Supporting Family Involvement in Correctional Education Programs Webinar for NDTAC

1. Supporting Family Involvementin Correctional Education ProgramsWebinar for NDTAC Barbara Huff Trina Osher July 27, 2006

2. The Issues • The positive impact of parents and families on student outcomes and school performance is now well documented1. • Reaping the benefits of family involvement for children who are at risk or adjudicated as neglected or delinquent and placed outside their home school and community is an ongoing challenge • Involving families in the education of these students can be further complicated by institutional restrictions or court orders 1. Henderson, A.T. and Mapp, K. A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory 2002

3. NDTAC is Developing Tools to Help • The Family Involvement Guide • Meeting in January • Family expert panel • Phone calls • Feedback • Collecting examples of effective practices • Spotlight Brief • Webinar

4. How Correctional Education Administrators Told Us They Involve Families • Invite families to treatment planning – IEP meetings • Encourage family visits and special occasions – e.g., GED ceremony • Provide referrals to services that can support family needs – e.g., parents anonymous • Offer parent leadership opportunities to be involved in the program or system - e.g., youth commissions, advisory committees • Hold facilities and programs accountable for family involvement – e.g., collect and verify data

5. What Correctional Education Administrators Told Us They Want Help With • Developing peer-to-peer networks for families • Providing services for siblings • Providing additional family support based on issues they identify • Helping parents and youth understand the legal issues • Making the philosophical shift BACK to a rehabilitation model

6. What Correctional Education Administrators Told Us They Want Help With– continued • What to do when a family visit does not go well • Rebuilding or strengthening relationships between students and their families • Addressing racism – in the system and in the program • Investing in parent empowerment • Flexibility to implement policies that are family friendly

7. ? What Do Parents Expect? Family-friendly approach • Dignity, respect, honesty • A positive focus and hope • Cultural competence • Flexible scheduling • Transportation and child care when needed

8. ? What Do Parents Expect? - continued High quality therapeutic education • Qualified teaching staff • Vocational assessments and training • Creative but rigorous alternative learning strategies • Social skills training • Similar goals

9. Involving Families Requires Understanding and Respecting Their Culture Culture influences how the family approaches the tasks of daily living and can also direct how a family interacts with their child’s school program • Culture is about preferences and possibilities • Respect, humility, and understanding are at the root of cultural competence • Schools and settingsmust reflect the cultures and beliefs of their students and their families • Cultural competence is a process, not an outcome

10. Establishing Communication Requires Creativity and Persistence Some family members are easy to connect with and some families face more challenges that make them harder to reach and engage • Use more than one strategy to reach out • Make a second and third and fourth effort • Seek out further information about the best way to be in touch • Read and write in English? • Use E-mail? • Have a secure mailbox? • Best time of day for making a phone call? • Have to call you back collect? • Receive calls at work – and do they feel safe getting calls from you while they are at work? • Have someone who you can leave a message with? • Prefer a face-to-face meeting?

11. One Strategy is Not Likely to Work With All Families

12. Universal Strategies for All Families1st Tier • Create a welcoming environment • Solicit family input • Provide an orientation • Establish ongoing communication • Sponsor social activities

13. Create a Welcoming Environment1st Tier Strategies • Train staff who greet families (receptionists) to be welcoming, courteous to ALL family members • Provide qualified translators • Make waiting and meeting areas comfortable • Decorate spaces families will use in a manner that reflects their various cultures • Offer refreshments to families – especially those who have to make a long journey to the facility and school • Have appropriate toys to occupy other children who come with their families

14. Solicit Family Input1st Tier Strategies • Ask the family for help getting educational records from previous schools • Ask the family for their input on education and transition planning – not just for IEP meetings • Share results of education assessments with the family • Recognize and acknowledge family expertise about their child and the school and community to which they will be returning

15. Provide an Orientation1st Tier Strategies • Give each student’s family a tour of the campus and school as soon as possible • Make sure the tour guide speaks the family’s preferred language and can answer any questions they have • Explain the education program in general and the specific options available to their child – not just the rules • Send a video or DVD showing the campus and school if family cannot come to the campus

16. Establish Ongoing Communication1st Tier Strategies • Find the communication medium (phone, mail, e-mail) that works best for each family – their child may be able to tell you what will work best • Give each family a weekly or bi-weekly update on their own child’s educational activities and progress – include samples of their work occasionally • Give each family a list of their child’s teachers along with information about how and when it is best to contact them

17. Sponsor Social Activities1st Tier Strategies • Hold family suppers or picnics on campus or in the school every few months - get families to help you plan these events • Sponsor a cultural fair or festival twice a year – students can help plan and conduct these activities • Allow school staff to occasionally go to social or cultural events in the communities where families live

18. Selective Strategies to Boost Family Involvement2nd 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

19. Connect Families With Each Other2nd Tier Strategies • Offer families a safe time and place where they can meet and talk with each other – without staff supervision or facilitation – so they can: • Share common experiences • Identify similar concerns • Find solutions together • Offer family peer support groups on visiting day • Arrange for or link families with peer support groups and family-run organizations in their home towns if they live to far from the facility to come on a regular basis

20. Offer Families Education and Training2nd Tier Strategies • Ask families what they want to learn about • Offer seminars with expert speakers on topics chosen by families – e.g., medication management, parent’s and student’s educational rights, nutrition • When possible, invite family members to attend in-service programs scheduled for school staff

21. Offer Families Education and Training (p. 2)2nd Tier Strategies • Offer family members a series of classes to develop their own skills – e.g., English language, computer skills training • Offer family members workshops on writing a resume and searching for a job

22. Take Advantage of Family Visits2nd Tier Strategies • Arrange for school staff to be available on the facility's visiting day • Give every student’s family a packet with samples of their child’s recent work when they come to visit: • Coach students to review the packet and explain it to their family • Send the packet home in the mail for families who cannot come

23. Take Advantage of Family Visits (p. 2)2nd Tier Strategies • Give tours of the school and display student work – or have a family resource center open at the school during the facility’s visiting hours: • Ask teachers to describe their curriculum and what their class has been doing lately • Use a rotating schedule if their duties do not allow all staff to be available

24. Recruit Family Members to Serve on School Wide Planning and Advisory Groups2nd Tier Suggestions • Make sure new families understand the nature and extent of the commitment necessary to serve in this capacity • Provide new group members with an orientation to the group’s history, mission, procedures, and politics • Assign an experienced member of the group to be a buddy or mentor to new family members • Share all information and reports in advance with a practical and reliable way for family members to get help understanding any technical information

25. Intensive Strategies for Hard to Reach Families3rd Tier • Tailor approaches to each family • Repair relationships between the student and their family • Hire Family Liaisons to work with families 1:1

26. Tailor Approaches for Each Family3rd Tier Strategies • Focus on strengths - the family’s and the student’s • Avoid blame and shame • Acknowledge the family’s cultural values and respect their practices • Find the best pathway to reach the family – this may be through a trusted friend, another professional, or a spiritual leader

27. Repair Relationships Between the Student and Their Family3rd Tier Strategies • Find ways to better understand the perspectives and feelings of the student’s family – a good place to start is by visiting them at home or at another place they prefer • Talk with the family about their child’s academic accomplishments • Offer individualized counseling services and gradually bring the family together with their child to work on resolving issues

28. Hire Family Liaisons to Work With Families 1:13rd Tier Strategies Family Liaisons are trained family members who can easily gain trust and • Focus on the family – not on the student • Meet the family on their terms (often in their own home) • Learn about their strengths and the challenges they face • Help the family assess its capacity to support and supervise their child in all domains – including education • Provide a bridge between the family and the school – supporting the family until it feels comfortable on its own • Continue working with the family once their child returns to the community

29. Develop School-wide and Institutional Policy and Programs to Encourage Family Involvement Utilize your existing councils to establish policy • Focus on each family’s own strengths and challenges • Choose the most effective strategies to engage them in their child’s education program – and beyond • Foster communication • Build a trusting relationship

30. Funding Sources for Family Involvement • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) • Title I, Part D of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) • Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) formula grant funds can be used • Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grants • Systems of Care grants focused on returning students to their home communities and schools

31. Working with Families of Children in the Juvenile Justice and the Corrections System: A Guide for Education Program Leaders, Principals and Building Administrators Coming Soon! • Who has responsibility for family involvement and what should they do? • Factors to consider when working with families to insure educational access and successful transitions. • Characteristics of good relationships between schools and families. • What families say helps them to get involved with correctional education programs. • What families expect and desire in a correctional education program • Supporting family involvement. • Using family visits to engage parents in school activities. • What to do when a family visit does not go well. • How do you know family involvement is improving?

32. Contact Information If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us at the following: • Trina W. Osher Tosher3@comcast.net 301-434-4071 • Barbara Huff bhuff2837@sbcglobal.net 316-315-0432