Chester, PA | Local Initiatives Support Corporation

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) awarded grant funding to eight local districts under the OJJDP FY 2019 Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Youth Violence and Victimization Program (CYVP). This grant program supported a comprehensive effort to address youth violence and victimization through implementing evidence-based prevention, intervention, and accountability efforts in a school-based setting. The goals of the program were to: (1) reduce the incidence of school violence through accountability efforts for offenders; (2) respond to victimization, exposure to violence, and trauma as a result of violence that occurs in the school, community, or family; (3) improve school safety and climate; and (4) prevent violence, delinquency, and victimization in the targeted community. LISC Safety & Justice provided technical assistance and training to enhance CYVP grantees’ capacity to reach their goals.

Introduction

Chester Community Charter School (CCCS) has more than 4,000 students in grades K-8 on four campuses. CCCS serves more than two-thirds of the total students in the urban Chester-Upland community, whereas the public school district serves a little over 2,600 in K-12. CCCS boasts low student-teacher ratios, a project, based curriculum, and opportunities for students to learn about entrepreneurship, technology, and music. The Chester area faces significant challenges. Nearly half of children in the City of Chester live in households with incomes below the federal poverty line. The city has long faced serious violent crime and safety issues, although the work of a collaborative community partnership brought a significant decrease in violent crime incidents in the last year.

Prior to the grant, CCCS schools operated with a zero-tolerance discipline policy that not only did not improve student behavior, it negatively impacted children who were suspended or even faced expulsion for the slightest infractions against the student code of conduct.

Program Purpose

CCCS applied for grant funds to address two objectives: 1) providing mental health services to help students overcome stressors and the trauma cause by poverty and exposure to violence and 2) providing peer support activities that engage alienated youth through restorative practices.

Approach

CCCS used grant funds to launch or expand five distinct but related programs to achieve its objectives. Three of the programs, delivered by the CCCS Student Support Services Department, focus on mental health. School counselors and social workers implemented the Bounce Back and Support for Students Exposed to Trauma (SSET) programs, which were specifically developed to be implemented in school settings. These initiatives share a foundation in cognitive behavioral interventions for intermittent trauma. Both programs help students who have experienced trauma in the recent past or are experiencing ongoing trauma in the school, community, or home. The third mental health program is school therapeutic support (STS), serving students who need intense levels of clinical intervention and therapeutic support. Led by contracted licensed clinicians, STS has been very successful for Chester Community Charter School.

CCCS’ School Climate Department oversees two programs focused on peer support. Youth court is a prevention program that is helping the school move away from the zero-tolerance brand of discipline it had used before. The youth court model gives students the opportunity to have a voice in decisions about how they should restore or repair their relationship to fellow students, staff, and the school community when they harm something or someone. Youth court proved to be one of the most successful programs CCCS implemented under the grant. Violence Free Zone is an evidence-informed mentoring program. Students are mentored by people in different walks of life, but primarily by individuals from outside the school community who have lived experience with some of the challenges students in Chester face. They may even be from the same neighborhoods as the students. These mentors are credible messengers who can share a relevant, timely and relatable perspective with students. CCCS data shows that these mentoring relationships positively influence student decisions, often in real time.

CCCS partners with Alliance of Concerned Men (ACM) on the Violence Free Zone program. ACM has developed an evidence-informed training curriculum on conflict resolution that all CCCS staff and students will receive. What’s more, students who have completed the training will be entrusted to deliver the curriculum to their peers under the guidance of their mentors. ACM also brought connections to resources such as the ICONS Project at the University of Maryland, which provides training and support for research.

Results

CCCS has found value in all of its new mental health and peer support programs. The youth court program in particular stands out as a resounding success. Students quickly embraced the program and took ownership of it. They learned the new vocabulary of the program and were able to see themselves in the program’s leadership roles. Youth court also gave students the opportunity to be exposed to the legal profession, with teachers setting up round table talks and inviting attorneys who looked like the students. Those attorneys mentor the students and share tips on what they should be doing if they are interested in a career in justice or law. Youth court was also received enthusiastically by teachers, who recognize how it supports expectations around the student code of conduct. CCCS data shows a large decrease in antisocial behaviors among the students participating in youth court compared to students who were not involved in the program.
The program has become a part of the culture and fabric of the school. In fact, it is integrated into the middle school social studies curriculum. By implementing the youth court program, CCCS also changed the school’s discipline policy, shifting away from zero tolerance. Now the policy includes tiers that provide different levels of intervention and diversion. Close to 80% of infractions now go to youth court and are resolved there instead of leading to suspension or expulsion.
CCCS has collected substantial data to show the effectiveness of Bounce Back and SSTS; these programs are an important part of the school’s efforts to support students who have experienced trauma. The STS intensive therapeutic support program is also still operating, and it no longer requires grant funding. A community partner, Elwyn Children’s Behavioral Health, has taken over the program in the schools and now bills the costs to Medicaid.
CCCS leaders see sustainability of their CYVP efforts as their biggest success. The school received a renewal grant from OJJDP in 2022 that will continue to support youth court, the Violence-Free Zone, Bounce Back, and Support for Students Exposed to Trauma.

Related Resources

Webinar: Decreasing Punishment & Increasing Equity in Schools

Resources on this page are supported by Grant 2019-MU-MU-K011, awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this web site (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).

OJJDP provides national leadership, coordination, and resources to prevent and respond to youth delinquency and victimization. The Office helps states, localities, and tribes develop effective and equitable juvenile justice systems that create safer communities and empower youth to lead productive lives.