increase funding for programs such as YouthBuild and Workforce Investment Act with an overall focus on more money going towards education than correctional facilities. The reauthorization of the WIA should also continue to include exclusive funding streams for youth-based programs and reach out to more existing programs to aid in their development.
• Both programs recognized the need for court systems to work more effectively with alternative sentencing programs to increase referrals of eligible youth.

Presenters' Bio

Thomas M. (Mike) Buzbee has worked with disadvantaged, adjudicated youth for the past 35 years.  As the President/CEO of the Gulf Coast Trades Center, Inc., he has directed the Center to become a nationally recognized program serving over 25,000 youth since the 1970s.  Mike serves as Superintendent of the Raven Charter School, which was established on the site in 1998.  Prior to his present position, Mike served as a staff representative for the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, PCD, AFL-CIO and the Office Employees International Union, Local 27.  Mike’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science from the University of Houston in 1961 and a Master of Arts in Criminology, Sam Houston State University in 1975.  Mike is affiliated with numerous organizations including service as a board member with the Texas Education Agency, Region 6, and the Walker County, Texas Chamber of Commerce.  He is chairman of the Texas Youthbuild Coalition and on the board of the New Leader’s Academy, National Youth Employment Coalition. In addition, Mike has been recognized by the Attorney General, Juvenile Justice Award (1994); the Texas Legislature, “Work on Behalf of the Children and Families of Texas” 74th Texas House of Representatives; Bridge Builders First Annual Award, Chamber of Commerce, Walker County Texas (1997); the recipient of the New American Community Award, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency; the 1994 Demonstration Model “Out of School Youth”; Strategies for At Risk Youth; the  JTPA Youth Program 1987-88; and one of five outstanding National Youth Programs, National Governor’s Association, 1978.  In 2005, Mike received the National Child Labor Committee’s Lewis Hine Award for his commitment to the children and youth of this Nation.

Joe McLaughlin graduated from Boston College in 1988 with a degree in economics.  He began his career in the criminal justice system in 1989 as a New York City Urban Fellow, working as a Special Assistant to the Executive Director of the New York City Board of Correction.  Upon completion of the Urban Fellows Program, Joe began working for the Vera Institute of Justice as a Planner in their Community Service Sentencing Project.  This project was later merged with the Court Employment Project to form the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES).  Shortly thereafter, Joe designed and implemented a drug relapse prevention program that he managed for the next two years before accepting a position as Executive Assistant to the Director of the Court Employment Project.   In 1995 Joe left CASES to work for a national youth organization managing a program for dependent and delinquent young in Chester County Pennsylvania.  He returned to CASES a year later as Deputy Director of Program Services, assuming responsibility for all education, workforce development and substance abuse services.  During his tenure as Deputy Director, Joe oversaw a number of new program development efforts including a program for court involved young women, art therapy, mentoring, a summer camp, a program for seriously emotionally disturbed young people, a youth enterprise initiative and the Career Exploration program. 

In June of 2002, Joe was promoted to his current position as Director of the Court Employment Project.  Joe lives in the Lehigh Valley with his wife and 2 children, ages 6 and 3.  Joe is also an active member of the Citizens Advisory Board to the Lehigh Country Office of Children and Youth Services.

 

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