The participants gave presentations on their programs at a seminar during Clinical Updates in Correctional Health Care, held in Ft. Lauderdale. All of them had won scholarships to the conference after submitting applications that described the innovative HIV education and prevention programs developed at their facilities. (For a list of scholarship recipients, see box at right.)

Best Practices
And what were the common themes and practices that contributed to the success of the programs? We identified eight best practices.

1. A fundamental component of successful programming is to have a comprehensive approach to working with the juveniles. Seminar participants found that if they were regarded as the "HIV counselor," people would not seek their services due to stigma, but if they were assisting in "life skills," it was more acceptable to be seen getting services from them.

2. Collaboration with other agencies is another essential element. If your organization cannot provide the services, collaborate with another to get it done. This is especially true when it comes to discharge planning. Make sure that your "clients" have connections to get their needs met after they leave the facility.

3. The comment above leads to an important point raised by seminar participants: The juveniles must be treated with respect—and that includes calling them "clients" rather than "inmates." Once the clients see that the group facilitators are dedicated to the program and are truly interested in the well-being of each client, they are much more willing to work with the program and help to make it successful.

4. The juvenile educators also said it is important to "meet the clients where they are." In other words, instead of forcing your agenda or your facility’s agenda on the client, find out what the client’s needs are and work with them from that point. Once you start working with the client to identify their needs, they will be more willing to hear the information you are sharing.

5. It is imperative to build relationships with key staff members to get the job done. That may mean inviting the administration or security staff to provide input on how the program will operate. Most of the presenters found that if they didn’t have buy-in from the security officers or other key staff members the program was very difficult to implement, even with the best of intentions.

6. The use of multieducational and adult learning techniques is essential, especially when working with individuals who are learning disabled or have other learning barriers. Programs that use a variety of educational methods, including role play, pictures, writing exercises, lectures, debates and guest speakers, to name a few, were more successful in helping clients to learn and retain the information presented.

7. Reflecting on their own traits, the presenters said it was important to possess the ability to wear multiple hats and to be flexible in the programming stage. Many said they had to have their fingers in everything and could not have a "that’s not my job" attitude. On many occasions, the presenters said, they had to do almost everything to make sure the program happened, from scheduling to cleaning the rooms to making sure that other staff members felt their toes were not being stepped on.

8. The final best practice identified is the need to continue to educate the administration and other employees on the work you are doing as well as why this work is important. Explaining the multiple benefits the clients receive, including information on HIV prevention, self-esteem, leadership skills, presentation skills and interpersonal skill development, will help to maintain support for your program.