NIJ Evaluation: Wraparound Programs

The National Institute of Justice has released a report examining “wraparound” programs aimed at lowering juvenile delinquency. The methods used by wraparound programs involve surrounding at-risk youth with coordinated sources, including school staff, courts, law enforcement, and services. By providing support through these methods, the hope is that the youth will be less likely to commit offenses, while also making schools and communities safer for other students.

However, in practice, the NIJ found that wraparound programs—even well-designed ones—did not accomplish the goal of reducing delinquency. Results were inconsistent, and the evaluation determined that it was neither harmful nor beneficial in the pilot program(s) in terms of schoolwide effects.

Additionally, researchers struggled to implement the program in schools while coordinating with other entities of the law. The program performed better when there was greater buy-in from principals and staff in the schools. Staffing also was identified as an issue in the evaluation.

To read more about the NIJ’s wraparound program evaluation, you can visit their site here.

NIJ Publication: Effects of SROs in Schools

The National Institute of Justice has released an article, published in Criminology & Public Policy, detailing the effects of school resource officers on school crime and responses to school crime. This study in this article, funded by a grant from the NIJ, examined schools that increased their spending on SROs.

You can read the article online at the Wiley Online Library at this link.

In the study linked above, evidence was found that SROs do not necessarily make schools safer, and generally end up increasing the criminalization of school discipline.

The presence of school resource officers in the classroom is a controversial topic. In Lincoln, the school board debated whether or not to continue its $500,000 contract with the Lincoln Police Department to have SROs in the schools. Members of the community and the school board said that the money would be spent better elsewhere, such as on social workers, counselors, school psychologists, and so on. The school board ultimately decided to keep the contract with LPD.

NIJ Evaluation: Crisis Response and Prevention

The National Institute of Justice has taken a close look at crisis response programs within schools. These crisis response programs differ from the ones funded by Community-based Aid grants in that they are within schools, rather than the broader community.

These programs are organized into tiers. The first tier involves teaching student leaders how to use practical, nonviolent communication and intervention skills. These students also communicate with school staff to discuss observations they have made about bullying and harassment.

The second tier identifies students who may need emotional or behavioral support. After a student is identified, they are assessed and linked to services in the third tier. These tiers are intended to help prevent an emotional crisis from happening in the school.

The fourth tier involves responding to a crisis as it happens in the school. A licensed, certified social worker (or workers) intervene with a student who is having a crisis. They use culturally-sensitive, school-informed protocol to assist the student. After the crisis is responded to, tier five involves connecting that student to aftercare to prevent a relapse.

This intervention proves promising, according to the NIJ. While the program did result in a significantly lower frequency of office referrals and suspensions, it does not appear to have affected the frequency of bullying, juvenile justice referrals, or emotional/behavioral health incidents.

To learn more about this intervention, please visit the NIJ website to see their evaluation in more detail.