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The TEJA-S group is a closed group that will be dedicated to male scholars who are currently incarcerated at the Dominguez State Jail. This group will be a closed group, co-lead by two moderators who are not professional counselors and one leader who is a licensed counselor. This group will have 16-20 male participants at each group session. The group will have six sessions that will meet biweekly for ninety-minutes.

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TEJA-S Listen, Share and Live Group will focus on utilizing the ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets and Behaviors for Student Success, with the end goal of strengthening their mindsets.

M1. Belief in development of the whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being (ASCA,2022).

M3. Positive attitude toward work and learning (ASCA, 2022).

M4. Self-confidence in ability to succeed (ASCA, 2022).

M5. Belief in using abilities to their fullest to achieve high-quality results and outcomes (ASCA, 2022).

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TEJA-S Listen, Live and share will be available only to current scholars of the educational program that is currently in place at Dominguez State jail. We are currently trying to create additional cohorts for the TEJA-S program. We will begin advertising to residents of the Dominguez State Jail to apply to the program. As an additional opportunity to grow, students will be given the opportunity to join the TEJA-S Listen, Live and Share group.

1.) An outline will be provided to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

2.) Posters and advertisement material will be made available to residents who meet the requirements to apply for an educational program. These requirements will be made available to potential applicants to determine eligibility.

3.) Program advertisement material will be provided in a presentation form to new recruits of the program which will include instructors and academic advisors.

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The current TEJA-S education group is familiar with the program and what the mission is. Our mission is to provide an equitable educational program for incarcerated men at Dominguez State Jail. When we begin recruiting new scholars, my team and I will provide the advertisement materials and presentation. In addition to these two items, we will provide a brief assessment to determine their level of understanding about education programs, college and the expectations of joining a discussion group.

-Potential scholars will apply to the educational program and their eligibility will be determined through a committee meeting.

-Potential Scholars will be interviewed for the program by the program coordinator and the two academic advisors to determine the final selection of students.

-The selection process will be determined by the time they will be able to commit to the program. Each student must commit at least one full year. In addition to commitment, students must demonstrate willingness to learn and share their educational goals to the committee.

-Scholars that are selected for the program, will be given a diagnostic assessment to evaluate their current knowledge about student success, college expectations and situational case-studies with short answers. This assessment will allow the evaluators to create an intentional plan for each group session.

-Throughout the program, students will be given additional assessments to determine growth and to measure the knowledge that they have gained after their group meetings. One assessment will be given every month.

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TEJA-S Rules and Expectations for Scholars and Facilitators

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TEJA-S Rules and Expectations for Scholars and Facilitators

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Scholars, facilitators and counselor(s) will adhere to all rules and expectations that have been set forth in the informed consent and the materials that have been provided to all of the participants.

1. ) Scholars will maintain confidentiality.

2.) Scholars will give each other the time and space to complete their thoughts during their sharing time.

3.) Scholars will not discuss topics with non-participants.

4.) Scholars, facilitators and counselors will respect each other.

5.) Everyone will be present.

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Poster - Guidelines for Professional Conduct and Expectations

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Stage 1: Forming

At this stage, the group will initiate the orientation phase of their group sessions. The leader will introduce the group and set the expectations and ground rules and ask for a gentle agreement from the group. One of the main goals is to acknowledge the scholar's feelings and to make sure that they feel included. Consent and confidentiality will be briefly reviewed. The scholars will have an opportunity to raise concerns and discuss hypothetical scenarios that they may encounter in the general population if information is shared with non-participants.

Stage 2 Working

The TEJA-S group has experience working together, studying and discussing academics. During this stage, scholars will have the opportunity to adjust to the conversations and topics that will be initiated by the leader during each group session. Scholars will continue to practice mindfulness and respect, while other scholars are speaking. Students will learn to work through conflict, if conflict should arise during session. If conflict is present, the facilitator and leader will pause the session to reflect on the cause of the conflict.

During this stage, it will be evident by the cohesiveness of the group that growth has been established, and the men will exercise the strategies that they have learned during each session, to take part in the topic of discussion.

Stage 4 Closing

This last and final stage will be the closing phase. The TEJA-S group will review and discuss any pending concerns, and the scholars will have an opportunity to share their feelings about coming to a close. As the group comes to a close, the scholars will be reminded of the importance of keeping the information that they have learned from their fellow group members confidential. This is very important within the justice system to ensure safety.

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Let's be Democratic and Transformational in this process

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The leadership styles that would be the most effective for the TEJA-S group will be democratic and transformational leadership styles. The democratic leadership style will offer guidance and encouragement to the group, but will also have the final say in decisions that need to be made during the sessions (Cherry, 2023). The democratic leader will allow the followers to feel they are an important part of the team, which they are. This will strengthen up the level of commitment from the participants.

Scholars will benefit from having a transformational leader as well. The transformational leader will motivate and inspire the participants, which will encourage positive change and growth (Cherry, 2023).

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Imparting Information: Scholars will be empowered with information on the transition that they will soon make from Dominguez State Jail to society. Information and resources will be provided to all of the scholars to make the transition easier. They will be provided with counseling resources that will be free of charge at San Antonio College, provided by the Advocacy Center.

Interpersonal Learning: This technique will provide the opportunity to experience real, authentic relationships within their group. This will encourage them to share and communicate their feelings once they transition out of Dominguez State Jail.

Development of Socializing Techniques: This technique encourages conflict resolution, tolerance and boundaries. This factor is very important for the TEJA-S scholars as they transition to society and enroll at San Antonio College or an institution of higher learning.

Group Cohesiveness: This factor will give the TEJA-S group members a sense of belonging, which will empower them as they join other group settings beyond Dominguez.

Installation of Hope: This technique will create a positive feeling and optimism to keep going in their journey of growth and development of skills to reintegrate into society (Yalom, 1995).

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Legal and Ethical Requirements for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 

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Legal and Ethical Requirements for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 

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The TEJA-S team, which is comprised of two certified advisors, one social workers, one licensed counselor, two career readiness professionals and a team leader are not direct employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or Dominguez State Jail, but we are mandated to complete the full training that the correctional officers complete.

-We are mandated to follow their Code of Ethical Conduct, and we must always adhere to the law and the Constitutional Rights when working with inmates and when we are on TDCJ grounds.

-Confidentiality: As contractors and employees of San Antonio College and University of Texas at San Antonio, we must always protect the information that we have been exposed to through conversation and sharing within the group. We may hear of cases that are ongoing or were in the news in the past. We must never discuss this information beyond the facility.

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Ethical Responsibilities as Community College and University Employees-ASCA Ethical Standards

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Ethical Responsibilities as Community College and University Employees-ASCA Ethical Standards

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As university and community college employees, we must adhere to the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors.

As members of the TEJA-S team, part of our mission is to support student development and to adhere to confidentiality.

Scholars who participate in the TEJA-S program must be informed that the informed consent that they will sign will require competence and that it is not mandatory to be part of the group sessions. This program is voluntarily offered to TEJA-S scholars. We will always promote of the ethical standards and the legal mandates regarding confidentiality.

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Cherry, K. (2023, June 27). How to lead: 6 leadership styles and frameworks. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312

Yalom ID. (1995).The theory and practice of group psychotherapy(4th ed.).New York: Basic Books.

Rusu AS, Davis R. Interdisciplinary approach of Yalom's group therapy factors: A theoretical model for including animal presence in social work education and practice. Front Vet Sci. 2022 Oct 12;9:1024355. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.1024355. PMID: 36311657; PMCID: PMC9596786.

American School Counselor Association. (2022). Ethical standards for school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/Ethical-Legal-Responsibilities