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Field
Trial Title
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Before
Children’s Home + Aid and Youth Advocate Programs Wraparound Services and Therapy Collaboration Evaluation
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After
The Effects of TF-CBT and Wraparound Services on Disadvantaged Youth: Experimental Evidence
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Abstract
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Before
To address the problem of youth violence by bringing together the front-line knowledge of practitioners, new insights from researchers in behavioral economics and computer science, and the support of local funders, the University of Chicago Crime Lab launched the Chicago Design Competition in February 2015. This initiative aimed to identify and evaluate promising ideas to improve life outcomes of youth at elevated risk for violence involvement. The winning proposal in the Chicago Design Competition was a collaborative program developed by Children’s Home + Aid and Youth Advocate Programs. These organizations have have received funding to work with youth at high risk of violence involvement on the South Side of Chicago. The Crime Lab will evaluate this promising intervention that combines Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Wraparound Services that will be delivered to 440 at-risk youth during 2015-2017. Because there is little definitive evidence on the effectiveness of intensive services programs for high-risk youth, identifying programs that are successful with this population is a key policy priority for the Mayor’s Office and other key stakeholders in Chicago.
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After
The paper evaluates a new intervention seeking to address the problem of youth violence. Choose to Change (C2C) is a program that combines trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy with wraparound services. This is the first time that these services are being offered together and rigorously evaluated. C2C will serve 440 at-risk youth during the years 2015-2017 in various neighborhoods of the South Side of Chicago. As there is little definitive evidence on the effectiveness of intensive services programs for high-risk youth, identifying programs that are successful with this population is a key policy priority for many cities across the country.
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Last Published
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Before
November 17, 2015 11:54 AM
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After
November 21, 2016 08:18 AM
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Intervention (Public)
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Before
Youth Advocate Programs and Children's Home + Aid will receive referrals from Chicago Public Schools, the Cook County Juvenile Probation Department, and other agency and community partners that work with youth who are involved in the juvenile justice system and have disengaged from school. Youth who are randomly selected from an eligible population and agree to participate in the intervention will be assigned an advocate who will interact weekly with the youth in one-on-one and in family meetings and recreational groups. Additionally, the youth will participate in group or individual therapy that uses SPARCS (Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress), an evidence-based and trauma-focused model. The program is designed specifically for youth who are actively gang-affiliated, on juvenile probation, have been found guilty of weapons offenses, are seriously disruptive in school through chronic truancy, serious misconduct or frequent suspensions, or have been direct victims of or witnesses to traumatic violence. The program will be delivered in two sessions, each lasting five months and enrolling 110 youth at a time, with the goal of reducing criminal and violent behavior and improving academic achievement by helping youth stabilize and successfully participate in school, community, and family life. Because there is little definitive evidence on the effectiveness of intensive services programs for high-risk youth, identifying programs that are successful with this population is a key policy priority for the Mayor’s Office and other key stakeholders in Chicago.
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After
Children’s Home and Aid (CHA) and Youth Advocate Programs (YAP) have teamed up to provide the new C2C intervention to Chicago youth. YAP will assign each youth an advocate who will interact weekly with the youth in one-on-one and family meetings, as well as recreational groups. The advocate will work with the youth for 12+ hours a week to engage them in pro-social activities and build up the natural supports in their lives. In addition, CHA will provide SPARCS (Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress), a group trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy. SPARCS is a specific form of therapy that is designed for youth who have been traumatized, and continue to live with high levels of stress. Youth will receive 12-16 sessions of SPARCS aimed at reducing trauma symptoms and improving behavior.
The program is intended for high-risk youth (ages 13-18), and therefore will specifically target youth who are actively gang-affiliated, on juvenile probation, have been found guilty of weapons offenses, are seriously disruptive in school through chronic truancy, serious misconduct or frequent suspensions, or have been direct victims of or witnesses to traumatic violence. Referrals will be received from Chicago Public Schools, the Cook County Juvenile Probation Department, and other agency and community partners that work with youth who are involved in the juvenile justice system and have disengaged from school.
Youth who are randomly selected from the eligible population of referrals and agree to participate in the intervention will receive 5 months of C2C programming. The program will be delivered in four sessions, each lasting five months and enrolling 110 youth at a time. The goal of the C2C intervention is to reduce criminal and violent behavior and improve academic achievement by helping youth stabilize and successfully participate in school, community, and family life.
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Primary Outcomes (End Points)
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Before
The two year evaluation of the Children’s Home + Aid and Youth Advocate Programs trauma-informed youth advocate collaboration will seek to address the following questions:
Education Outcomes
1. Does the TF-CBT/Wraparound model increase connection to school for treatment youth?
2. Does the TF-CBT/Wraparound model reduce in-school disciplinary infractions for treatment youth?
3. Does the TF-CBT/Wraparound model improve GPA among treatment youth? Test scores?
Crime Outcomes
1. Does the TF-CBT/Wraparound model reduce out of school arrests for treatment youth? Non-violent vs. violent crimes? Victimization vs. perpetrator?
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After
• Criminal activity [Time Frame: Program start through end of program (5 moths)]
The number of each of four subtypes of arrests (violent, property, drug, and other) will be measured using individual-level administrative data on juvenile and adult arrests from the Chicago Policy Department.
• Criminal activity [Time Frame: 7 months post-program]
The number of each of four subtypes of arrests (violent, property, drug, and other) will be measured using individual-level administrative data on juvenile and adult arrests from the Chicago Policy Department.
• Criminal activity [Time Frame: 1 year post-program]
The number of each of four subtypes of arrests (violent, property, drug, and other) will be measured using individual-level administrative data on juvenile and adult arrests from the Chicago Policy Department.
• Criminal activity [Time Frame: 2 years post-program]
The number of each of four subtypes of arrests (violent, property, drug, and other) will be measured using individual-level administrative data on juvenile and adult arrests from the Chicago Policy Department.
• School engagement [Time Frame: Program start through end of program (5 moths)]
Schooling outcomes will be measured using student-level administrative data from the Chicago Public Schools. Engagement will be assessed using data on attendance, CPS on-track indicator, grades, course-taking, disciplinary incidents, test scores, graduation, school switching, and enrollment in schools within juvenile justice facilities.
• School engagement [Time Frame: 7 months post-program]
Schooling outcomes will be measured using student-level administrative data from the Chicago Public Schools. Engagement will be assessed using data on attendance, CPS on-track indicator, grades, course-taking, disciplinary incidents, test scores, graduation, school switching, and enrollment in schools within juvenile justice facilities.
• School engagement [Time Frame: 1 year post-program]
Schooling outcomes will be measured using student-level administrative data from the Chicago Public Schools. Engagement will be assessed using data on attendance, CPS on-track indicator, grades, course-taking, disciplinary incidents, test scores, graduation, school switching, and enrollment in schools within juvenile justice facilities.
• School engagement [Time Frame: 2 years months post-program]
Schooling outcomes will be measured using student-level administrative data from the Chicago Public Schools. Engagement will be assessed using data on attendance, CPS on-track indicator, grades, course-taking, disciplinary incidents, test scores, graduation, school switching, and enrollment in schools within juvenile justice facilities.
• Employment [Time Frame: Program start through end of program (5 moths)]
Employment and wages will be measured using individual-level quarterly earnings records from Unemployment Insurance, provided by the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
• Employment [Time Frame: 7 months post-program]
Employment and wages will be measured using individual-level quarterly earnings records from Unemployment Insurance, provided by the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
• Employment [Time Frame: 1 year post-program]
Employment and wages will be measured using individual-level quarterly earnings records from Unemployment Insurance, provided by the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
• Employment [Time Frame: 2 years post-program]
Employment and wages will be measured using individual-level quarterly earnings records from Unemployment Insurance, provided by the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
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Primary Outcomes (Explanation)
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Before
"Connection to school" will be measured by attendance, activity involvement (such as extracurricular activities), and the CPS "on track" indicator
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After
In addition to using Chicago Police Department data, we will also look at outcomes using Illinois State Police data as not all youth in our study have and will be arrested in the city limits.
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Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
Randomized Controlled Trial:
For each program cohort of 110, the youth will be randomly selected from a list of at least 220 eligible youth. The Crime Lab will compare the treatment group outcomes to the control group outcomes, looking specifically at arrests and victimization, connection to school or employment, and academic performance. Given the structure of the referrals and the background of our youth, we will stratify (or block) the sample to improve our treatment effect estimates. Randomization guarantees that our treatment and control groups will be similar in expectation, but stratifying helps ensure this actually occurs in practice with our sample of youth.
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After
Randomized Controlled Trial: For each program cohort of 110, the youth will be randomly selected from a list of at least 220 eligible youth. The Crime Lab will compare the treatment group outcomes to the control group outcomes, looking specifically at arrests, connection to school and/or employment, and academic performance. Given the structure of the referrals and background of our youth, we will stratify (or block) by referral source and neighborhood to improve our treatment effect estimates.
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Field
Randomization Unit
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Before
Eligible youth were randomized at the individual level and stratified by referral source.
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After
Eligible youth were randomized at the individual level and stratified by referral source and neighborhood.
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