Toolkit for Youth with Disabilities in Juvenile Corrections

(November 2016) | Useful to Parent Centers, families, and other stakeholders working with youth with disabilities in correctional facilities.

This web-based toolkit from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education can help State educational agencies, educators, families, facilities, and community agencies to better support and improve the long-term outcomes for youth with disabilities in juvenile correctional facilities. The toolkit includes topical briefs, family engagement strategies, and resources that summarize evidence- and research-based practices in juvenile corrections.

The toolkit focuses on four key areas:

Facility-Wide Practices (e.g., continuum of academic and behavioral supports and services, trauma-informed care, and restorative justice)

Educational Practices (e.g., access to high-quality education, individualized instruction, and IDEA compliance)

Transition and Re-entry Practices (e.g.,  transition planning beginning at entry, prioritizing family involvement, and coordinating aftercare services)

Community and Interagency Practices (e.g., interagency agreements, expeditious records transfer, and staffing)

These areas were identified as part of an OSEP-sponsored focus group series on Juvenile Corrections, which included nationally-recognized researchers and practitioners with expertise on this topic. The webpage housing the toolkit also includes linked resources to support the use of the State Correctional Education Self-Assessment (designed for states to use in self-assessing their systems for providing special education and related services to students with disabilities in correctional facilities).

Access the toolkit at:
https://www.osepideasthatwork.org/jj