Anti-aggression program to debut in local schools
Training that focuses on anger control, moral reasoning has low recidivism rate
July 18, 2005
By Bethany Nolan
Submitted to Gopopai.org by Linda Brady, District 8

A juvenile program implemented last year by the Monroe County Probation Department will likely find its way into the halls of the Monroe County Community School Corp. this year.
Aggression replacement training, or ART, has been shown to reduce aggressive behaviors in adolescents and reduce recidivism.

The program has been in place at the local probation department since August, and nearly 50 juveniles have been referred to it to date, said Christine McAfee, supervisor of probation's juvenile division.

So far, it seems to be working, she said.

While administrators only recently started keeping track of the recidivism rate, it appears only a few juveniles who've gone through the program have been back on probation, said Debra Wray, who oversees Juvenile Alternative Management Services in the probation department.

The program focuses on several skill sets, including an anger control chain and moral reasoning.

For example, the anger control chain includes recognizing personal triggers and physical cues of anger, how to reduce those and how to think ahead to judge what might happen in a certain situation.

In addition, students are often given homework in the guise of a "hassle log," where they keep track of a skill used and then analyze its usefulness, Wray said.

Now, the program is slated to be introduced into Monroe County schools.

Last month, four MCCSC social workers attended ART training.

Now they'll be able to lead similar classes for fifth- and sixth-graders who could profit from the lessons the program teaches, said Gary Plaford, director of social services with MCCSC.

"We have a number of students who could benefit from this," he said. "We're going to try to demonstrate what we think will be a very beneficial program."

By dealing with students' emotional IQ - or their capacity to understand what they're feeling as well as what others are feeling - Plaford said he's hoping the program could affect students with anger management problems, as well as bullying and other issues.

In addition, it could help students since the program could affect them before they reach the point of being on probation, he said.

"We're doing this thing before they get to that point," Plaford said.

What is ART?

  • Aggression Replacement Training is a 10-week, 30-hour intervention administered to groups of juvenile offenders three times per week at the Monroe County Probation Department.
  • Using repetitive learning techniques, offenders develop skills to control anger and impulsiveness and to learn to use more appropriate social behaviors.
  • For example, they study the anger control chain - learning to recognize triggers, cues and anger reducers before teaching themselves reminders, how to think ahead, implement a social skill and then evaluate how the process worked.
  • According to a study conducted by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, where the program was initially implemented, when the ART model is adhered to properly, the program appears to reduce recidivism significantly and to save more money than it costs.

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