A few weeks ago, I blogged about a mother who had worked tirelessly to get special education services for her son, who was in jail on suspicion of murder.
In that blog entry, I asked what groups are continuing to monitor issues related to incarcerated youth, because the website I found on a quick search was out of date. A reader emailed me later to suggest I check out the National Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Children and Youth who are Neglected, Delinquent or At-Risk—mercifully known by the much-easier-to-handle acronym, NDTAC.
Much of the information on the NDTAC website focuses on education in a juvenile justice context, which is interesting on its own. But broadly, this site seems to contain good resources for people who work with youths who have serious and ongoing emotional and behavioral problems. I know that in my travels around the Web, I’ve seen quite a few resources for teachers to help steer the behavior of elementary school students. But for older students, the resources are harder to find.
Admittedly, some of the resources are intended for state officials and deal with technical aspects of juvenile justice education. But here’s a webinar on identifying and supporting youth who are at-risk of school failure. And this page is a collection of learning and behavioral management resources, and I’m sure special educators could glean some ideas here even if they don’t work with incarcerated youth.
I’m always interested in other suggestions for Free Resource Friday, so keep them coming!