Graduated Responses for Youth Under
DJS Supervision
Goals for Today
2
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Learn about the agency’s
standardized approach to managing
youth behavior and how it came about
Identify lessons from research on
effective ways of changing behavior
Learn how to use new sanctions grids
and apply them to hypothetical cases
Practice how to explain graduated
responses to youth, family members,
and juvenile justice stakeholders
Address questions or concerns
© Richard Ross
Why now?
3
2013 Legislation
requires the
Department to report
its implementation of
graduated responses
by December 1, 2014
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What did the legislature mean?
4
“Graduated responses” means an accountability–based
series of sanctions, including incentives, treatment, and
services, applicable to children within the juvenile justice
system, administered to hold children accountable for
their actions and to protect communities from the effects
of juvenile delinquency by providing appropriate
sanctions for every act for which a child is adjudicated
delinquent, by encouraging law–abiding behavior, and
by preventing subsequent involvement in the juvenile
justice system.
(Chapter 497, 2013 Session)
Data
5

VOPs are a leading contributor to DJS
commitment
 DJS
commitment was ordered in 46.5% of disposition
decisions where the most serious offense alleged or
adjudicated was a VOP
 In contrast, DJS commitment was ordered in only 19.2%
of disposition decisions adjudicated on crimes of violence

Three quarters of disposition decisions placing
youth on probation involved low or medium risk
kids - we can use options besides out of home
commitments
Youth are committed to DJS for VOPs at more than
twice the rate of commitments for crimes of violence
2500
2000
1500
1713
1000
572
500
407
498
Crimes of violence
VOPs
0
Committed
Not committed
The Approach
7
From the start,
encourage youth
to succeed, not
just “comply”
Anticipate
challenges and
plan strategies to
address them with
youth and families
Provide ongoing
reinforcement for
positive behavior
and swift,
proportionate
responses to
negative behavior
If youth are
struggling,
identify effective
tools to hold youth
accountable and
improve behavior
The Philosophy
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Save the most serious responses for behaviors
that are concerns for public safety
 Put tools to handle the other behaviors in the
hands of case managers
 Leave flexibility to handle special cases by
working with regional directors
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Documented Successes
9
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Successful use of incentives and
sanctions, or just incentives on
their own, can be found in
related programs.
 Positive
© openclipart.org
Behavior Interventions and
Supports (PBIS) in schools
 Adult drug courts
 Smoking cessation
 Many juvenile probation
departments
What Does the Research Tell Us?
10
In 2012, the American Probation and
Parole Association, the Pew Charitable
Trusts, and the National Center for
State Courts examined the most up-todate research on effective probation
and parole practices . . .
Their Findings . . .
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“The use of incentives is equally
important (and often not
sufficiently considered) in
probation and parole supervision”
 “[S]anctions and incentives should
be used in conjunction with one
another to promote compliance
and positive behavior”

Effective Response to Offender Behavior: Lessons Learned for Probation and Parole Supervision, AM. PROB. & PAROLE ASS’N (2012), available at
http://www.appa-net.org/eWeb/docs/APPA/pubs/EROBLLPPS-Report.pdf.
What Else Do We Know From the Research?
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
To be most effective, a
system of sanctions and
incentives must be:
 Certain
 Immediate
 Fair
 Of
the appropriate
intensity
© Richard Ross
 Tailored
to be effective
for individual youth
Certainty
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What the Research Says:
“…. perceived certainty of
sanctions does exert a
specific deterrent effect,
but perceived severity
(given certainty of
punishment) does not.”
Adele Harrell & John Roman, Reducing Drug Use
and Crime Among Offenders: The Impact of
Graduated Sanctions, 31 J. Drug Issues 207, 210
(2001).
What It Means for Our
Work:
Consistency of our response
changes behavior, not the
severity of the sanction.
Don’t automatically ramp
up sanctions if a lower level
sanction worked earlier.
Immediacy
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What the Research
Says:
“…. a swift response to
an infraction improves the
perception that the
sanction is fair and that
the immediacy is a vital
tool in shaping behavior.”
U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of
Justice, “Swift and Certain” Sanctions in
Probation Are Highly Effective: Evaluation of the
Hope Program, available at
http://www.nij.gov/topics/corrections/communit
y/drug-offenders/Pages/hawaiihope.aspx#note3.
What It Means for Our
Work:
Responses must occur soon
after a behavior in order
to be effective. That way,
youth learn the connection
between the behavior and
the response.
Fairness and Appropriate Intensity
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What the Research Says:
“When used excessively or
inappropriately, [sanctions] may
precipitate a learned helplessness
syndrome, which is
counterproductive to the goal of
improving behavior. Individuals
who experience excessive,
uncontrollable, and/or
unpredictable sanctions often
become irritable, despondent, and
isolated, and thus less open to
positive behavioral change.”
Douglas B. Marlowe & Kimberly C. Kirby, Effective Use of
Sanctions in Drug Courts: Lessons from Behavioral Research,
National Drug Court Inst. Rev.., Summer 1999, at 11, xv.
What It Means for Our Work:
Applying harsh sanctions for minor
misbehavior can undercut our work
to change behavior.
Sanctions must match the
seriousness of the behavior to be
effective at deterring future
negative behavior.
Tailored for Individual Youth
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What the Research Says:
“When administering
reinforcements or punishments,
three important factors impact
the effectiveness of the
contingency: salience, immediacy,
and consistency .… salience is
the relevance of a given
contingency to an individual. A
contingency will not be effective
if it is not important or relevant
to the individual.”
Adria J. Trotman & Faye S. Taxman, Implementation of a
Contingency Management-Based Intervention in a Community
Supervision Setting: Clinical Issues and Recommendations, 50 J.
Offender Rehabil. 235 (2011).
What It Means for Our Work:
The same sanctions and
incentives won’t work for all
youth. We have to select
sanctions and incentives that
will matter based on what we
know about our clients.
We
already
do this…
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Not all staff respond to
violations in the same way
Some staff don’t use
incentives to the same degree
as others
Responses may not be quick
enough to change behavior
Staff want the most effective
options to respond to
behavior
When we refer youth to court
for violations, we lose much
of our control over the case
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What has DJS done so far?
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Focus groups around the state with case managers
and DJS management about needs, potential
barriers, and what was already being done
Site visit of delegation of DJS regional directors, PD,
State’s Attorney, judge, law enforcement and service
providers to Santa Cruz, CA
Statewide survey with case managers about practices
and understanding of graduated responses
Used information to develop grids and infraction
guide, identify IT and training issues
Graduated Responses Development
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“AIM Committee” met for over a year
 Developed statewide grid of responses
 Regional Directors worked with teams locally
to make adjustments to reflect available
programs and services
 AIM Committee will be expanded to include
line staff as coaches and contributors to plans
for incentives side of system
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New Tools: Infraction Determination Guide
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Infraction
Determination
Guide
Infraction Determination Guide: Special Situations
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Multiple Violations
 Complete
one sheet for the most serious violation and
check the “multiple violations” box
 Determine seriousness by identifying the violation that
has the strongest relationship to any offense for which
the youth is on active supervision, taking into account
any direct victim impact
 Document all violations in case notes
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Scoring Ties (2-2-1, 2-1-2, 1-2-2)
 Consult
with a supervisor and document how you broke
the tie on the Infraction Determination Guide, including
the factor you weighed most heavily in your decision
New Tools: Sanctions Grid
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Sanctions Grids (county specific)
If you think that the grid does not
offer an appropriate response,
consult with your regional director
or assistant regional director. They
will determine whether an
override is warranted and notify
Headquarters if an override is
granted, including the reason why.
AIM Tip Sheet
Implications for Practice
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Ensure that youth understand expectations from the
beginning
Explain the system of graduated sanctions if youth do
not comply
With the youth and family, assess the likelihood of
problems complying with particular conditions and
plan strategies to prevent violations
Expect challenges; respond each time so that it is
clear you are watching
Use sanctions related to the underlying behavior and
likely to create change
Responding to a Violation
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Explore the events that led up to the behavior
that got them in trouble
Help youth understand why his or her behavior is
a problem
Explore alternative actions the youth could take
in the future
Explain why you are imposing a particular
sanction
Work with the youth to create a plan for making
better choices next time
Adapted from Mark Carey, Carey Guides Effective Case Management, Responding to Violations (2010).
What Are the Benefits?
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Higher successful probation completion rates and
lower recidivism rates
Reduced detention admissions for technical violations
Consistency and equity in approach to violations
Strengthening of youth’s ability to succeed when no
longer under DJS supervision
We will have more tools in the
toolbox to help us achieve our goals
What Are the Benefits in Court?
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Judges will receive more information on the
interventions that we have used in each case
We will have easily accessible documentation to
support VOP or case closure
The court will see consistency and uniformity in our
approach, which will build confidence in our work
Scenarios and Group Discussion
27
© Richard Ross
Talking to Stakeholders about Graduated
Responses
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Anticipate the interests and
concerns of key stakeholders
 Judges
 Prosecutors
 Public

Defenders
Frame messages in a way
that recognizes and
addresses those interests and
concerns
© Pixabay.com
Judge
LENS:
Concerned with public safety, accountability, child’s treatment needs, and
fairness in the system
KEY CONCERNS:
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MESSAGING:
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May feel obligated to be “tough on crime” to protect public safety
May favor restrictions if youth present any risk to public safety or risk of
flight
Concerned with being embarrassed by decisions that yield bad outcomes
(e.g., released youth alleged to have committed murder)
Concerned with limits on their discretion
The legislature required DJS to report on its implementation of a graduated
responses system
Youth who commit violations that aren’t a danger to public safety can be
better served in the community at lower costs and with better results (e.g.,
lower recidivism rate, improved re-entry outcomes, etc.)
Using a system of responses to handle violations of low-level offenders will
allow the more intensive resources to be focused on high-risk, violent, and
repeat juvenile offenders
The AIM system will promote consistency and fairness
AIM will be used to respond quickly to technical violations
The court will receive detailed information on the use of responses
Prosecutor
LENS:
Responsibility for public safety; represents the voice of the victim
KEY CONCERNS:
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MESSAGING:
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May be wary of policy changes that could be viewed as risking
public safety
May be more supportive of sanctions as the best means of
preventing further delinquency in youth
May be concerned that victims would not appreciate offenders
receiving rewards for doing what they are ordered to do
The legislature required DJS to report on its implementation of
a graduated responses system
Using a system of responses to handle violations of low-level
offenders will allow the more intensive resources to be focused
on high-risk, violent, and repeat juvenile offenders
Youth who commit violations that aren’t a danger to public
safety can be better served in the community at lower costs and
with better results (e.g., lower recidivism rate, improved reentry outcomes, etc.)
The AIM system will promote consistency and fairness
AIM will be used to respond quickly to technical violations
Public Defender
LENS:
Advocate for child’s expressed interests; concerned about
unnecessary incarceration/placement and due process
KEY CONCERNS:
• May oppose the use of responses that are perceived to be
outside the authority of the community supervision court
order
• Concerned that enhanced requirements that youth
participate in services may set youth up for failure
• Concerned about imposition of sanctions without a
hearing
MESSAGING:
• AIM will help youth complete community supervision
successfully, with the ultimate result of the case being
closed
• AIM will help intervene in violations early before they rise
to being chronic problems
• AIM will assist in getting the “wrong kids” out of
residential placement (e.g., low-level offenders and youth
with technical violations)
• DJS plans to monitor implementation of the AIM system
and make any appropriate modifications
Questions and For More Information
32

Contact your supervisor and regional director
with any questions about how to apply the
graduated responses system to a particular
case