DJJ PBIS Summer Fun: Aaron Cohn RYDC Hosts Fun Day

As part of the facility’s summer vacation activities, the Aaron Cohn Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC) organized a “Fun Day” for youths and their parents. It was a packed day filled with games and activities and an enjoyable opportunity to visit with each other.

Participants played three-on-three basketball, ran a relay obstacle course and enjoyed water balloon games. Youths, staff and guests also enjoyed snacking on snow cones, cotton candy and popcorn while listening to upbeat tunes.

A favorite part of Fun Day was playing games in the mobile video game arcade sponsored by Mobile Arcade 2 Go. Youths enjoyed playing games like Dig Dug, Mario Brothers and Pac-Man with their friends. Fun Day at Aaron Cohn is a function of the Center’s PBIS program. The PBIS acronym stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. It’s a data driven, evidence-based framework used at DJJ for its proven capacity to reduce disciplinary incidents, increase a school’s sense of safety, and support improved academic outcomes.

“Fun Day was a great success and a good time was had by all,” said Facility Director Mario Mitchell. “I especially want to thank our volunteers, sponsors and the DJJ Security Management Response Team. We could not have put on this event without their help.”

PBIS More than 23,000 U.S. schools are implementing the PBIS program and saving countless instructional hours otherwise lost to discipline. The premise of PBIS is that continual teaching, combined with acknowledgement or feedback of a 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.