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Based on psychological research, new and reformed residential programs for juvenile offenders in Harris County use the APEX behavioral treatment program to monitor youth’s progress and provide feedback and rewards to youth in residential facilities. As part of this approach, behaviors, assessments, treatments, and interventions are carefully logged and tracked in a customized data system. The data stored in this system (APEX data) provides a rich source of information that can be used to identify patterns of behavior and opportunities for treatment improvement. TPL is currently conducting an exploratory analysis of the wealth of data contained in the APEX system to provide relevant insights to decision makers at the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department.
This project is part of our long-term partnership with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department (HCJPD), in which we aim to quantitatively characterize the multiple decisions that affect the youth in the system, rigorously evaluate programs and services, and identify racial disparities throughout the system. Our research will directly inform HCJPD leadership, as well as other stakeholders, such as the Harris County Juvenile Board, as they implement policies, changes, and programs to achieve their vision for youth justice in Harris County.