At Blueprints, Del Elliot wonders aloud what is happening to the term evidence-based

In this year’s closing plenary session of the Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development conference, keynote speaker and Blueprints founder, Delbert Elliott, asked us whether we can we rescue the concept of evidence based. While more and more systems across the nation and world have embraced the use of evidence-based programs for the treatment of antisocial behaviors, the term itself has undergone a transformation. 

Author Nell Bernstein opens up on closing down juvenile prisons

Nell Bernstein, activist, journalist and author, is scheduled to speak at the MST’s pre-conference, which will kick off this April’s Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development Conference in Denver. We initially spoke with her back in October 2014, a few months after the publication of her second book, Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison. It is a compelling argument for the wholesale takedown of the juvenile-prison system. As part of the run-up to the conference, we wanted to sit down with her again, look back on the last year or so and talk about what the future may bring. 

Communities may change, but MST does not

Inevitably, someone where I work will ask me a question along the lines of “So, how do we compare to other places that do Multisystemic Therapy?” A difficult question to answer, but my response is always, “It’s the same . . . but different.” It’s about as true an answer as I can possibly give.

This year's Network Partner Conference convenes in New Orleans

During the week of Oct.19, more than 100 MST experts, coaches, program managers and leaders converged on New Orleans for the 14th annual MST Network Partners Conference. The Network Partners Conference was created back in the early days of MST when partner organizations started doing their own consultation and new team development. As more of the MST work is being accomplished in different places, the conference is a way for those involved in MST to come together to share knowledge, experiences and hone their skills in implementing the model. It is an opportunity for us to just gather with old friends and colleagues, share stories, laugh together and bend an elbow or two.

Pictured above is the Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority Network Partnership

MST: Backed Up by Research, Results Proven to Be Reproducible

An article in Science magazine stated that less than a third of psychology studies could be replicated. 

This finding produced a bit of negative coverage in the media, as well as some useful analysis.     

For me, however, it was a reminder of just how impressive the body of research behind MST is. Consider that since 1986, MST has undergone 15 separate randomized controlled trials using either juvenile offenders or youth with serious conduct problems. Of those, seven were conducted by independent researchers in five separate countries.

How important is experience when it comes to Multisystemic Therapy?

Everyone agrees that experience matters. The more time and practice you put into something, the better your performance. But, what if it there was a situation where it was the experience of your colleagues and organization, rather than your own, that mattered more to your future performance? This was the unexpected finding in a recently published study out of Sweden, “The Swedish Implementation of Multisystemic Therapy for Adolescents: Does Treatment Experience Predict Treatment Adherence?” 

Nell Bernstein is a passionate advocate for juvenile-justice reform, author of the widely praised “Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison” and journalist who was honored with a White House “Champion of Change.” Recently, she talked with MST about a number of topics, including the reaction to the book, the role of race in the juvenile justice system, and how MST and other evidence-based programs can be part of a comprehensive solution that addresses and changes the behaviors of juvenile offenders.

Bernstein writes in an easy-to-read style that blends facts with first-person accounts that reveal the often brutal and deadly world behind bars. The stories can be difficult to digest at times and beggar belief in others. It is, in short, a compelling argument in favor of completely rebuilding the juvenile-prison system. When I asked Bernstein if this argument was the purpose behind writing the book, she said she did not embark on the project with the preconceived notion that incarceration was inherently wrong and that “if I had seen something other than a completely counterproductive and destructive institution, then that is what I would have written.” But she added that she “had written about criminal justice for years and years, seen kids destroyed by it.”