Families on Probation: Court-Ordered Parenting Skills Classes for Parents of Juvenile Offenders

1997 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 412-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Schaffner

What are sociolegal, cultural, and emotional premises beneath conceptualizations of parenting skills for parents of juvenile offenders? This study examined court-ordered parenting skills classes taught by juvenile probation department personnel at a Northern California juvenile detention facility. Three conflicting perspectives arose in the classes: the juvenile court's perspective, where delinquency was framed as a result of poor parenting that state intervention could rectify; the parents' perspective, where parenting was seen as part of the feeling world of family life; and an adult solidarity perspective, where probation officials and parents agreed that youths were bad, out of control, disrespectful—a type of demonization of the youths by all the adults.

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-87
Author(s):  
Gayle Rhineberger-Dunn ◽  
Kristin Y. Mack

The purpose of this article is to extend the existing literature on the workplace experiences of staff who work with juvenile offenders. We do this by assessing the extent of secondary trauma among a sample of juvenile detention officers and juvenile probation officers, and examine whether or not predictors of secondary trauma differ by position. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression results based on a survey of 298 staff reveal that secondary trauma is relatively low among both juvenile detention officers and juvenile court/probation officers. Additionally, results indicate predictors of secondary trauma differ for each of these job positions. Experiencing threat or harm from offenders increased secondary trauma for detention officers but not for probation/court officers. However, having a higher level of education and input into decision-making decreased secondary trauma for probation/court officers, but not for detention officers. Greater support from coworkers led to decreased secondary trauma for both detention and probation/court officers. Implications for detention and probation agencies include efforts to improve supervisor and coworker support, as well as debriefing sessions after threat of harm incidents have occurred.


Author(s):  
Anna Pękala-Wojciechowska ◽  
Andrzej Kacprzak ◽  
Krzysztof Pękala ◽  
Marta Chomczyńska ◽  
Piotr Chomczyński ◽  
...  

The article focuses on a less-discussed issue of social marginalization of people leaving penitentiaries, which is the prevalence of multifaceted health problems experienced by people in this category. It includes poor health status, resulting from, among others, poor housing conditions, harmful or risky lifestyle, and lack of access to medical services. Data from the District Inspectorate of the Prison Service in Lodz, Poland on the health conditions of inmates was accessed. These data were supplemented by qualitative research conducted in 21 juvenile detention centers and 8 prisons across the country, conducting direct observations and In-Depth Interviews (IDI). A total of 198 IDIs were conducted with incarcerated (72) and released (30) juvenile offenders, and incarcerated (68) and released (28) adult offenders. These were complemented by IDIs with experts (50) and Focus Group Interviews (FGIs; 8) with male and female inmates in 4 Polish prisons. The study revealed that mental and physical health is a serious obstacle to social reintegration of ex-prisoners. It is rarely addressed by state institutions. There are strong associations between neglect of health issues in the prison population and increasing social exclusion after leaving prison. As Poland has a restrictive penal policy, former prisoners remain a group with social stigma and little support.


Crisis ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Morgan ◽  
Keith Hawton

Summary: Suicide rates in prisons in England and Wales are high, including those in juvenile detention centers. Previous deliberate self-harm (DSH) is the strongest predictor of suicide in the general population. There is limited information on how many juvenile offenders (15 to 18 year-olds) have a history of DSH at the time of entering custody, or on factors associated with previous DSH. We aimed to determine the prevalence of previous DSH and suicidal ideation in a population of juvenile offenders in custody and to identify factors associated with DSH and suicidal ideation. Seven out of 45 subjects (15.6%) reported an act of DSH in the past. Twelve (26.6%) reported past suicidal ideation. Peer relationship difficulties and sexual abuse were significantly associated with DSH (p < 0.05). Other factors showed a trend toward being more common among those with DSH, but the premature ending of the project by the juvenile detention center prevented full investigation of the extent of DSH and associated factors. Nevertheless, the results indicated a much higher rate of DSH in this population than in young males in the community. A larger joint project with juvenile detention centers is required to confirm the extent of previous DSH at the time young offenders are admitted, and the associated risk factors, in order to assist prevention and intervention strategies.


Author(s):  
Luz Anyela Morales Quintero ◽  
Jairo Muñoz-Delgado ◽  
José Carlos Sánchez-Ferrer ◽  
Ana Fresán ◽  
Martin Brüne ◽  
...  

Numerous studies have shown that emotion recognition is impaired in individuals with a history of violent offenses, especially in those diagnosed with psychopathy. However, in criminological contexts, there is insufficient research regarding the role of empathy and facial emotion recognition abilities of personnel employed in correction centers. Accordingly, we sought to explore facial emotion recognition abilities and empathy in administrative officers and security guards at a center for institutionalized juvenile offenders. One hundred twenty-two Mexican subjects, including both men and women, were recruited for the study. Sixty-three subjects were administrative officers, and 59 subjects were security guards at a juvenile detention center. Tasks included “Pictures of Facial Affect” and the “Cambridge Behavior Scale.” The results showed that group and gender had an independent effect on emotion recognition abilities, with no significant interaction between the two variables. Specifically, administrative officers showed higher empathy than security guards. Moreover, women in general exhibited more empathy than men. This study provides initial evidence of the need to study emotion recognition and empathy among professionals working in forensic settings or criminological contexts.


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (13) ◽  
pp. 4046-4066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maud Hickey

The purpose of this long-term qualitative study was to uncover evidence that might support components of positive youth development (PYD) in a music composition program at an urban youth detention center. The constructs of PYD come from self-determination theory—competence, autonomy, and relatedness—and formed the theoretical lens from which the data were analyzed. Over a period of 5 years, more than 700 youth participated in the program and created primarily rap music compositions. Comments from their feedback, as well as interviews, were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings point to the emergence of two main categories as reasons for enjoying the program: competence and positive feelings. Creativity also emerged as linked to competence and autonomy as well as the “Good Lives Model” of detainee development. Further research on using culturally relevant and creative music programming as a tool in PYD is discussed.


Author(s):  
Kendra R. Brewster ◽  
Kathleen M. Cumiskey

This chapter examines the experiences of incarcerated girls who participated in a service learning course that paired them with college mentors in a juvenile detention facility. The course defined the girls as agents in social contexts of inequality, rather than as poor girls of color, and honored their voices as they discussed the issues that were most important to their lives in the community. It also provided the opportunity to examine the girls’ experiences of detention in light of their life stories, and to understand girls’ involvement with the justice system and incarceration as a form of abandonment by society, institutions, and families. This chapter highlights the paucity of treatment programs specifically designed for incarcerated girls and describes how practitioners can create moments of healing in a system designed to punish and dehumanize.


Author(s):  
Patrick Lopez-Aguado

This chapter describes how punitive facilities structure, socialize, and reinforce the carceral social order within the institution. I argue that in their efforts to prevent institutional violence by separating rival gangs, the prison, the juvenile detention facility, and the continuation high school instead construct a consistent social order that is based in gang rivalries—one in which everyone in the facility is compelled to participate. Within these facilities, staff members construct this social order by using race, home community, and peer networks to categorize entire institutional populations into gang-associated groups. Staff members then routinely maintain these categories as distinct groups by policing the spatial boundaries between them, as keeping rival groups separated is perceived as necessary for ensuring institutional security. The relationships and conflicts that are structured by these sorting and segregation practices ultimately socialize this carceral social order as a dominant, “common sense” logic for both managing and navigating punitive facilities.


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