Analysis of Washington A.R.T. Training

The Washington Aggression Replacement Training or ART is a program available to juveniles in or in proximity to most communities in Washington state. ART has been put into place to attempt to combat the serious, increasing problem of aggressive behavior in children across the state (DCYF, 2016). The goal of ART is to give guidance and assistance to youth to reduce anti-social behavior and give them prosocial life skills (DCYF, 2016). The use of ART initially was proven through research to have positive outcomes, however recent studies show that is no longer the case.

Aggression Replacement Training is an effective tool that assists youth in many ways. The process is an intense and impactful cognitive behavioral intervention performed in three components Anger Control Training, Social Skills Training, and Moral Reasoning that replace aggressive behavior with prosocial skills (National Inst. of Justice, 2012). By attending weekly sessions, the participants are able to learn tools that give them the ability to interact in a positive way in social situations by solving problems and making decisions without anger or aggression (DCYF, 2016). This gives the participants a higher level of control with their anger and helps reduce the frequency they perform behaviors that would be considered acting out (DCYF, 2016).

Studies have been performed by the WIPP (Washington State Institute for Public Policy) on the Anger Replacement Therapy program and have found it to be effective in only one sub-category of offender. Initially when the program was analyzed the results showed a positive outcome for all participants (WSIPP, 2019b). The report released by WSIPP in June of 2019 however shows that most participants of the program are more likely to commit an offence within 18 months of completion (WSIPP, 2019b). Those that have completed the ART program are actually at a higher risk of recidivism than those who have not (WSIPP, 2019b). The report breaks down the participants into sub-categories of sex and race to attempt to discover if any particular group is the cause for these increased numbers. With race there is no difference and it was determined that race was not a factor in the increase in recidivism (WSIPP, 2019b). However; when the participants were separated into sex it was found that the female group had a lower rate of recidivism than the males (WSIPP, 2019b). Although the difference is marginal the decrease shows that there are some positive results coming from the ART program.

After evaluating the participants, the WSIPP report moved on to evaluate the competence of the trainers. The level of competence was then merged with the recidivism data and demonstrates that even thought there are many trainers considered not-competent it is not the reason for ART failing. The data for any recidivism shows that participants trained by not-competent trainers actually had a marginally lower rate of recidivism than those who were competent (WSIPP, 2019b). Clearly from this report the ART program has become ineffective at performing its task.

Although the statistics do not look good for the ART program keeping youth from committing offences there are some positive impacts both for the community and the delinquents. Teaching youth anger control, social skills and morals is always beneficial even if only a low percentage of them are absorbing that information. Clearly from the report given by the WSIP in June of 2019 there is a benefit to females who are attending the training as they are less likely to commit another offence which benefits the community and the participant in the long term.

Unfortunately, there seems to be strong evidence showing that the program does not curb juvenile delinquency. Although it is stated that the skills that are taught at the ART program are beneficial and life changing (DCYF, 2016) that simply is not the case when evaluating more recent reports. There is a higher likelihood that someone attending the program will commit an offence within 18 months of completion compared to someone who does not attend the program (WSIPP, 2019b). Although findings were inconclusive as to why this is the case it was found that it has little to do with age or race (WSIPP, 2019b). There is no evidence that is given that supports the claim that the ART program is successful or that it curbs juvenile delinquency based on the WSIPP 2019 report.

The negative aspects of the ART program are that it simply does not work, particularly with males. Statistics show that after completion of the program a male is more likely to commit a felony within 18 months (WSIPP, 2019b). This makes the program not only ineffective when it comes to male juveniles but makes it a failure. If after completing the program a male is more likely to commit a felony than ART is having the exact opposite effect it is intended to have.

Improving on the ART program would be difficult however there is one clear option that makes sense in making it more successful. Because female participants seem to benefit the most from the program, redesigning specifically for female and male offenders individually may show more benefit. Because females are currently benefiting from the program, even if only marginally, there is a high probability that continuing ART as it is currently performed only with females may give it a higher value. For male offenders the program would need to be studied as to why it is ineffective and failing.

I believe the program can be should be eliminated because it is simply not doing what it is intended to. Running a program such as ART comes at a high cost to the tax payer. Not only is the tax payer paying for a portion of the ART training program but when the participants do not rehabilitate there are costs incurred by the justice system when the participants commit another offence. The rate of felonies increases and that increases the cost of the crimes being committed as well as the severity of the actions being taken by the offender towards the community.

Sources

DCYF. (2016). Department of Children, Youth & Families. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/services/juvenile-rehabilitation/treatment-programs/art.

National Inst. of Justice. (2012). Program Profile: Washington State Aggression Replacement Training. Crime Solutions, National Institute of Justice. https://crimesolutions.ojp.gov/ratedprograms/254#:%7E:text=WSART%20consists%20of%20a%2010,use%20more%20appropriate%20prosocial%20behaviors.

WSIPP. (2019a). Washington State Institute for Public Policy. Washington State Institute for Public Policy. https://www.wsipp.wa.gov/BenefitCost/Program/33.

WSIPP. (2019b, June). Washington State’s Aggression Replacement Training for Juvenile Court Youth: Outcome Evaluation. https://www.wsipp.wa.gov/ReportFile/1707/Wsipp_Washington-States-Aggression-Replacement-Training-for-Juvenile-Court-Youth-Outcome-Evaluation_Report.pdf.

Cover Photo

Bolovtsova, E. (2020, December 4). Brown Wooden Gavel on Brown Wooden Table · Free stock photo. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-wooden-gavel-on-brown-wooden-table-6077326/