1 The Effectiveness of Project Adventure's Behavior Management Programs for Male Offenders in Residential Treatment Lee Gillis Aaron Nicholson Executive Director of Project Adventure Southeast Kim Boykin Clinical Director of Project Adventure’s Covington Programs

2 Major Points  Brief background of presenters  History and current status of Project Adventure’s behavior management programs.  Description of how the (BMTA) programs operate  Data on the effectiveness of BMTA?  Current research and evaluation plans progress?

3 History & Overview  Project Adventure Kids (a 5013c non-profit) - a residential program improving homeless, neglected, abused, at-risk Georgia teen’s lives since 1981  Project Adventure Kids owes it’s origins to the vision of Cindy Simpson  Youth live in group homes around Covington, GA.  Up to 100 youth (ages 11 to 21 years old) in 3 programs

4 Overview cont.  Primary tools are adventure programming and group process.  Historically there were clinical – behavioral – and adventure staff; this has evolved into an integrated approach to treatment  Project Adventure - Kids is a non-restraint, “hands off” program! “Calling group” is central to the change that takes place in youth.

5 Current Licensed Programs  Choices – Substance Abuse  Legacy – Juvenile Sex Offenders  ILP – Independent Living

6 Choices  Since 1989  Licensed adventure based residential treatment program for males and females (12-17 years old) with substance abuse issues across the state of Georgia.  Average stay is four to eight months.  Goal to improve decision making skills, work ethic, social skills, academic skills, and learn techniques to deal with stress

7 Legacy  Since 1994  A licensed residential treatment program for males (9 to 17) with a history of sexual abuse, serving youth from across the state of Georgia.  Average length of stay months  Youth are taught coping skills to learn boundaries, develop empathy, gain acceptance, and change themselves.

8 Independent Living Program (ILP)  Since 1998  Community-based residential program for males and females (15 to 20 years old)  Referrals come from DFCS and DJJ  Youth are homeless, lack significant family support and /or have been abused in their home environment.  Focus: completing education, teaching life skills, employment skills and maintaining a budget.

9 Key components  Full Value Contract  Goal Setting  Point and Level System 9

10 Key components cont.  Calling Group  Types of Groups  Procedure for group  Results of group  Integrated Adventure Programming 10

11 Intake, Evaluation & Staffing  Referral process  DFCS or DJJ case worker contact PA; send psychological and related info. Info screened by PA staff and by psychologists  Intake process (1 st Week)  Introduction of youth to group process  Youth moves into group home in local community staffed by PA  All youth in Choices & Legacy attend school at PA

12 Intake Evaluation & Staffing  Weekly team monitoring of all youth by professional staff  Staffing - Brief history of professionalization of staffing  Staff: Home Counselor, Primaries, Therapist, Teachers, & Supervisor  All therapist are licensed or licensed eligible and under supervision; all teachers are certified  Supervision by licensed psychologists

13 Intake, Evaluation, Staffing Discharge  Use of software to collect treatment information for evaluation and medicaid billing (KaleidaCare: Foster Care Software and Child and Family Software Agency)KaleidaCare: Foster Care Software and Child and Family Software Agency

14 Peer Reviewed Results NOT re-arrested rates: N=347 per group - randomly selected 14

15 Under review results Overall NOT re-arrested rates: Juvenile Sex Offenders - Matched group of 95 Youth 15

16 Current Project  Zimbardo Time Perspective  Stages of Change  Global Functioning 16

17 Zimbardo Time Perspective I believe that getting together with one's friends to party is one of life's important pleasures. Familiar childhood sights, sounds, smells often bring back a flood of wonderful memories. Fate determines much in my life. I often think of what I should have done differently in my life. My decisions are mostly influenced by people and things around me. I believe that a person's day should be planned ahead each morning. It gives me pleasure to think about my past.

18 GAF Scale Superior functioning in a wide range of activities, life's problems never seem to get out of hand, is sought out by others because of his or her many positive qualities. No symptoms Some difficulty in social, (PA) home, occupational (ILP), or school functioning (e.g., occasional missing obligations or not doing consequences, but generally functioning pretty well; has some meaningful interpersonal relationships Serious impairment in social, (PA) home, occupational (ILP), or school functioning (e.g., no friends, unable to make level).

19 Tentative Results  Relating (youth’s rating of) Readiness for Change with (youth’s rating of) Time Perspective and Staff’s rating of Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) (modified)  r (32)= 0.385, p=0.03 for Readiness for Change and GAF  r (32)= 0.457, p=0.01 for Readiness for Change and Future Perspective 19

20 Questions? Kernels? 20