Juvenile justice,mental health,and the transition to adulthood: A review of service system involvement and unmet needs in the U.S.

Although adolescents are the primary focus of juvenile justice, a significant number of young people involved with this system are considered transition age youth (i.e., 16–25 years of age). The aims of this review are to summarize the specific needs of transition age youth with mental health conditions involved with the juvenile justice system, identify the multiple service systems relevant to this group, and offer recommendations for policies and practice. A comprehensive search strategy was used to identify and synthesize the literature. Findings highlight the paucity of research specific to transition age youth. Thus, we also summarized relevant research on justice-involved adolescents, with a focus evaluating its potential relevance in the context of the unique milestones of the transition age, including finishing one's education, setting and working towards vocational goals, and transitioning from one's family of origin to more independent living situations. Existing programs and initiatives relevant to transition age youth with mental health conditions are highlighted, and nine specific recommendations for policy and practice are offered.     

Child maltreatment and criminal convictions in youth: The role of gender,ethnicity and placement experiences in an Australian population

A number of previous studies have shown that out-of-home care (OHC) placement experiences can influence the pathway from maltreatment to offending, and that these pathways may differ depending on gender and ethnic backgrounds. Even though Australian welfare and justice systems are unique in terms of the over-representation of Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) young people, there have been few Australian longitudinal studies that explore the role of placement experiences in examinations of the maltreatment-offending association. The present study uses linked child protection and youth justice data for 17,671 young people and aims to provide insight into the way ethnicity, as well as gender, moderates the association between maltreatment, placement in OHC and youth convictions. The data were analyzed using logistic regression and the findings varied systematically depending on the type of conviction examined. There was some strong evidence that gender, ethnicity and placement factors moderated the relationship between maltreatment and convictions in general, and for violent convictions more specifically. Interaction effects revealed that placement experiences were more consequential for female than for male youth, but less consequential for Indigenous than for non-Indigenous youth. A one-size-fits-all approach to understanding, treating and preventing the consequences of child maltreatment could not be considered the most appropriate best practice given the gender- and ethnic-specific pathways found in this study.     

How different are their experiences and outcomes? Comparing aged out and other child welfare involved youth

This paper adds to the growing body of research examining the experiences of youth aging out of the child welfare system. Through a comparison of youth aging out with two other groups of child welfare-involved youth—those whose families received child welfare services but were never placed out of home and those who were in out-of-home placement but did not age out—it presents a profile of their care careers and other system involvement (e.g., mental health, justice system). Analyses indicate that young people aging out of care have experienced significant amounts of time in out-of-home placement, a great deal of placement instability, and high levels of other system involvement. In general, their involvement is more extensive than that of the two comparison groups. However, the justice system involvement of youth who experienced out-of-home placement but did not age out is just as high as that of youth who have aged out. This finding highlights the importance of devoting resources not only to youth aging out of care but also to similarly-aged young people with prior child welfare involvement.     

Young People Transitioning from Out-of-home Care in Victoria: Strengthening Support Services for Dual Clients of Child Protection and Youth Justice

Abstract

A significant proportion of young people leaving out-of-home care make their transition to independence via the youth justice system, exposing them to further risks and reducing their likelihood of full social and economic engagement in mainstream society. This article presents the initial findings of a research project based on a partnership between Monash University and seven nongovernment child and youth welfare agencies in Victoria, Australia. Seventy-seven key stakeholders participated in interviews and focus groups with a view to identifying practices and policies that could reduce the over-representation of young people leaving out-of-home care in the youth justice system. Factors that contributed to offending included varied responses by the child protection and youth justice systems, limited utility of leaving care plans, and the availability of a range of preventative and diversionary programs. The findings point to a need for more formalised interagency collaboration, and intensification of the interventions and supports offered both in custodial settings and post discharge from custody or care.     

Finding Meaningful Support: Young People's Experiences of “Risky” Environments

This paper reports on the qualitative phase of a New Zealand study of young people who had been exposed to “risky” environments from a young age. These young people had experienced traumatic events such as abuse, violence, addictions, mental health issues, and many had been excluded from school. The young people (aged between 13 and 17) were users of multiple services (statutory and nongovernmental services including: child welfare, juvenile justice, remedial education, and mental health services). Qualitative interviews (n?=?109) explored young people's experiences in their families, communities, education, and their perspectives on support provided by services and their own support networks. Three thematic clusters emerged as central motifs in young people's experiences and are the focus of this article: navigating “risky” environments; services and support; and, working to find different pathways.     

Empowered inclusion: theorizing global justice for children and youth

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that contemporary child and youth experiences of globalization call for retheorizing global justice around a new concept of empowered inclusion. The first part of the paper examines three case studies in globalization – child labour movements, child and youth migration, and young people’s organization around climate change – and shows how, in each case, young people, through their struggles against injustice, are simultaneously disempowered and empowered by their deep global interdependency. The second part proposes new theoretical advances in global justice that better respond to child and youth experiences through a childist concept of the empowered inclusion of both children and other marginalized groups. And the third part advances some preliminary suggestions about how a more child-responsive conception of global power and justice might be operationalized in practice across global policies, institutions, and culture.     

Childhood,Agency and Youth Justice

This article seeks to reframe debates in the sphere of youth justice in order to move away from narrow and one‐sided conceptualisations of young people who offend and appropriate forms of intervention with them. Whilst different positions have been adopted within the field of youth justice, largely around ‘justice’ or ‘welfare’ models of practice, the apparent polarisation of this conflict has obscured an underlying consensus, namely that the ‘problem’ is the child or young offender, and he/she needs either to be helped or coerced into becoming a conforming adult citizen. Largely absent from the field of youth justice have been other theoretical influences such as consideration of the nature of ‘agency’ and the construction of childhood. These alternative perspectives could offer us some insight into the limitations of historical debates in youth justice policy and practice, as will as pointing the way towards innovative and progressive alternative forms of practice. The strengths and shortcomings of contemporary developments, such as restorative interventions, will be discussed in this context, and the article will conclude that there is scope for developing positive, young person‐centred models of youth justice practice if we base these on a proper understanding of childhood and children’s agency.     

Better Futures: A validated model for increasing postsecondary preparation and participation of youth in foster care with mental health challenges

Higher education participation rates of young people in foster care are dramatically lower than their level of postsecondary education aspiration. Increasing attention to this disparity has stimulated policy and practice enhancements, however rigorously validated models for promoting postsecondary preparation and participation have not existed for young people in foster care, including those with mental health conditions. This article describes Better Futures, which is the first such model to be experimentally validated as effective for increasing the higher education participation and other related outcomes of young people in foster care with mental health challenges. Better Futures features a four day on-campus Summer Institute, coaching provided to youth by older peers who are in college and have shared experiences around foster care and/or mental health, and workshops that bring together youth, coaches and guest speakers for information sharing and mutual support. This article includes the theoretical and component features of the Better Futures model, findings related to intervention fidelity, participants' evaluation of the program, and discussion of implications for future model refinement and research.     

Implementing the Crossover Youth Practice Model in diverse contexts: Child welfare and juvenile justice professionals' experiences of multisystem collaborations

This study takes advantage of a unique opportunity to observe structural and psychosocial processes of multisystem collaborations primarily from the perspectives of professionals attempting to bring about change in practice with crossover youth. The involvement of maltreated youth in the juvenile justice system is a persistent problem that can compound vulnerable youths' risks for problematic developmental outcomes. Youth outcomes may be improved when professionals in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems communicate and collaborate more effectively in case assessment, planning and management. The Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM) is an attempt to translate these and other research findings into practice largely through multisystem collaborations. This study presents an approximately two year-long, ethnographic inquiry into professionals' experiences of CYPM implementation in five diverse counties in a Midwestern state. During individual interviews, participants consistently described structural changes involving improved service provision to youth and families, and procedures and legal mandates for sharing information across departments. They also discussed psychosocial changes including improved professional support, strengthened relationships with other professionals and positive shifts in their ways of thinking and feeling about youth and their families. Participants also experienced implementation challenges including inadequate support and training of front line workers, distinguishing core features of the multifaceted model, and some issues in engaging families and key community stakeholders. Comparative case analyses across five counties suggest that systems change processes vary across and within local contexts. Implications for the implementation of systems change practice models in diverse contexts with professionals serving in various roles are discussed.     

“We are merchandise on a conveyer belt”: How young adults in the public child protection system perceive their participation in decisions about their care

The aim of this study is to show young people's feelings about their experiences with participation in decision-making in public care. The study is based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews with eight young adults in the public child protection system in a northeastern state in the U.S. conducted between 2015 and 2016. All study participants had made both positive and negative experiences with participation. Most reported negative experiences at the point of their first entry into care, and most reported positive experiences when signing themselves back into the care of the child protection system when they turned 18. Further, we found barriers and pathways to participation at the individual child's or youth's level, including a child's or youth's ability to self-advocate, access to information, and age. Organizational-level factors that affected a child or young person's participation included the child protection agency's view of the child or youth; the agency's view of the parents; the quality of legal representation, and the type of rapport between social workers and children or young people in care. We discuss the implications of these findings on theory and policy.     

It's good to know that you got somebody that's not going anywhere: Attitudes and beliefs of older youth in foster care about child welfare-based natural mentoring

This exploratory study is the first to investigate the attitudes and beliefs of older adolescents in foster care toward the implementation of a child welfare-based natural mentoring intervention designed to promote enduring, growth-fostering relationships between youth at risk of emancipation and caring, supportive nonparental adults from within the youth's existing social network. Six focus groups were conducted with 17 older youth in foster care attending a specialized charter high school for young people in out-of-home care in a large, urban city in the Northeast United States. Focus group data were transcribed and analyzed using a conventional content analysis approach. The following significant themes emerged related to natural mentoring for older foster youth emancipating from care: (1) need for permanent relationships with caring adults, (2) youth conceptions of natural mentoring, (3) unique challenges related to natural mentoring for youth in foster care, (4) role of a natural mentoring intervention in child welfare, and (5) challenges for implementing a child welfare-based natural mentoring intervention. Overall, our findings suggest that these young people are cautiously optimistic about the potential of a child welfare-based natural mentoring intervention to promote their social and emotional wellbeing. Future studies are needed to better understand the experiences of older foster youth with an actual natural mentoring intervention, including challenges, opportunities, and outcomes.     

Integrating youth participation and ecosocial work: New possibilities to advance environmental and social justice

ABSTRACT

This article reveals possibilities to expand the role of youth within ecosocial work practice. The Where I Stand Youth Summit held in Chicago, Illinois, provided a safe space for young people to reflect upon their understanding of, and roles within, social and environmental justice movements. Drawing upon critical youth empowerment theory and participant observation, we note that youth shared experiences of oppression across unique social identities, while displaying authentic communication, acceptance, and desire for solidarity. Re-defining what knowledge matters, along with intention and self-restoration, also emerged as critical to building young people’s agency and power to effect social change.     

“A Bad Combination”: Lived Experiences of Youth Involved in the Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Systems

Youth with involvement in foster care and the juvenile justice system, often called dual-status youth, are at increased risk for negative outcomes as they transition into adulthood, including homelessness, and involvement in the adult criminal justice system. Increase of interest in the phenomenon of youth dual involvement within the last decade, reveals focus on challenges associated with the dual-status population, the importance of multi-system collaboration, and foster care factors contributing to juvenile delinquency. This study aims to build on the current literature, through exploration of how dually-involved youth make sense of their experiences in the juvenile justice and foster care systems; and what youth believe are their unique challenges of being in two systems? This phenomenological study engaged ten individuals in Houston, Texas, between the ages of 18 and 24 years old, and previously involved in the juvenile justice and foster care systems. Research subjects participated in-depth, semi-structured, and audio-recorded interviews, disclosing their experiences in two systems. Interviews were transcribed and entered in the qualitative analytical program, Atlas.ti, where common themes of participant responses were extracted. Accounts from participants highlighted three key experiences: (1) experiences of and leading to dual involvement, (2) traumatic experiences, and (3) absence of normalcy. Study results are categorized based on their pathways to dual-involvement. This current study offers rich insights into how dually-involved youth make sense of their experiences in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. Implications for enhanced service provision among child welfare and juvenile justice professionals are offered.

     

A bit more understanding: Young adults' views of mental health services in care in Ireland

Children and young people in the care system typically experience very high levels of mental health difficulties, yet their views of these difficulties and of mental health services have rarely been explored. For this qualitative study we spoke with eight young adults aged 18 to 27 years with experience of the care system in Ireland about mental health challenges, service experiences, and how they felt mental health services needed to improve. Themes from the interviews illuminated young adults' views of their emotional well-being while in care, and the double stigma of being in care and mental health difficulties. In terms of services, young adults wanted these to be flexible and sensitive to level of need; to offer choice and more congenial environments; to provide more creative routes to engaging young people; and to offer honest, reciprocal, caring communication — treating children in care as one would any child. Recommendations highlight three key needs: an ethic of care in services as well as an ethic of justice; mental health training for all professionals in contact with children in care; and the need to listen, hear and act on what children and young people say.     

‘Who do I turn to if something really bad happens?’ Key working and relationship-based practice in residential child care

ABSTRACT

This article explores the psychodynamics of relationship-based practice from the perspective of young people in residential care. This research involved qualitative semi-structured interviews with 10 care leavers, aged 18–24 years, who had been in residential care in Ireland. Drawing selectively from that research, this article reports their views and experiences of key-working and how relationship-based practice acted as a reparative method within their experiences of care and aftercare. Similar to previous research, this study underscores the necessity to ensure that children in care are cared for and supported by a trusted adult. In addition, based on this study, the role of a key worker appears capable of providing this ideal type of supportive relationship. It also highlights the importance of the care system working to provide consistency and support for the young people and confirms the importance of relationships with trusted adults, such as key workers.     

The Role of Carers and Caseworkers in the School-to-work Transition of Young People in Care

Abstract

How young people in State care decide upon future careers, and the support offered for this process by carers and child protection caseworkers, has received little research attention. This qualitative study sought the views of young people in care, foster and kinship carers, and child protection caseworkers about career development for in-care youth. We found young people were thinking about career options but encountered a safety driven, acute casework approach, which sidelined education and work planning. Career development was not viewed as a caseworker responsibility, and, by default, was primarily developed by carers. The study highlights the need for a greater focus on the transition to adulthood and the inclusion of career development in policy and practice development.     

ADHD in juvenile offenders: treatment issues nurses need to know

1. When working with juvenile offenders with ADHD, advanced practice nurses should consider prescribing stimulant medication in conjunction with other psychosocial interventions to achieve maximum treatment success. 2. Nurses working with young people with ADHD in the justice system must carefully coordinate care among all health care providers and juvenile justice personnel, including attorneys, probation/parole officers, and court assessment personnel. 3. Advocating for the individual needs of clients and their families is critical; often, this includes advocating for care that is not only evidence based, but also culturally competent.     

Examining concepts of power and agency in research with young people

Concepts of power and agency have become increasingly prominent in the youth studies literatures and related research. A focus of the research to date has been an examination of how a better understanding of young people's lived experiences can reveal possibilities for young people's agency to emerge. Despite increased interest in the term agency, much less has been said about how the concept is defined and recognized in research with young people, including what the concept may entail but crucially, how the term is linked to and underpinned by the related concept of power. This paper seeks to contribute to our understanding of power and agency as utilized in research with young people. The discussion that follows identifies the possible ways in which different theoretical positions shape our understanding of how power and agency are investigated and how these understandings inform the ways we interpret young people's perspectives and actions as holding potential for ‘agency’. Drawing on recent empirical examples, we consider how varying interpretations of power and/or agency shape not only the ways in which young people's agentic experiences are theorized (and the related ontological and epistemological assumptions these positions imply) but also the presumed effects of that agency.     

Rethinking youth voice and institutional power: Reflections from inside a service learning partnership in a California juvenile hall

This article shares the dilemmas that emerge from a community service project that engages students in a systematic critique of the juvenile justice system from the inside. It explores how competing images of youth (as dangerous thugs, vulnerable children and kids who have made bad choices) coexist uneasily within the juvenile justice system and significantly shape and constrain this community service learning project. They influence how volunteers understand their experiences and relationships with students inside, and they shape how young people in the system speak about their own lives, the inequalities they see around them, and the juvenile justice system itself. By exploring these dynamics this article aims to develop a more nuanced understanding of youth voice.