Corrections_Today_September_October_2020_Vol.82_No.5

Juvenile Justice News

serious injuries to youth and staff and sometimes even death. These tragic incidents serve as reminders to juvenile justice providers of the importance of a uniform code of practice and within that framework, the importance of providing effective training to staff. Unfortunately, many jurisdictions have not yet devoted the necessary resources to improve their physical intervention training programs. Providing staff with the appropriate tools to more effectively and safely intervene in incidents of violence with this new youth popula- tion (i.e. higher risk and need factors) is a critical next step in this journey. It is important for us to under- stand and remember that the system that we have historically used to respond and train staff to deal with incidents of violence, was adopted from various adult-focused physi- cal intervention training programs. These programs were not designed with youth in mind and therefore, the innate differences that exist for youth are simply not accounted for (i.e. brain development, smaller physical stature, past traumatic experiences, etc.). For example, most physical intervention models lack the neces- sary de-escalation tactics and skill development components that have been proven to be effective when working with juvenile justice youth. Using the adult-focused intervention models has, in many ways, set us up for failure and harm. Providing staff with tools used to safely man- age adults, despite the fact they are working with youth, inevitably will lead to using improper physical in- tervention techniques and, ultimately, increasing the likelihood of harm to youth and staff.

Surprisingly, there are no national standards for crisis intervention, vio- lence and harm prevention or any type of universal behavior intervention response training for juvenile justice facilities. As previously mentioned, training and providing staff with the necessary and appropriate tools to ef- fectively de-escalate and intervene in incidents of violence is critical to our success. Allowing staff to hone their skills in verbal de-escalation and other alternatives will promote a healthy facility culture; provide the founda- tion for a safe environment; and foster overall staff and youth wellness. How staff react to youth behaviors and in crisis situations (i.e. youth behaviors escalating) impacts the overall inci- dents of violence, physical force, and isolation and confinement. encourage juvenile justice systems to unite behind this front and adopt the most appropriate intervention strategies (i.e. alternatives to use of force whenever possible). It is the hope that the Code of Practice will

The development of national standards and a code of practice for such intervention strategies is the next step in transforming juve- nile justice systems and facilities throughout the nation. Recognizing this calling, the CJJA partnered with other organizations and stakeholders to develop a uniform Code of Prac- tice for juvenile justice providers. The purpose of these standards is to cultivate best practices and put forth a shared idea of using interventions that are “least restrictive.” It is the hope that the Code of Practice will encourage juvenile justice systems to unite behind this front and adopt the most appropriate intervention strategies (i.e. alternatives to use of force whenever possible). Do- ing so will help reduce all forms of restraints (i.e. physical, mechanical, and chemical) and reduce or elimi- nate the use of isolation as a safety response technique. The CJJA Code of Practice Position paper can be found here. More specifically, and at a mini- mum, intervention training programs should include the following code of practice standards: –– An atmosphere and culture of safety and care can be created by all juvenile justice service organizations; –– Every effort should be made to structure environments and provide behavioral supports for youth, with a positive orienta- tion to prevent violence or behaviors posing risk, and thus prevent the need for restrictive interventions; –– The consistent delivery of organized, trauma-informed programs that are gender and

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