Georgia School of Addiction Studies August 29, 2012

1. Georgia School of Addiction Studies August 29, 2012 Involving Families in Transitioning Incarcerated Youth Back to Their Communities: The Transitional Parenting Program at Augusta Youth Development Center David W. Proefrock, PhD; Greg Jurkovic, PhD; & Cal Miles, MA

2. Augusta Youth Development CenterTransitional Parenting Program

3. Transitioning From AnInstitution • Institutionalization • Life on the Outside • Work and School • Working with Community Juvenile Justice

4. Transitioning From AnInstitution • Institutionalization Limited Decision-Making Structured Environment Predictable Scheduling Basic Needs Provided

5. Transitioning From AnInstitution • Life on the Outside Social pressures Increased choices Availability of drugs and alcohol Family issues Increased expectations

6. Transitioning From AnInstitution • Work and School School as an arena of failure in past Peer pressure at school No employment experience or skills

7. Transitioning From AnInstitution • Working with Community Juvenile Justice Most leave YDC with period of probation remaining Reputation in the community has not changed How to take advantage of community support

8. Augusta Youth Development CenterTransitional Parenting Program

9. Life Skills • What are Life Skills? • Life Skills Rating Scale • Skills Training, Not Punishment • Using Skills to Plan Interventions

10. Life Skills • What are Life Skills? Also known as coping skills and psychological skills Things we need to know and ways we need to act in order to get along in the world and be successful

11. Life Skills • Life Skills Rating Scale

12. Life Skills • Skills Training, Not Punishment Punishment might teach what not to do, but it never teaches what to do As a parent, you are expected to be a teacher teaching life skills In any situation of undesirable behavior, you should be thinking “What is the best way to teach a better way of doing things?”

13. Life Skills • Using Skills to Plan Interventions For any area of problem behavior, identify what skills are necessary in order to do better Plan interventions that teach those skills

14. Augusta Youth Development CenterTransitional Parenting Program

15. Communication • Ownership of the Problem • Attributions and “I vs. You” Statements • Communicating Consequences • Processing

16. Communication • Ownership of the Problem What to do about a problem depends on who owns the problem If the child owns the problem, you should be supportive and encouraging If you own the problem, you should plan an intervention

17. Communication • Attributions and “I vs. You” Statements Attributions are powerful, make attributions of qualities you want to encourage I statements take ownership and encourage problem solving You statements make attributions and encourage conflict

18. Communication • Communicating Consequences No one responds positively to a threat Non-threatening communication of consequences educates and encourages planning and problem solving

19. Communication • Processing • Admit what you did • Relate the incident to your goals • Make a plan for the future

20. Augusta Youth Development CenterTransitional Parenting Program

21. Goal Setting and Monitoring • Reasonable and Achievable Goals • Hierarchies and Priorities • Monitoring Progress • Planning an Intervention

22. Goal Setting and Monitoring • Reasonable and Achievable Goals Goals have to make sense both to you and to your child Goals have to be achievable, sometimes you can’t get from where you are to where you want to be in just one step The purpose of a goal is to encourage success, failure doesn’t help anybody

23. Goal Setting and Monitoring • Hierarchies and Priorities Choose your battles Distinguish what is really important from what is only annoying

24. Goal Setting and Monitoring • Monitoring Progress Track progress visually and in a public place Don’t rely on your perceptions use real data Don’t set goals that can’t be measured

25. Goal Setting and Monitoring • Planning an Intervention Choose a problem Redefine it as a skill deficit Plan a teaching intervention Implement the intervention Monitor progress Reassess and replan

26. Augusta Youth Development CenterTransitional Parenting Program

27. Setting Limits • Parental Tasks • Controlling the Environment • Monitoring Activities • Necessary vs. Unnecessary Demands • Consistency and Variable Reinforcement

28. Setting Limits • Parental Tasks Protect Educate Socialize Prepare for Independence Security = Love

29. Setting Limits • Controlling the Environment When you control the environment, you control the behavior You have a lot more control than you think When you can’t control the environment, consider changing it

30. Setting Limits • Monitoring Activities Limits must be enforced or they aren’t really limits If you can’t monitor it, you can’t enforce it

31. Setting Limits • Necessary vs. Unnecessary Demands Choose your battles Say “yes” whenever you can, it makes “no” more powerful

32. Setting Limits • Consistency and Variable Reinforcement The surest and fastest way to change behavior is for consequences to be immediate and consistent Don’t turn your kids into gamblers

33. Augusta Youth Development CenterTransitional Parenting Program

34. Substance Abuse • Substance Abuse in Georgia • Recognizing Substance Abuse • The Mind of the Addict • Substance Abuse Treatment • Substance Abuse in the Family

35. Substance Abuse • Substance Abuse in Georgia Statistics about substance abuse in Georgia Substance abuse on the increase The hidden costs of substance abuse Legal implications of substance abuse

36. Substance Abuse • Recognizing Substance Abuse Parents are often the last to know What you should look for The danger signs when use becomes abuse

37. Substance Abuse • The Mind of the Addict Behavior patterns of an abuser Physiological reasons for addictions How to avoid being co-dependent

38. Substance Abuse • Substance Abuse Treatment The 7 Challenges Program in YDC Treatment in the community AA/NA Community Service Boards Private treatment facilities Importance of “family systems” treatment

39. Substance Abuse • Substance Abuse in the Family Family predisposition to addiction What to do if there is an addict in the family What to do if you are a substance abuser How to handle “normal” use of alcohol and tobacco

40. Augusta Youth Development CenterTransitional Parenting Program

41. Transitioning From AnInstitution • Institutionalization • Life on the Outside • Work and School • Working with Community Juvenile Justice

42. Transitioning From AnInstitution • Institutionalization Limited Decision-Making Structured Environment Predictable Scheduling Basic Needs Provided

43. Transitioning From AnInstitution • Life on the Outside Social pressures Increased choices Availability of drugs and alcohol Family issues Increased expectations

44. Transitioning From AnInstitution • Work and School School as an arena of failure in past Peer pressure at school No employment experience or skills

45. Transitioning From AnInstitution • Working with Community Juvenile Justice Most leave YDC with period of probation remaining Reputation in the community has not changed How to take advantage of community support

46. Augusta Youth Development CenterTransitional Parenting Program

47. Logical Consequences • Don’t Punish, Teach • “Grandma’s Rule” • Experiencing Consequences • Coping with Frustration and Developing Life Skills

48. Logical Consequences • Don’t Punish, Teach Results of punishment can’t be predicted, at best, it teaches what not to do Teaching what to do instead develops life skills. Teaching is predictable

49. Logical Consequences • “Grandma’s Rule” First you eat your food, then you get dessert First you do your work, then you can play Use something desirable as a reward for something less desirable Be sure to get the order right

50. Logical Consequences • Experiencing Consequences Experiencing consequences is the best way to learn something We tend to want to protect our children from consequences, but it’s usually not a good idea It prevents learning and even teaches the wrong thing