Department of Youth Services' Newsletter January 2021 Edition |

Upcoming Dates February 12 - Chinese New Year February 15 - President's Day Keep your eye out for information on our VIRTUAL Art Sale coming this February! DYS HOLIDAY DECORATION CONTEST WINNERS Congratulations to all who participated in the 5th Annual DYS Holiday Decorating Contest! This year the competition was on and the votes were tallied, and the winners are: Best Holiday Theme – Western Region’s Westfield Toy Story Best Youth Creation – Western Region’s Western Revocation’s 4th Annual Gingerbread House Best Telework Decoration – Central Region’s “BSM” COVID-19 Vaccine Updates for Employees and Youth The Department of Youth Services’ state and provider employees in congregate care and community supervision are eligible for voluntary vaccination in Phase 1 of the vaccination plan... more Meet Southeast Region’s Regional Director, Tina Saetti Click on the picture to read the latest Regional Director Interview DYS FY 2021 Budget On Wednesday, January 27, 2021 the Baker-Polito administration filed its FY22 House 1 budget, a $45.6 billion proposal which includes $169,071,211 in funding to the Department of Youth Services. This is a $5,413,128 decrease from FY21 which will be achieved through program consolidation to align with a declining DYS census.  Commissioner's Corner Dear Colleagues, I’d like to thank all of you for your effort and persistence in the face of historic challenges. Our strength as an agency comes from the hard work and deep commitment from our staff. The national angst related to racism and the Covid-19 pandemic have directly impacted our staff, our families, our communities and the young people that we serve. Despite these challenges, we have continued to deliver critical services to the young people in our programs and those living in the community. As we enter Black History month, this February 2021, we should take the time to reflect on the rich diversity of the youth that we serve and our workforce. DYS leadership has made a commitment to running an agency that is fair in decision making related to youth, encourages diversity throughout the ranks of our workforce and provides a workplace where everyone is treated with respect and encouragement. We are actively examining our core practices to ensure that we are anti-racist. We have had to adjust our practice in critical areas of our operation including residential and community operations, education, training, tele-health, court interface and tele-working options. We have a committee reviewing all these areas to assess practice changes that we’ve made that will carry forward post-COVID. The most obvious example is virtual visits and the use of technology to connect youth to families and other external stakeholders. The feedback has been very positive in this area and we plan to keep virtual visits as one option in connecting youth to their families and systems of support. Our recent annual education and recidivism reports affirm that we are continuing to support positive outcomes for DYS involved youth and the communities that they come from. In 2021 we are active in strategic planning, capital planning to assess our facility portfolio, reviewing our education platform and planning to strengthen our career and technical education effort. Education and skill development are critical for the long- term success of DYS involved youth. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been releasing youth to families and communities that are challenged with a variety of stressors. While traditional supports like counseling, school and employment have been disrupted and/or being offered remotely, our casework and community provider staff have demonstrated innovation in staying connected to youth and families. Our casework model is based on the premise that positive change occurs in the context of relationships and our community teams have worked hard to make sure that youth receive necessary services, coaching and direction. Unfortunately, community violence has continued despite the pandemic and requires us to continuously assess our efforts and make course adjustments moving forward. Thank you for your hard work. 2021 presents great promise and I look forward to our work together to take full advantage of every opportunity to position DYS involved youth for success. Sincerely, Peter Forbes, Your Commissioner

DYS FY20 Annual Report DYS Advisory Committee

The Department of Youth Services has recently published their Fiscal Year 2020 Annual Report. Please click on the picture to see the full report. The Department of Youth Services’ Advisory Committee held its inaugural meeting on December 15, 2020. Click on image to view what the committee will be working on and DYS Advisory Members.

DYS 2020 Recidivism Report

The Department of Youth Services' has released the 2020 Recidivism Report. In this report, DYS Research staff analyzed the criminal histories of 349 youth, formerly committed to the DYS custody and discharged from the agency during 2016. The chart pictured to the right, shows a breakdown of the one year reconviction rates based on Gender, Ethnicity, DYS Committing Offense Type, and by Grid Level. Recidivism as used in the Report is defined as a conviction in the adult system for an offense committed within one year of discharge from DYS' custody. The report indicated that there were 11 key findings: In the current study, the overall one-year reconviction rate was 25% The recidivism rate for males was 29% while the rate for females was 2%. Youth whose first arraignment was before age 14 had a recidivism rate of 27% while those whose first arraignment was at 14 or older had a rate of 24%. Youth with fewer than 5 juvenile arraignments had a recidivism rate of 18%. Those with 10 or more juvenile arraignments had a rate of 39%. Youth committing 3 or more assaults while in juvenile facilities had a recidivism rate of 41%. Those committing no assaults had a rate of only 20%. Youth earning a high school diploma or equivalency prior to DYS discharge had a recidivism rate of 23%. Youth without a diploma or equivalency had a rate of 26%. Youth whose DYS committing offenses were felonies had a recidivism rate of 29% while those committed on misdemeanors had a rate of 21%. Youth who opted for YES services following DYS discharge had a recidivism rate of 21% while youth not opting for those services had a rate of 29%. On the PTSD Screen, youth strongly agreeing with the statement ‘If someone pushes me too far, I am likely to become violent’ were convicted at a 30% rate. All others had a rate of 24%. Youth strongly agreeing with the statement ‘I have trouble concentrating on tasks’ were convicted at a 34% rate. All others had a rate of 24%. Youth agreeing with the statement ‘I enjoy the company of others’ were convicted at a 24% rate. All others had a rate of 32%. Eight protective factors were identified that were associated with lower recidivism: (1) First arraignment at age 14 or older; (2) Less than 5 juvenile arraignments; (3) No assaults in residential facilities while committed; (4) More than 6 months of YES services; (5) Earning a high school diploma or equivalency prior to discharge; (6) Scoring in the low to middle ranges on the Level of Service Inventory (see page 21); (7) Disagreeing with the statement ‘If someone pushes me too far, I am likely to become violent’ on the PTSD Screen; and (8) Agreeing with the statement ‘I enjoy the company of others’ on the PTSD Screen. The number of protective factors was calculated for each youth in the sample. Those with less than 2 protective factors had a 46% recidivism rate. As more protective factors were added on, recidivism rates decreased. Youth with 6 or more protective factors had a recidivism rate of only 13%. The recidivism literature identified 8 protective factors, listed above, which are associated with lower juvenile recidivism. Among them are low institutional misconduct; constructive use of leisure time; current employment; little or no use of alcohol or drugs; and involvement in school (Baglivio et al.). The number of protective factors was calculated for each youth in the sample. Those with less than 2 protective factors had a 46% recidivism rate. As more protective factors were added on, recidivism rates decreased. Youth with 6 or more protective factors had a recidivism rate of only 13%.

Data Matters: A further dive into the Recidivism Report Data

Figure 1 and Figure 9 were taken directly from the Recidivism Report (linked above). Figure 1 compared the one-year recidivism rates from 2007 to 2016 based on whether the youth were arraigned, convicted, or incarcerated. Figure 9 gives a breakdown of the 2016 recidivism results by region.

Highlighted Articles

A Healthier You in 2021 - A Brand-New Start, But Not the Same Old Resolution Please click on image below for the full article on nutrition written by WaiLing Balsley A Community Operations Update throughout the regions by Becki Moore, DYS Director of Community Operations Happy New Year! I hope all of you reading this are holding up okay. I thank you for all that you are doing for DYS youth and their families as we manage through this pandemic – both professionally and personally.  Since the onset of this crisis back in March, I have regularly (not surprisingly) been impressed with the innovative and creative ways community teams have been supporting and engaging with youth and families. Here are just a few highlights from all of the amazing work our staff in the community – both state and provider – have been up to!.... more

The Department of Youth Service Mourns the Loss of a Valued Employee

It is with great sadness that we inform our DYS community that Eliot Treatment Program Supervisor Terrance Talley passed away on January 1st, 2021 while working the 1st shift. January 1st was the start of a new year and hopes for a new beginning. Staff at the Connelly Building were working with the youth in the programs when a co-worker, Terrance Talley, Program Supervisor, unexpectedly collapsed on the floor. Youth and staff instinctively jumped into action, including Ivair who applied CPR. Regrettably, Mr. Talley did not make it. This loss is devastating for our DYS family. We encourage our staff and youth to keep Mr. Talley’s memory alive. And we want to thank the staff and youth for their heroic efforts in the face of this extremely traumatizing event. more

DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH SERVICES [www.mass.gov/dys]

Kathryn A Laverriere Director of Communications