The Need
In 2005
we completed a needs assessment to prove the value of our program. We
do these programs because of these
numbers:
12 out of 100- the number of juveniles that will be the
victim of a violent crime this year nation-wide. Juveniles are by far,
the highest age group to be targets of crime.
13,200 (Less than 1% of LA Teens)- The number of youth
16-19 years of age in Los Angeles who are neither in school nor in the
labor force. Almost all of these teens will go through one or more
institutions this year before they turn 18 years of age:
5,000 of these teens are from foster care group homes not in
permanent placement;
4,000 go through LA County Probation
2,900 go through California Youth Authority
3-12 months- The average stay in a County or State
institution. Then many are back on the street.
58%- The percentage of foster youth who end up in adult
prison for violent crimes.
91% of youth will be rearrested, 53% for more violent crimes.
$1.7 million- The cost of incarcerating one youth over the
course of his sentence.
$720 million- An estimate of the cost of juvenile crime in
annual medical costs in Los Angeles County .
The best place to change a kid's view of the world is when this small
1% of LA youth (that do 90% of the damage) is in
institutions. Yet, we've found that our program is only one of very
few that is offered to kids in institutions. If we don't change their
attitudes at this stage, they will be lost to a life in corrections
and society will pay for it in prison costs, medical costs and crime.
In a recently published study on the resiliency of youth, Bonnie
Bernard has found hope. Her study found that 50-70% of the most
at-risk youth make it as successful adults. What is the difference in
these youth? She found that buffers (protective factors) make a more
profound impact in the life course of children who grow up under
adverse conditions than do specific risk factors or stressful life
events. She goes on to report that in youth with negative family
situations it is community based organizations and schools that
provide those protective factors.
Arts programs have proven to stem
the tide of violence. In 1983, Dr. Lawrence Brewster, Sociology
Professor at California State University at San Jose, found that
prison Arts In Corrections programs reduced incidents of violence
within the prison by 75-81% and saved close to double the cost
of the program in measurable benefits such as security and medical
costs. By 1987, it was proven that the program lowered recidivism
rates by 51% at a cost of $19/per class hour for each student. (No
such program exists in youth corrections.)
More than a dozen independent studies have found that students with
high levels of arts participation outperform arts-poor students in
achievement in other academic subjects. According to an LAUSD report,
students who have art throughout high school score 59 points higher on
verbal SATs and 44 points higher on Math SATs. The evidence also shows
that high arts participation makes a more significant difference to
students from low-income backgrounds. Researchers also found that
sustained involvement in music and theater are highly correlated with
success in mathematics and reading . Drama education in particular is
a gateway to increased skills in oral language, writing, movement,
critical thinking, decision-making, and more scholarly pursuits. We
incorporate the California State Standards for Arts Education and
English Language Writing into our curriculum.
Theatre has therapeutic aspects built into the process, which leads to
discipline, self examination and working with others of different
backgrounds. Also, from a career perspective, arts and entertainment
jobs are a large part of the Los Angeles economy and one of the few
things America still exports overseas. Theatre beginnings often lead
to jobs in set construction, animation, design, and journalism to name
a few. Added job potential, literacy, interview skills, creative
thinking and group projects are all protective factors that reduce
violence in teens.
In addition to nurturing communication skills and creativity, the
program builds individual self-respect. For some, this confidence
motivates them to overcome difficult backgrounds and set previously
unimaginable goals, such as going to college. The kids that come
through US programs experience the success of creating a thing to call
their own. This program offers these kids that experience as a step
toward creating a positive future for themselves. The process provides
them an opportunity to work with peers of different races and gang
affiliations bridging their differences. The product raises social
consciousness, teaching them they are woven in a social fabric and
each one is part of a larger whole.
Currently there is no other program of this kind working
regularly in juvenile corrections or foster care, either on a county
or state level. Our programs are designed to fill the need in
providing a quality theatre program to institutionalized youth.
Targeted Conditions:
Our client base is made up of youth with the following risk
factors:
A destructive or non-existent home life.
Past victims of abuse.
Poverty.
Gang affiliation.
Drug abuse.
Underperforming schools or school drop outs.
Racial/territorial tensions from the environment.
Peer pressure and family pressures to participate in illegal or
irresponsible activities.
Low self-esteem and no positive identity.
No sense of belonging outside of negative groups such as gangs.
No sense of achievement in positive areas.
The following are the conditions our program is designed to
address. These are the protective factors:
A sense of belonging to a positive group made up of youth and adults
of other races and backgrounds. This replaces a need for a gang and
eases racial conflicts.
A place where that experience can carry on into the community after
the youth leave the juvenile institutions. This helps replace a
non-existent home life or the temptation to return to gang life.
A positive experience on stage that provides a natural high.
A program that addresses the state standards for performing arts and
can help them with attaining their GED and going on to college in the
arts.
An environment that teaches cultural awareness and opens
participant's perspectives on race and gangs.
Positive peer pressure to participate in responsible and rewarding
activities that provide a future and drive to succeed in participants.
New self-esteem and positive identity as an artist and creative
individual and member of an ensemble cast.
A sense of achievement in positive areas of a participant's life.
Outcomes (Intermediate Effects on The
Participants):
Reduced levels of violence while institutionalized
thereby making facilities safer for both staff and wards.
Changes in participants attitudes towards peers of other races and
gang affiliations.
Changes in attitude towards staff and authority figures.
Sense of pride and self-esteem as creative individuals.
Social Consciousness- understanding through ensemble theatre that
each of us is part of a larger whole.
Empowerment and goal setting.
Impacts (Long Term Effects The Program Is
Designed to Achieve)
Participants renounce violence as a way of life.
Participants remain open to new ideas, learning and people of
different races and backgrounds.
Maturity in response to authority, rules and the law.
Growing confidence in one's own abilities.
Growing social consciousness with a need to give back to the
community.
Achievement of personal goals such as attaining a GED, college, a
trade, continuing in the arts, etc.
BACK TO TOP
Theory of
Change
Through The Unusual Suspects (US)
theatre program of 12 weeks, youth spend time in an ensemble cast
working on a production with peers of different races and gang
affiliations, and with adults in a supportive role. Through this
experience a world is opened to them of creativity; new thoughts about
adults and their peers; and pride of accomplishment. Through remaining
involved outside of the institution while on probation or parole,
participants can reconnect with the program and continue a journey of
transformation into artists, thinkers, and instruments of change. They
can then set goals, achieve them and become mentors for the next
generation.
BACK TO TOP
Research
We are currently researching and documenting
our program through particpant pre and post surveys. We will record
the quantitative and qualitative effectiveness of our program, in
order to establish a precedent for our model for future programs to
replicate on the national and international levels. The curriculum
will be studied by students from the University of Southern California
School of Social Work using the rehablitative model set forth by the
Department of Criminal Justice. Our intern from this school, Erin
Hegarty is developing an evaluation tool to conduct an academic study
on our program as an evidence based theraputic program that utilizes
cognitive behavioral and leadership theories in conjunction with
artistic principles to help reduce recidvism rates. There has never
been a study of an arts program as a deterant for recidivism within
juvenile detention facilities. This breaks new ground! This study and
the curriculum lay the groundwork to make our program a national model
program!
