Pennsylvania is engaged in an

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1 Raising the Bar: Pennsylvania s Long-Term Strategy for Improving Delinquency Practice Statewide Patrick Griffin and Patricia Torbet National Center for Juvenile Justice Pennsylvania Progress A Juvenile Justice Research, Policy and Practice Series Pennsylvania is engaged in an ambitious effort to improve the overall quality of responses to juvenile offending throughout the state. The idea is not to make isolated improvements but to raise the bar generally to increase the effectiveness of delinquency practice everywhere. The strategy has three basic components: Supporting Evidence-Based Programming. Since 1998, Pennsylvania has invested millions in support of the proliferation, faithful implementation, ongoing monitoring and long-term sustainability of evidence-based Blueprints prevention and intervention model programs. Improving the Quality of Other Delinquency Interventions. The Quality Improvement Initiative (Qii) is designed to help Pennsylvania providers assess and improve the quality of other interventions those that, while they do not meet the Blueprint gold standard, are routinely used with the vast majority of court-involved youth. Promoting Good Probation Case Management. The Pennsylvania Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers is providing Pennsylvania probation departments with the research-based tools, training and support they need to do a better job of assessing the youth in their care, planning to address their risks and needs, and ensuring that they receive appropriate and effective services. This issue of Pennsylvania Progress will provide information on all three parts of this long-term effort, but will focus primarily on the Quality Improvement Initiative. The Qii Goal: Moving Routine Practice into Line with What Works Qii is a project of the National Center for Juvenile Justice, being funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. The initiative was launched in 2008, in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Office of Child Development, with a 2-year tool development and pilot demonstration phase. When Phase II is launched this summer, Qii will begin helping providers across Pennsylvania use basic knowledge of what works to make concrete improvements in the interventions they deliver. There is an extraordinary array of intervention programs available to justice-involved youth in Pennsylvania. Evaluating each one, or replacing the whole array with model programs that have already been proven to be effective and replicable, is not a practical possibility. The Qii approach is different. 1

2 Qii is designed to enlist willing providers in a guided quality assessment, planning, implementation and monitoring process that will bring their intervention approaches more closely into line with research regarding what is effective in addressing delinquency. Quite simply, Qii takes this scientific knowledge down off the shelf, where it can be used to make very basic, concrete improvements across the existing array of delinquency interventions. The goal is not perfect practice, but better practice, across the board. How Qii Works The Quality Improvement (QI) process begins with what decades of basic research and experience have shown about (1) the principles of effective intervention with delinquents and (2) the kinds of practices that faithfully reflect those principles. Using a simple selfassessment tool developed from this core body of knowledge, providers participating in Qii can measure the extent to which their own delinquency interventions match up with researchbased principles and best practices. Qii staff are available to help providers complete the assessment, interpret their assessment results, and develop improvement plans that address identified need areas. Thereafter, Qii furnishes technical assistance and other ongoing support to quality improvement efforts, monitors progress towards quality improvement goals, and provides follow-up assessments. Eventually, a formal system of public recognition will be established to reflect successful participation in Qii. Once the project is fully operational, providers of delinquency interventions in Pennsylvania will be Core Body of Knowledge Research-based principles of effective intervention with delinquents Corresponding practices that are acknowledged to reflect and implement principles Self-Assessment of Intervention Quality Improvement Plan to Address Assessed Needs Support for Improvement Efforts Follow-Up, Independent Assessment (referred to as reassessment ) Public Recognition for Success An essential part of Pennsylvania s strategy for combating youth violence and delinquency is its longstanding support for the dissemination and proper implementation of scientifically proven prevention and intervention programs. PCCD was one of the original funders of the Blueprints for Violence Prevention Project, which identified a group of prevention and intervention programs meeting rigorous scientific standards of program effectiveness. Now more than 120 communities around the state have implemented these evidence-based programs with PCCD s support. A recent analysis concluded that the economic benefits flowing from PCCD funding of local evidence-based programs not only offset the original costs, but may have saved the state as much as $317 million in reduced corrections, welfare, social services, and treatment costs and increased employment and tax revenue. Pennsylvania communities wishing to use these evidence-based programs to impact delinquency, violence and substance abuse can get technical assistance and quality assurance help from the Evidence-Based Prevention and Intervention Support (EPIS) Center. The EPISCenter is operated by the Prevention Research Center at Penn State University, with funding from PCCD and DPW. In addition to educating practitioners and providers about the benefits of employing evidence-based programs generally, the EPISCenter provides focused support to communities using PCCD or DPW funding to adopt evidence-based approaches including help with selecting appropriate programs, getting started, implementing with fidelity to the program model, tracking and reporting data, measuring outcomes, marketing results, and planning for sustainability. For more information, contact: Brian Bumbarger EPISCenter Prevention Research Center Penn State University 206 Towers Building University Park, PA (814) able to engage in Quality Improvement efforts either on their own or with the help of Qii staff. Most participants will be private organizations engaged in delinquency practice around the The QI Process support for ebps state but a probation department that provides a direct service would benefit from participation as well. 2

3 The definition of an intervention, for Qii purposes, is any facilitated process or protocol that is delivered with the intention of addressing a delinquency risk factor, either by modifying behavior or attitudes or building skills. The intervention may have been developed in-house or purchased from a vendor. It may be delivered by a private provider or a probation department; in a placement setting or in the community. It may be a curriculum-based program or a facilitated group. Qii s Research Foundations There is nothing especially difficult or advanced about the scientific foundations of Qii. On the contrary, Qii is intended to ensure that Pennsylvania practitioners are making consistent use of research and best practice lessons that have been available and established for a long time and are well-known to those with experience in the field. The most basic of these lessons is that effective delinquency interventions actively and narrowly target (that is, do something to change) specific risk factors (attitudes, beliefs, relationships, skill deficits, etc.) that are known to be both criminogenic (likely to contribute to delinquency) and dynamic (subject to change). Before these risk factors can be addressed, they must first be accurately identified through a standardized assessment. And once identified, they must be targeted with strategies that have proven effective in the past and are delivered consistently and competently. Good Probation Case Management Even the widespread improvements in delinquency interventions won t be enough to improve outcomes for Pennsylvania youth, if the right youth aren t channeled into the right interventions. Juvenile probation departments occupy a crucial position here. It s up to them to determine what young people need in the way of interventions, to refer them to appropriate services, to monitor their progress and to document results. A Probation Officer s Guide to Good Probation Case Management and an Administrator s Implementation Manual developed by NCJJ are designed to align with and complement Qii by providing juvenile probation departments with the same kind of practical advice. Their goal is to tighten up Pennsylvania probation practice by promoting a set of seven connected and standardized steps for assessing, planning, and managing delinquency cases. To develop these materials, NCJJ worked with four juvenile probation departments that committed to quality implementation of the seven steps and corresponding case management practices: Allegheny, Cambria, Lehigh, and McKean Counties. The goal was to demonstrate the usefulness of good practice and to link them with beneficial changes in probation departments and better outcomes for youth. The Pennsylvania Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers, through its Assessment/Case Planning Committee, is now engaged in efforts, funded by PCCD, to promote adoption of good case management practices statewide. Its mission is to facilitate the implementation of the YLS including education, training and analyzing data from juvenile probation departments, and to promote the development of case plans based on the identified needs and strengths consistent with balanced and restorative justice principles. Much of the focus to date has been on implementing the use of the YLS in 26 counties and building the YLS into the JCMS (Juvenile Case Management System). For more information on the Guide and Manual, contact: Douglas Thomas NCJJ 3700 S. Water St., Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA (412) , Ext 839 thomas@ncjj.org For more information on Assessment/Case Planning Committee activities, contact: Elizabeth Fritz, co-chair Lehigh County Juvenile Probation Department Lehigh County Courthouse 455 West Hamilton Street Allentown, PA (610) elizabethfritz@lehighcounty.org Richard Steele, co-chair Director of Policy and Program Development Juvenile Court Judges Commission Rm 401 Finance Bldg. Harrisburg, PA (717) ricsteele@state.pa.us Of course, adhering to these basic intervention principles doesn t guarantee successful outcomes in 3

4 individual cases. But ignoring them pretty much guarantees failure and waste. And as familiar as they are as abstract concepts, it takes a lot of work especially in a system as decentralized as Pennsylvania s to make sure they are consistently observed in practice. The Qii Self-Assessment Tool The first step in the Quality Improvement process is selfassessment, using a tool designed to indicate the extent to which a given intervention conforms to research and best practice principles. (Again, it is the intervention that is assessed, not the provider of the intervention. A single provider organization or probation department could conduct self-assessments of any number of its interventions.) The QI self-assessment tool collects intervention practice information in five areas: 1. Purposeful Targeting. Is the intervention clearly focused on bringing about changes in behavior, attitudes, or deficits that research has linked to delinquency? (See sidebar, Key Risk Factors. ) 2. Proven Strategy. Does the intervention employ a cognitive-behavioral or skill-building strategy that features action-oriented learning techniques that have been proven effective? (See sidebar, Action-Oriented Learning Techniques. ) 3. Firm Structure. Is the intervention structured and standardized through specification of such things as intervention frequency, duration, setting and group size, written curricula, workbooks and manuals, and fixed incentive protocols for successful completion to ensure consistency and coherence? 4. Reliable Delivery. Are staff appropriately prepared and supported with training, supervision, monitoring and feedback to deliver the intervention as designed? 5. Quality Assurance. Are the implementation and results of the intervention including retention, completion and outcomes documented over time and used to make continuous quality improvements in the intervention, its design and delivery? Quality Improvement Plans The next step in the QI process is interpreting the self-assessment results, identifying any intervention weaknesses revealed, and developing and refining a Quality Improvement Plan for dealing with them. For need areas assessed in each domain, Quality Improvement Plans specify concrete improvement goals, action steps, resources needed, responsible parties, and timetables for completion. Once a provider s plan is finalized, Qii staff provide implementation support that may include on-site and off-site technical assistance, connections with other experts and resources, and monthly check-ins to monitor and focus improvement efforts. When the provider is ready, Qii staff will reassess the intervention to determine what progress has been made in quality improvement, and if necessary provide consultation regarding further improvements that may be needed. Once the QI process has been refined and firmly established in Pennsylvania, participation in Qii will culminate in some sort of formal public recognition. Whether there will be a single form of recognition for successful participation, or a system To reduce risk for re-offending, an intervention must target those dynamic risk factors that are: 1) highly correlated with delinquency and 2) changeable. These risk factors cut across race, gender, and culture and include: Poor Social Interaction Skills Poor Anger Management Skills Poor Impulse Control Poor Problem Solving/Decision Making Skills Antisocial Thinking, Attitudes, Beliefs Poor School Performance and Behavior Negative Peer Associations Poor Parent/Child Relationship Poor Parental Control & Supervision For Older Adolescents: Lack of Work Readiness and Daily Living Skills Substance Abuse Key Risk Factors Matching juveniles to interventions that target their identified risk factors maximizes resources and improves offender outcomes. Note that the YLS assesses these and other risk factors in eight domains or sub-scales. 4

5 Action-oriented learning techniques Research has shown that action-oriented learning techniques, which spend as much time on practicing as on teaching, work best to address delinquencyrelated risk factors. In tell, show, do fashion these techniques are incorporated into cognitive-behavioral and skill-building approaches that help offenders: Learn new problem solving, decision-making and coping skills and behavioral strategies for pro-social ways to think and manage their environment. Identify a variety of settings or situations where the skill or strategy can be used. Role-play and rehearse new behaviors in increasingly difficult situations. Engage in active, experiential learning directed toward acquiring living, learning and working skills. Action-oriented learning techniques are best applied in a structured and standardized way using a guided group process that is specified in a written curriculum, lesson plan, or facilitator manual, specifying such things as group size and composition, frequency and duration of sessions, and rules and consequences for participation. For more information on interventions that apply these techniques, please go to to search an updated and on-line version of the publication, Advancing Competency Development: A Resource Guide for Pennsylvania. with grades or degrees of recognition, has yet to be worked out. But the idea is both to reward commitment to quality improvement and to provide incentives for the widest possible provider participation. Qii is not a mandatory program, and providers will not be coerced into joining. But their customers in Pennsylvania including the youth and families that depend on their services, the courts and probation departments that provide their referrals, the agencies that approve their funding and the taxpayers that ultimately foot their bills are entitled to know the extent of their cooperation with the state s quality improvement strategy. Qii Development Stages Qii development and implementation is occurring in three stages: 1. Research, strategic planning and tool development (July 2008-June 2009) 2. Pilot-testing and refinement of QI process and tools (July 2009-June 2010) 3. Phase II demonstration (beginning July 2010) The Qii pilot work involved prominent provider organizations at four sites Abraxas 1, Abraxas 3, Adelphoi Village, and Boys and Girls Club of Western PA each of which volunteered one of its delinquency interventions to be the focus of the QI process. Thanks to their generous participation, the process was road tested with real-world interventions of a variety of types and levels of formal development, including an established cognitive-behavioral training curriculum, an informal intervention that has no curriculum, and an on-line skill development course. One pilot participant recognized that instead of improving an existing curriculum, it needed to select and implement a new curriculum that better matched the needs of its client base. Qii pilot orientation, training and guided self-assessment occurred in October of 2009, and pilot Quality Improvement Plans were developed by the end of Plan implementation efforts, with support and monthly check-ins from Qii staff, were completed by June Throughout the pilot stage, participating providers were given opportunities to critique every aspect of the QI process, to suggest changes and enhancements in the tools and support provided, and to use their practical experience to help make Qii better before the broader Phase II demonstration. As noted, Phase II commences July 1, Qii staff will provide both offsite and on-site technical assistance to providers who are engaged in the Quality Improvement process through three components: Engaging Providers: providers will obtain information on the Qii through presentations at statewide meetings and conferences and through NCJJ and PCCD websites. Services to Providers: providers engaging in their own QI efforts will benefit from off-site assistance through the Qii Help Desk; 40 selected providers will benefit from on-site assistance; and any provider can request an Independent Assessment. Recognition: over time, Qii will set up a simple yet meaningful system of public recognition for Qii participation and for strength of alignment with best practice standards and principles. Information on the QI model and tools will be available for download to any interested provider (go to org to find link to Qii). The toll-free number for the Qii Help Desk is

6 Qii Partners Qii is the work of an extraordinary state-led partnership of agencies and organizations committed to raising the level of delinquency practice in Pennsylvania: Funding and Vision. The original vision for the Qii strategy as well as the state funds to carry it out have been provided by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW). Oversight. A Resource Center Steering Committee 1 has been convened by PCCD to serve as an advisory and oversight body for both Qii and the Penn State Prevention Research Center s EPISCenter project. The Resource Center is managed by PCCD s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Guidance. Qii development has been guided by a Quality Improvement Initiative Advisory Group consisting of representatives of prominent delinquency service providers, juvenile probation administrators, and state agency officials. (See sidebar, Qii Advisory Group. ) Staffing and Implementation. The QI process and materials were developed collaboratively by the National Center for Juvenile Justice and the University of Pittsburgh, Office of Child Development. Phase II Demonstration will be carried out by staff from the National Center for Juvenile Justice. phase ii: Qii ADVISORY GROUP Kip Cherry, Adelphoi Village Jack Godlesky, Abraxas 1 Bruce Grimm, PCCYFS Teri Deal, NCJJ Ted Kairys, Allegheny County Probation Geoff Kolchin, PCCD Jennifer Loeffler-Cobia, NCJJ Tim McElhone, Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pa. Mark Mortimor, Adelphoi Village Joseph Reichard, Lehigh County Probation Mike Schneider, Northampton County Probation Keith Snyder, Juvenile Court Judges Commission Teresa Wilcox, McKean County Probation Russell J. Zemanek, DPW, Office of Children, Youth and Families For more information regarding Qii, contact: Teri Deal, Qii Project Coordinator National Center for Juvenile Justice 3700 S. Water Street, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA , Ext. 846 deal@ncjj.org 1 pt/community/advisory_committees/5412/ resource_center_steering_committee_members/

7 Pennsylvania Progress is a publication of the National Center for Juvenile Justice the research division of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. National Center for Juvenile Justice 3700 South Water Street, Ste. 200 Pittsburgh, PA Production Editor: Lora Leddy and Kristy Connors Date of Publication: August 2010 National Center for Juvenile Justice Suggested Citation: Griffin, P. and Torbet, P. (2010). Raising the Bar: Pennsylvania s Long- Term Strategy for Improving Delinquency Practice Statewide. Pennsylvania Progress. Pittsburgh, PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice. This project was supported by subgrant 2007/2008/2009-J/EB/J-04/ST/04 awarded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). The awarded funds originate with the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions contained within this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent any official position, policy or view of PCCD, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges or the U.S. Department of Justice. 7

8 Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency P.O. Box 1167 Harrisburg, PA ATTENTION: RECIPIENT If label is incorrect, please make corrections and return label to PCCD. 8