Claxton RYDC: Family Ties

At the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), helping youth goes well beyond the standards of basic living requirements. Employees at DJJ care deeply about the lives and goals of youth and want to improve their quality of life whenever possible. Whether in or out of facilities, DJJ youth are part of the future for Georgia's local communities.

During the December holidays, employees of the Claxton Regional Youth Detention Center (Claxton RYDC) demonstrated that the definition of family extends well beyond all walls with a Christmas collection drive for the son of the one of the facility’s youth, Aaron Coleman. Youth Coleman's son is four months old and while his family does their best to provide for the child during Aaron's absence, it can be a difficult and trying experience.

Enter the employees of the Claxton RYDC. Members of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) team, the Claxton RYDC Sunshine Committee and the Volunteer Services group were determined to make Aaron's first Christmas with his son the best it could be. Donations of clothing, strollers and other important baby items were brought in to help the family. With these newly procured items and with the opportunity to spend time with his son and family, it truly was a Merry Christmas for Aaron Coleman.

PBIS is an evidence-based, data-driven framework proven to reduce disciplinary incidents, increase a school’s sense of safety and support improved academic outcomes. More than 23,000 U.S. schools are implementing PBIS and saving countless instructional hours otherwise lost to discipline. The premise of PBIS is that continual teaching, combined with acknowledgement or feedback of positive student over the counter behavior, will reduce unnecessary discipline and promote a climate of greater productivity, safety and learning. PBIS schools apply a multi-tiered approach to prevention, using disciplinary data and principles of behavior analysis to develop school-wide, targeted and individualized interventions and supports to improve the school climate for all students.