Engaging Families in the Education of Neglected and Delinquent Youth in Residential Care Trina W. Osher, M.A. Huff Osher Consulting, Inc. David M. Osher,

Engaging Families in the Education of Neglected and

Delinquent Youth in Residential Care

Trina W. Osher, M.A.Huff Osher Consulting, Inc.Huff Osher Consulting, Inc.

David M. Osher, Ph.D.American Institutes for ResearchAmerican Institutes for Research

Huff Osher Consulting, Inc.Huff Osher Consulting, Inc.2

Challenges to family involvement --

______ ______ ______ ______

Is this the Is this the Education Education

System We System We Want for Want for

Our Youth?Our Youth?


Stop the School to Prison PipelineChristine A. Christle, EDJJ 2004 Presentation

SuspensionSuspension

School FailureSchool Failure

DropoutDropout

DelinquencyDelinquency

Keep in mind:It’s about being “kids” first – youth who need special help to do what

their siblings and friends do naturally.

Family Driven

and Youth Guided


Children and Youth Don’t Exist in Isolation

“If we are really going to keep families safe, we need to do that in the context of communities and family.”

Viola P. MillerViola P. Miller

Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Children’s ServicesCommissioner, Tennessee Department of Children’s Services


PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

The term ‘parental involvement’ means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and two-way, and meaningful communicationmeaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring— that parents play an integral roleintegral role in assisting their child’s

learning; that parents are encouragedencouraged to be actively involved in their

child’s education at school; that parents are full partnersfull partners in their child’s education and

are included, as appropriate, in decision makingdecision making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child.

No child Left Behind Sec. 1902 DefinitionsNo child Left Behind Sec. 1902 Definitions


Who Has Responsibility for Family Involvement?

Families, administrators, school staff, students, and, in many cases, the courts.

What is the educational administrator’s role? Administrators are usually responsible for implementing

policies that make the facility accessible to and hospitable for families.

Educational leader should ensure that students have access to their families and that families have access to their children.

What should families do? Get involved. Don’t wait to be asked. Offer to help the

school.


Research Base for Family Involvement

Family involvement is key to improving school and mental health outcomes and reducing disparities.

Parental efficacy and positive attitudes toward mental health services correlate with … a parent’s assessment of his or her ability to meet an improvement goal.

Professionally or agency-driven interactions between professionals and families can work against self-efficacy and empowerment, particularly for caregivers who already feel socially stigmatized of marginalized.

IN PRESS Gullotta, T. P. & Blau, G. (Eds.). (2007). IN PRESS Gullotta, T. P. & Blau, G. (Eds.). (2007). Family Influences on Childhood Behavior and Family Influences on Childhood Behavior and Development: Evidence-Based Prevention and Treatment ApproachesDevelopment: Evidence-Based Prevention and Treatment Approaches . NY, Routledge. NY, Routledge.

Trina W. Osher

Might want to find a differnent example for the second bullet on this slide.


Parent Perceptions Matter

Even after controlling for diverse variables (e.g., the educational and employment levels of both parents, child’s grade, gender,

and race) the strongest predictor of parent involvement was the parent’s perceptions of teacher outreachparent’s perceptions of teacher outreach.

Parent involvement was highest when parents perceived their child’s teacher as: Valuing their contribution to their child’s education,; Trying to keep them informed about their child’s strengths

and weaknesses; and Providing them with specific suggestions to help their

child.

““Parents’ Perceptions of Teacher Outreach and Parent Involvement in Children’s Parents’ Perceptions of Teacher Outreach and Parent Involvement in Children’s Education.” Patrikakou, Evanthia N., and Weissberg, Roger P. in Journal of Education.” Patrikakou, Evanthia N., and Weissberg, Roger P. in Journal of

Prevention & Intervention in the Community (The Haworth Press, Inc.) Vol. Prevention & Intervention in the Community (The Haworth Press, Inc.) Vol. 20, No 1/2, 2000 pp. 103-119.20, No 1/2, 2000 pp. 103-119.


Logic Model for Family-driven and Youth Guided Care

Family &Youth

Experience

++Profession

al ExpertiseImproved Safety, Health, and Well

Being for Children, Youth, Families, Schools, and

Communities

Collaborative Partnership

ServiceDesign

DeliveryParticipationMonitoringEvaluation

Better

Communication

Trust


Bottom Line

Learning is social process that depends upon the ability of the student to attend and the teacher to personalize Emotions and social emotional capacities affect learning

and teaching Relationships and social and emotional capacity provide a

foundation for learning and transition planning Contexts affect emotions and relationships

There are measurable conditions for learning that affect the ability of students to attend and teachers to personalize

These conditions for learning are particularly important for students in correctional settings


How NOT to Involve Families:Some Examples

But, I’m the doctor – But, we already made a decision – But, we didn’t mean now – We don’t do it that way --


The Challenge of Education in Correctional Environments


What Are The Conditions and Capacities for Success?


Why Be Concerned with Conditions for Learning and

Family Involvement in Correctional Settings?

Key to addressing the educational needs of students

Key to ensuring that these students have the same opportunities to achieve as students in community schools

Necessary for successful return to the community


Bottom Line

Families often know students strengths and needs

Families may have other critical information

Families are necessary to successful transitions

Family Efficacy and Trust are related to positive outcomes


Low Achieving Students & Students Who are at Risk--

Particular susceptibility to:

Low Teacher Support

Negative Peer Relationships

Chaotic & Reactive Environments

Poor Instructional and Behavioral Practices

Family-school conflict or disconnectFamily-school conflict or disconnect



Factors To Consider In Working With Families

Geography, transportation, financial resources, time Family members’:

Skills and knowledge; Experiences with education or other systems; History; and Culture and language

Characteristics of the institution Security Staffing

Court restrictionsLook in the Guide for a list of opportunities to involve families (pages 7-8).Look in the Guide for a list of opportunities to involve families (pages 7-8).


What Families Say Helps Them Get Involved

Culturally comfortable settings Trust building Communication mechanisms Outreach strategies Family support services

See the Guide for specific suggestions (pages 11-13). See the Guide for specific suggestions (pages 11-13).

Consulting with families of students being served will help an institution’s leaders choose strategies best suited to their specific families and that can work in their setting.


Take Advantage Of Family Visits To Engage Them In School

Activities

Give tours of the school on visiting day. Open a family resource center in the school where:

families can pick up information relevant to their child’s education and transition to a community school; and

teachers can explain the curriculum and what students have been working on.

Display samples of student work in the visiting area. Give each student a packet of their recent work and

coach them to review it with their family on visiting day.

Look in the Guide for strategies that administrators say are working in their facilities – Look in the Guide for strategies that administrators say are working in their facilities – see page 14see page 14


Suggestions for Smooth Transition Home

Include the student’s family in transition planning from the start.

Help the family gather necessary information.

Help them foster relationships with their community school education program BEFOREBEFORE the student makes the transition.


Involving Families in Evaluation to Determine If Outcomes are

Improving Give families and youth a significant role in

designing the questions and methods of getting feedback that is meaningful, culturally appropriate, and family friendly.

Hire and train families and youth to collect the data, to make follow-up calls when surveys are not returned, conduct phone interviews, and moderate focus groups.

Ask families to support objective data by adding their personal testimonies when it is time to report on the program’s or institution’s impact.


Engaging Families For Program Improvement and System

Change Identify governance boards, planning councils,

advisory groups, and working committees where family input would be desirable. Recruit, train, and support families who serve in this capacity.

Seek family input when developing any plans to improve family involvement in an institution or program.

Demonstrate genuine respect for family members, warmly welcome their collaboration, and generously provide support to make the partnership work.

Look in the Guide for a list of strategies that work (page 10).Look in the Guide for a list of strategies that work (page 10).


Relationships Are Key

Establishing communication with a student’s family may require some creative effort and persistence.

Don’t assume that the family is not interested just because you don’t get a response right away.

Use more than one strategy to reach out to each family such as: Sending a message in the mail; Making a phone call; and Trying to meet them in person the next time they visit their

child at the facility.

Look in the Guide for a list of specific questions to ask families about Look in the Guide for a list of specific questions to ask families about communication (page17).communication (page17).


Families Expect Programs To Be Therapeutic and Family Friendly

Families Want Students to HaveFamilies Want Students to Have High-quality education, not simply one that pushes all

students toward a GED regardless of their abilities and goals;

Staff who are qualified and experienced;

Vocational education assessments and training;

Creative but rigorous alternative learning strategies;

Social skills training;

Qualified professional mental health services; and

Staff who treat their children with dignity and respect.


What Youth Say About Involving Their Families

“My mom and me agreed on everything and that was one of the biggest factors in getting through my treatment.”

“Family support is a strong issue, and they have to be involved in the treatment.”

“There should be some information for the parents to encourage them to want to be involved.”

“If the child gives up the parent or support needs to want it for them. It’s sad to see the parent give up.”

Blamed and Ashamed: the treatment experiences of youth with Blamed and Ashamed: the treatment experiences of youth with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders and their familiesco-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders and their families

Federation of Families for Children’s Mental HealthFederation of Families for Children’s Mental Health


Practice Interactions with individual families & youth

SystemsPolicies, Laws, & Regulations

AgenciesProcedures for serving

families & youth

3 Leverage Points for Transformation

e.g., Voice & Choice

e.g., Flexibility with Scheduling and Resources

e.g., Certification of Personnel and

Funding Policies


Universal Strategies for All Families

1st Tier

Create a welcoming environment

Solicit family input

Provide an orientation

Establish ongoing communication

Sponsor social activities


Selective Strategies to Boost Some Families2nd Tier

Connect families with each other

Offer families education and training

Take advantage of family visits to their child

Recruit family members to serve on advisory groups


Intensive Strategies for Hard to Reach Families

3rd Tier

Tailor approaches to each family

Repair relationships between the student and their family

Hire Family Liaisons to work with families 1:1

Making the Paradigm Shift to Family, and Youth Driven Practice

Families and Youth

Family-drivenFamily-drivenand and

Youth GuidedYouth Guided

Provider Provider and and

System-System-drivendriven

Source of Solutions

Relationship

Orientation

Assessment

Planning

Access to Services

Expectations

Outcomes

Trina and David Osher. The Paradigm Shift to True Collaboration with Families Journal of Child and Family Studies, Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2002, pp. 47–60.


PARADIGM SHIFT: The Changing Role for Families and Youth

Provider Driven Family Driven

Source Of Solutions

Professionals and agencies Child, family, and their support team

Relationship Child and family viewed as a dependent client expected to carry out instructions

Partner/collaborator in decision making, service provision, and accountability

Orientation Isolating and “fixing” a problem viewed as residing in the child or family

Environmental approach enabling the child and family to do better in the community

Assessment Deficit oriented Strengths based


Provider Driven Family Driven

Planning Agency resource based Individualized for each child and family

Access To Services

Limited by agencies menus, funding streams, and staffing schedules

Comprehensive and provided when and where the child and family require

Expectations Low to modest High

Outcomes Based on agency function and symptom relief

Based on quality of life and desires of child and family

PARADIGM SHIFT: The Changing Role for Families and Youth


How Do We Make Practice Family-driven?

A change in vocabulary is not enough to transform practice.

Communities, agencies, providers, and families need training, technical assistance, and on-going support to make the paradigm shift.

State and national policies must encourage, support, and sustain: The conditions that are necessary for it to happen; and The capacities that must exist for it to happen.

A systemic approach to improving conditions and capacities

Will This Fish Thrive?

What is the conditioncondition of the water?

What is the fish’s

capacitycapacity to live in this kind of water?

What happens when something changes?

Can we manage the system for better outcomes?


Families and youth have access to useful, usable, and understandable information and data, as well as sound

professional expertise so they have good information to make decisions.

Example of Conditions and Capacities to Support Family Involvement

Conditions Accurate information is

available in formats families can use.

Families are given copies of data and reports with clear explanations.

Professionals use commonly understood language without being condescending.

Professionals support data-based decisions made by families.

Capacities Families know how to “read”

data and reports and are able to use information to make choices that best meet their needs.

Families know how to ask for information and explanations.

Professionals know how to access and allocate funds to implement data-based decisions made by families.

Trina W. Osher

May want to change the examples to suit the correctional education setting.


What Does It Take to Involve Families in Systems Change?

A safe, welcoming, and supportive environment;

Sharing all information with everyone; and

Resources to support family involvement such as funds for transportation, child care, and training events.


Find the BalanceReduce Reduce

risks such risks such as anxiety as anxiety

about about change.change.

Draw upon Draw upon strengths and strengths and

assets such as the assets such as the desire to move desire to move forward and the forward and the courage to make courage to make

change.change.

Families & Youth

Professionals, Agencies, &

Systems

Responsibility and Power


This is not a joy ride.

The stakes and the risks are HIGH

FOR ALL!


Where Can You Get More Information?

Look in the Guide for lists of: References Resources and Other centers for technical assistance and information

www.neglected-delinquent.org www.cecp.org systemsofcare.samhsa.gov www.tapartnership.org

Documents

Engaging Families in the Education of Neglected and Delinquent Youth in Residential Care Trina W. Osher, M.A. Huff Osher Consulting, Inc. David M. Osher,