Recidivism to Rehabilitation: A Resource for Juvenile Justice Educators on How the Circle of Courage Approach Can Educate and Potentially Prevent Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders from Reoffending

Our juvenile detention centers are currently populated with an overrepresented group of youth with Emotional Behavioral Disorders (EBD). This particular group of adolescents tends to struggle with interpersonal skills, problem solving, low-academics and many other societal challenges which increase their odds of ending up in the juvenile system. While the educational system is able to identify students with EBD early on, it has not helped decrease the probability that those same individuals will end up in the juvenile detention centers or reoffend in the future. The aim of this project is to support the educational staff within the juvenile detention centers by providing them with information on how to incorporate the philosophy of the Circle of Courage in their daily instruction. The Circle of Courage is the set of four vital needs that everyone needs in order to be a successful adult - belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity. To this end, the question that this research project addresses is what information about the Circle of Courage approach that staff of juvenile detention centers can use to help educate and potentially prevent youths with emotional and behavioral disorders from reoffending in the future? This question is answered through the creation of a booklet, entitled Preventing and Intervening with Youth At Risk of Offending: An Introduction to the Circle of Courage for the instructional staff at the juvenile detention centers. This booklet provides instructional staff information on what the Circle of Courage is and incorporates the four universal principles of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity into their instruction.