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There were few significant differences in youth outcomes

• During its first year, there were few significant differences observed between youth on the pilot unit and youth on a traditional unit at the facility. However, youth in the pilot program were less likely to experience a physical response with mechanical restraints or a Level Two physical response.

Staff outcomes were similar across units

• There was no significant difference between units regarding any of the staff outcomes examined. Staff absences and turnover were high in both groups, though no staff in either group had grievances/complaints or criminal charges filed against them. Equipping staff with better tools for behavioral management of youth may be one way to reduce absences and turnover.

Implementation considerations are important to understanding the findings

• There were many factors that may have led to "contamination" effects. For example, youth from the pilot program mixed with youth from other units during school hours, and DYS has been in the process of incorporating trauma-informed principles across facilities over the past several years. Staff also described several challenges to implementation, including absences and turnover, a need for additional training, and facility-level issues.

Pilot-specific costs were relatively low

• The authors estimate the setup costs of the pilot pod to have been $337,236. Once launched, the total cost of running the pilot pod was an estimated $3,003,352. Of this total running cost, the pilot's share of facility-wide costs accounted for 85 percent ($2,567,028), with the remaining 15 percent ($436,323) being costs unique to the pilot.

There is increasing recognition of the prevalence of trauma exposure among youth involved in the juvenile justice system. To better address the needs of these youth while mitigating negative downstream consequences of their behavior (e.g., youth recidivism), there have been efforts to develop trauma-informed programming. In this report, the authors conduct an evaluation of a trauma-informed pilot program run by the Colorado Division of Youth Services (DYS) in a residential youth facility.

The authors find that core elements of the pilot program are consistent with trauma-informed models. Similar models, such as the Missouri Model, have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing negative youth and staff outcomes. However, the authors found few significant effects of the pilot program on outcomes of interest during the evaluation period. That said, there were a number of implementation challenges that may have contributed to the lack of significant differences. These include potential contamination effects, as staff and youth from across units interacted during the study period, as well as obstacles related to staffing levels and larger facility-level concerns. As the program continues to be implemented, it will be important to develop a clear program model; address concerns related to training and staffing levels; and continue to monitor the implementation and outcomes of the program.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  Method

• Chapter Three

  Evaluation Results

• Chapter Four

  Conclusion

• Appendix A

  Supplemental Youth and Staff Results

• Appendix B

  Semistructured Interview Protocol

• Appendix C

  Additional Cost Analysis Tables