ARISE, a leader in educating at-risk youth behind bars or better yet in their own neighborhoods

For the past 16 uninterrupted years, ARISE has trained and certified over 5,000 Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) staff as ARISE Life-Skills Instructors who then teach important life-skills information to the youth in their charge. ARISE provides all the curriculum materials used to teach life skills. We’ve provided more details about the ARISE juvenile justice program below.

1. Evidence Based Studies
2. University of Miami
3. 15 Year History
4. American Corrections Association
   

Letter of endorsement from: Frank J. Peterman

DJJ Law Studies Summer Project

This motivational video was created by students admitted to a juvenile program in Florida. Faces are not shown because the identities of juvenile offenders are protected. The students range in age from 14-18 and are serving 6 to 9 months. This was a summer school project that asked the youth: “What is required of us to live in a law-abiding society?”

ARISE Articles, Letters, and Endorsements

1. ACA Features the Benefits of ARISE Staff Training (4 pages)
2. Letter of Understanding from Vincent Schiraldi, (DYRS)
3. Letter of Endorsement from Superintendent Anthony Flowers
4. Letter of Endorsement from Superintendent Daryl Wolf

View flyer for: The CHOICES Training session at the Miami Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department

Browse by Topic:

Please click on the image below to view the ARISE “Simple Acts of Kindness” document for an important tip on helping incarcerated youth.

Juvenile Justice Staff Training Tenderizing Tough Youth with Life Skills Girls Initiative: Gender Awareness Training Benefits of ARISE for DJJ staff

Recent Evaluations and Reports ARISE Juvenile Justice Photo Gallery ARISE Juvenile Justice Monthly Downloadable Lessons ARISE Life Skills Refresher Training Webinar

Juvenile Justice Staff Training

According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (July 1996 Fact Sheet 37), “inadequately trained staff

cannot provide effective help.” ARISE provides staff training to juvenile justice facilities interested in educating incarcerated youth in life and social skills.

It takes just two days (14 hours) for us to train juvenile officers or any designated staff personnel as ARISE Life Skills Instructors. As a result of the comprehensive training, correctional staff who have never had to “stand and deliver” in front of a group often become more interested and motivated to take an active role in guiding these troubled youth away from a life of crime. The staff then conducts interactive ARISE groups with the youth in their charge. When the youth learn positive life and social skills, this information enables them to make better life choices, reduces the rate of recidivism, and decreases the rate of juvenile crime.

Another beneficial training ARISE has custom designed for juvenile justice staff is the 2-Day ARISE – “Drop It at the Door” Training. This training is a unique program centered on equipping juvenile justice staff with tools they need to control anger, stress, and tension at work and home. ARISE – “Drop It at the Door” is specifically designed to help line staff overcome the unique challenges that inhibit optimum performance, cause health problems, excessive absences, compensation claims, burnout, high turnover rates, and conflict between staff and the youth in their care. The feedback we have received from facility administrators about this course has been overwhelmingly positive. Check out the Choices testimonials to read all about it.

Photos:
DJJ Facilities where ARISE has provided Staff Training
Flyer:
ARISE Drop It at the Door Training Flyer for DJJ Staff

 

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Tenderizing Tough Youth with Life Skills

According to a 12/98 report to the Florida Legislature, prepared by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, “The majority of juvenile justice youth do not return to school when released.” Through the winning combination of DJJ staff training and ARISE life-skills lessons, ARISE provides the last best chance of reaching these youth while still under state supervision. We have over 40 life-readiness courses that provide skills in teen anger management, conflict resolution, domestic abuse, dangers of sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy, the tools needed to find a job and keep it, building a support system, required steps in making good decisions, plus lessons on drug, alcohol and tobacco avoidance. All of the 260 ARISE-written and tested life-skills topics lead to youth developing respect for self and society.

So many incarcerated youths have let their anger get the better of them more than once so the first lesson the program teaches is anger management – how to harness the feelings and the inclination to prevent and control violence. The youth learn techniques for conflict resolution and making positive personal choices, how to speak assertively without being aggressive, and how to solve problems nonviolently. The staff members presenting this information often learn at the same time.

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Girls Initiative: Gender-Specific Awareness Training

In Florida, nearly 30% of juveniles arrested are female (1 out of every 4 is female). Within the past decade, there has been a 67% increase in the numbers of girls behind bars according to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. This is indicative of a national trend. With so many young women suddenly flooding juvenile justice facilities, ARISE established the Girls Initiative: Gender Specific Awareness Training. For more information about this program, please see our Girls Initiative page.

 

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Benefits of ARISE for DJJ

The benefits of ARISE staff training, curriculum, and group sessions are numerous. By conducting ARISE life-skills groups, the staff and the youth become more understanding of each other and their communication and interpersonal skills improve. This results in less staff on youth conflict, more job satisfaction, less turnover, fewer worker’s compensation claims, and better relationships between the staff and youth. It is a win-win situation and the youth are learning important life skills in a non-confrontational session that improves their feelings of self worth and respect for society.

17 Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Facilities took part in a questionnaire about the benefits of the ARISE Program. Click here to see their responses.

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ARISE Juvenile Justice Program Evaluations and Reports

The success of the ARISE juvenile justice program has been evaluated and documented thoroughly for over two decades.

Most recent reports on the ARISE Juvenile Justice Program:
1 ) Quality Assurance (QA) Report on ARISE for Residential Facilities – 2009
2 ) 11-Year History of ARISE in Florida DJJ Facilities
3 ) ARISE-Florida DJJ Facilities Statistics: Hours of Instruction, Students, etc.
4 ) ARISE Final Report for Life Skills OJJDP Florida — 2006/2007
5 ) Florida DJJ Facilities’ Evaluation of the ARISE Program
6 ) ARISE Focus Groups at FL DJJ Facilities 2007
7 ) ARISE CHOICES Training Focus Groups at Avon Park Youth Academy 2007
8 ) ARISE DC Evaluation Report 2006-2007
9 ) ARISE in Washington DC

You will find additional ARISE juvenile justice program evaluations and focus group results compiled by independent evaluators on the evidence-based studies pages. You may also be interested in checking out the ARISE testimonials page, life skills staff training overview, the ARISE life-skills curriculum, and the juvenile justice area of the ARISE photo gallery.

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ARISE Juvenile Justice Photo Gallery

The ARISE Juvenile Justice Photo Gallery is full of pictures highlighting the diverse DJJ staff who teach ARISE life skills to the youth in their care, the trainings we have done in DJJ facilities across the country, and the DJJ facilities that use the ARISE Life Skills Program.

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