Treatment & Programs
Integrated Treatment Model
JRA's Integrated Treatment Model is a research-based treatment approach that utilizes cognitive-behavioral and family therapy principles. The model is tailored for use in both residential and parole programs in the JRA continuum of care.
The residential treatment model used in institutions and community facilities focuses on engaging youth in a supportive therapeutic relationship and motivating them to replace problem behaviors with pro-social behaviors to meet their needs and pursue their goals. Counselors collaborate with youth to examine target behaviors in order to increase the youth’s understanding of the factors influencing their behavior. Using this information, solutions are created drawing from strengths the youth possesses and new skills they are learning. As youth transition through residential programs, they are provided with numerous opportunities to practice their skills so they can generalize them to new situations. Families are invited to learn about and participate in treatment to help the youth successfully apply what they have learned when they re-enter the community. Some of the skills the youth learn are included in the list below.
- Mindfulness Skills for decreasing impulsiveness and rigid thinking, and for increasing awareness of thoughts and feelings.
- Emotion Regulation Skills for understanding the function of emotions and for managing difficult emotions.
- Distress Tolerance Skills for managing stress and accepting life’s sometimes painful realities.
- Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills & Social Skills for pro-social assertiveness, managing conflict, and building healthy relationships.
- Moral Reasoning Skills for making mature decisions when faced with difficult dilemmas.
- Anger Management Skills for managing anger without engaging in aggressive behavior.
- These skills also provide critical “soft skills” necessary for obtaining and maintaining employment.
The behavior change strategies used in the model and skills the youth learn are drawn from Dialectical Behavior Therapy by Marsha Linehan, PhD, as well as from Aggression Replacement Training (ART) by Arnold P. Goldstein, Barry Glick, and John C. Gibbs.
In community settings youth are monitored under Functional Family Parole. The treatment and intervention focus shifts to creating a more functional environment within the family where the youth resides. Research on maintaining and supporting behavior change for troubled adolescents indicates intervention is most effective if promoted within a family context. Parole staff work with families to address the role each member has in generating and ultimately resolving "problem behavior". The primary theoretical foundation for this section of the model come from James Alexander, PhD and Thomas Sexton, PhD in Functional Family Therapy, a research-based family intervention considered a "Blueprint" model from the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence.
Functional Family Parole counselors work to engage and motivate all family members by creating a balanced alliance with each, and creating a family focus for treatment. Early interventions reduce blame and negativity among family members and instill hope for change. Families are also referred to needed services in the community that match family interaction styles and provide continued support for the family once the youth is no longer on parole.
For more information contact:
Laurie Hart
Olympia: 360-902-8020
Spokane: 509-225-7925
RTCP adolescents are placed singly in a foster family setting for six to nine months. Foster families are recruited, trained, and supported to provide well-supervised placement and treatment. The program provides 24-hour a day case management and coordination of all aspects of youngsters' treatment programs. Youth participate in cognitive/behavioral skill-focused individual treatment. Youth and their families (defined as biological, adoptive, or other aftercare resource; e.g., relative or other guardian) participate in weekly family therapy associated with the model. Frequent contact between youth and their family members, including home visits, are part of the program.
JRA's Residential Treatment and Care Program (RTCP) operating in the Spokane area of Eastern Washington replicates the Oregon Social Learning Center's Multi-dimensional Treatment Foster Care model. Up to 6 low risk-youth are placed in specialized foster homes in their local community as an alternative to placement in a secure JRA institution in Western Washington. The RTCP engages youth and their families in research-based treatment interventions effective in halting further penetration of youth into the justice and correctional systems. The program is managed by Lutheran Community Services under contract with JRA.
RTCP adolescents are placed singly in a foster family setting for six to nine months. Foster families are recruited, trained, and supported to provide well-supervised placement and treatment. The program provides 24-hour a day case management and coordination of all aspects of youngsters' treatment programs. Youth participate in cognitive/behavioral skill-focused individual treatment. Youth and their families (defined as biological, adoptive, or other aftercare resource; e.g., relative or other guardian) participate in weekly family therapy associated with the model. Frequent contact between youth and their family members, including home visits, are part of the program.
The RTCP requires close monitoring of the youngsters' progress in school, coordination with probation/parole officers; and psychiatric consultation/medication management, as needed.
For more information contact:
For more information contact:
Natalie Kenney
(509) 363-5048
(509) 363-5048
MENTORS ARE THE STUFF OF SUCCESS:
Every young person needs a mentor - a dependable adult who will care, will listen, and will advise. Ask any successful person if they had a mentor and their answer will inevitably be “yes”.
The Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration (JRA) has a long established mentoring program. We are grateful for the contributions JRA mentors make in helping young people entangled with the justice system progress to confident, competent, responsible citizenship.
JRA MENTORS:
- Convey this very important message to young people: “You are worth my time and effort”
- Encourage young people to recognize and use their unique talents
- Coach young people to make positive choices for their future
- Assist young people in restoring their place in the community
MENTOR PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS:
- Submit a Volunteer Application
- Pass a criminal background check
- Attend training provided by JRA
MENTOR PROGRAM COMMITMENT:
JRA asks mentors to:
- Make a commitment to mentor a youth for 12 months
- Communicate weekly and meet in person at least once monthly with matched youth
- Attend mentor program seminars, training, and other events as scheduled
For additional Information:
If you are interested in becoming a mentor for a young person under JRA supervision and would like to learn more about how you can participate in our program, please contact the following people:
Chad Kline
(509) 225-7919
JRA Region 1
Arturo Caballero
(509) 363-5039
JRA Region 1
Wiley Grant Carter, Jr.
(206) 621-3423
JRA Region 2
Major W. Harris, Jr.
Vancouver (360) 993-7954
Kelso (360) 501-2479
Lacey (360) 486-2232
JRA Region 3
