Formalizing Connections Between Corrections and Education: Maine's Reintegration Teams

By Regina Waugh | rwaugh@air.org

Many States struggle with successfully transitioning their delinquent students from the correctional facility back into the traditional classroom. Barriers include hesitancy on the part of the local school staff (and sometimes the outright refusal to accept students from correctional facilities), ineffective and inefficient procedures for transferring student records, and a lack of systematic processes for reengaging students with the public school environment. Legislation has been enacted in the State of Maine to address these issues.

Youth adjudicated in Maine are either sent to one of four regional community corrections centers or committed to residential care at the Mountain View Youth Development Center or the Long Creek Youth Development Center. According to the staff at the Maine State Department of Education, students in both facilities have generally come from, and returned to, a small number of local school districts. As a result, planning for their transition from facility to school has historically taken place on an informal, as-needed basis between the transition coordinator (called the Project IMPACT coordinator) at each residential facility and public school district staff. Title 20-A §1055 (12), which became State law in 2001, changed the nature of these relationships throughout the State.

What is Title 20-A §1055 (12)?

Maine's Title 20-A now charges the superintendent of each school district with the responsibility of overseeing the transition and reintegration of students exiting a Department of Corrections placement and returning to their local schools. Within 10 days of receiving notification from the Department of Corrections that a student seeks admission, the superintendent must convene a reintegration team to carry out reintegration planning. According to the legislation, "the reintegration team must consist of the administrator of the school or the administrator's designee; at least one classroom teacher to whom the student will be assigned or who is involved in the school's student assistance team; a parent, guardian or custodian of the student; and a guidance counselor."

How do the Reintegration Teams work?

The 2001 legislation formalizes a specific procedure for transitioning students by requiring every school district to convene a formal reintegration team for each student who returns to public school from residential care in the State of Maine. As such planning is new for many districts, staff at the State Department of Education have developed reintegration standards for transitioning corrections students. District administrators are working with State juvenile corrections staff to develop procedures for training members of the reintegration teams.

The reintegration standards include the following stipulations:

• Each district must adopt procedures pertaining to student reintegration and transition in conjunction with the State juvenile correctional facilities.
• Information on such policies and procedures must be made available to all parties prior to initiating transition services.
• Such processes must ensure open communication between all parties involved.

A comprehensive evaluation process to examine and assess performance in all aspects of transition programming must be established. The results from the evaluation should be reviewed at least quarterly during the initial year of operation and at least semiannually in following years.

The reintegration teams are required to meet twice before the youth enters the public school. The first meeting, involving district, school, and corrections staff, is an opportunity for a review of the student's records and to discuss options for the student's reintegration plan. The reintegration plan addresses the student's educational program, participation in activities (including extracurricular activities), and access to school facilities (including transportation). The second meeting includes the student and involves discussion of the reintegration plan, including an overview of consequences for the student if he or she chooses not to follow the plan.

After a youth's release, grade and class placement at the local receiving school will be based on the student's academic abilities, measured by his or her progress on the Maine Learning Results (Maine's State standards) and previous achievement demonstrated at the juvenile correctional facility and in previous academic placements. The principal of the receiving school is responsible for evaluating the student's academic records to assess progress toward meeting the State content standards.

Who is responsible for reintegration?

The legislation also provides a clear delineation of responsibilities between State juvenile corrections facilities, local school districts, and the State Department of Education. Below is a list of the some of the tasks under the purview of each stakeholder.

Department of Corrections

• Provides notice to the superintendent that the juvenile is seeking admission to the district
• Provides written notice to the parents of the student in the correctional facility that education records will be sent to the district to which the student is transferring
• Responds to superintendent's requests for information

Department of Education

• Consults stakeholders to develop transition planning standards
• Provides technical assistance to train Reintegration Teams on educational and criminal justice records information
• Includes transition planning in the school-approval process
• Advises the Commissioner of Education on reintegration planning and aftercare for released juveniles enrolled in public schools

Superintendent

• Convenes the Reintegration Team for planning purposes within 10 days of receiving notice of the juvenile's plans for admission to the receiving district
• Requests necessary student information (including academic status, classes taken, Maine Learning Results, results of psychological testing) from the correctional facility
• Provides yearly reports to the Department of Education related to the number of juvenile offenders who have reenrolled in their school/district

What about confidentiality?

The legislation includes provisions to ensure that the criminal justice information regarding juveniles is released to members of the reintegration teams according to State and Federal confidentiality standards. The superintendent is required to guarantee that all school employees who have access to confidential information receive confidentiality training. The nature and extent of information provided should be limited to that needed to implement the student's reintegration plan and ensure the health and safety of the returning student, the safety of the youth's fellow students and local school staff, and the integrity of school property.

Who can I contact for more information about Maine 's Reintegration Teams?

Shelley Reed, Coordinator
Truancy, Dropout, Alternative Education, and Homeless Education
State of Maine, Department of Education
207-624-6637
shelley.reed@maine.gov

Published March 2005

See the Current Spotlight

For more on the topics of transition and collaboration, see NDTAC's Library.

Sign up for NDTAC's e-mail list! You'll receive event and product announcements as well as timely information from NDTAC and the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, this listserv provides you with a forum to share with and request information from other professionals in the field about issues related to the education of youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at-risk.