An assessment of special education services provided for juvenile offenders with disabilities in Alabama

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the demographic characteristics of facilities serving adjudicated juvenile offenders (AJO) in Alabama and the level of implementation of the mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in facilities identified as providing educational services to AJO with disabilities. The specific aims of this study were to (a) identify the number of facilities providing educational services to AJO in Alabama; (b) determine the relationship of facilities serving AJO in Alabama to the Alabama Department of Youth Services (DYS); (c) determine the extent to which the mandates of the IDEA are implemented in these facilities; and (d) determine if trends are present between various demographic characteristics of facilities represented and the level of implementation of the mandates of IDEA.; The study found that differences do exist in the implementation of the mandates of the IDEA related to the relationship of the facility with the DYS. It was also determined that differences in the implementation of the mandates of the IDEA related to certain variables do exist. In addition, it was determined that differences do exist in the implementation of the individual mandates of the IDEA in the provision of educational services to juvenile offenders eligible for a special education and related services.