Corrections_Today_May_June_2020_Vol.82_No.3

Juvenile Justice News

previous session. Although the contingency was deliberately vague (i.e., students were simply told to “do better” than they did the previ- ous session), the students’ behavior met the requirement on 100% of opportunities. In addition, both the students and therapists in the group reported high levels of satisfaction with the intervention. Despite the success of this group procedure, it is not possible to deliver rewards for group behavior in all settings. Thus, the ABA team designed an itera- tion of the original group procedure in which an ABA specialist deliv- ered rules at the start of each class period, signaled when instances of disruptive behavior occurred (i.e., the ABA specialist drew a tally mark on the white board), but did not deliver rewards for improved behavior (Chinnappan, Rapp, & Burkhart, 2019). Results showed that posting rules and noting viola- tions were sufficient for decreasing disruptive behavior in three class- rooms. Importantly, teachers in the affected classrooms rated the intervention and behavior changes as highly acceptable. The dorms of ABSOP are com- posed of numerous students in close physical proximity; these settings sometimes give rise to disruptive behavior. As a specific example, the ABA team evaluated a group inter- vention to increase appropriate line walking when traversing the campus (McDougale et al., 2019, Study 2). For this module, an ABA special- ist described and demonstrated appropriate line positioning. Dur- ing numerous transition across the campus, the ABA specialist delivered small rewards (e.g., small snacks)

when students increased their ap- propriate line walking (incremental improvement) in comparison to the previous transition. Results showed that students’ appropriate line walk- ing increased substantially and that the correct behavior persisted after we discontinued the reward.

were implemented for just a few months, it is noteworthy that studies have shown that long-term use of group interventions (similar to those described above) with children has been linked to a decreased probabil- ity of contacting the justice system and using illicit drugs in adulthood (Biglan, 2015). As a whole, group procedures appear to facilitate coop- erative behavior among the students, as well as compliance with those who provide the rules. Behavioral interventions for staff members We also use group-based in- terventions when training DYS residential staff. Due to the high cost of training and necessary education requirements, it is understandable why correctional administrations may not utilize staff members to deliver therapeutic services. How- ever, increasing frontline staff members’ therapeutic interactions with students may be another pow- erful method in altering students’ disruptive and appropriate behavior. Residential staff members spend more time with the students than any other professional in the correc- tional setting, making them the ideal service provider to create encour- aging and affirming environments that promote rehabilitation. In fact, positive staff-detainee interactions relate inversely to offenders’ level of anxiety and helplessness in detention or rehabilitation settings (Biggam & Power, 1997). Likewise, positive social interactions between offenders and staff predict successful adapta- tion to rehabilitation environments (Liebling, 2004). Group-based interventions have several beneficial

Increasing frontline staff members’ therapeutic

interactions with students may be another powerful method in altering students’ disruptive and appropriate behavior. In another group intervention module, ABA specialists taught dor- mitory staff to deliver brief, positive statements (initially every 5 minutes, then gradually faded to every 10 min) to multiple students (McDouga- le et al., 2019, Study 1). This simple intervention decreased undesirable behavior for nearly every student in the dormitory. Overall, the ABA team has implemented a variety of group-based interventions that have decreased disruptive behavior and in- creased desirable behavior. Although most of our group interventions

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