Using Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Advance Juvenile Justice Reform: Experiences in 10 Communities

2021 ◽  
pp. 088740342110478
Author(s):  
Todd Honeycutt ◽  
Leah Sakala ◽  
Janine Zweig ◽  
Megan Hague Angus ◽  
Sino Esthappan
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Family Engagement ◽  
Youth Of Color ◽  
Youth Engagement ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Achievable Goal ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Successful Collaboration

The Annie E. Casey Foundation created its national deep-end initiative to support local jurisdictions to develop and implement practices, policies, and programs that prevent youth involved in the juvenile justice system—especially for youth of color—from being sent to out-of-home placements. This article presents findings about the role that partnerships played across 10 communities in the initiative, leveraging data collected through interviews and a web-based stakeholder survey. As part of the deep-end initiative, stakeholders developed partnerships with multiple entities, though they reported partnering with community organizations, youth, and families less than with juvenile justice agencies. Family engagement emerged broadly and consistently as a priority, but stakeholders infrequently mentioned youth engagement. Sites with more collaboration typically had stronger implementation, suggesting that successful collaboration goes hand in hand with implementing broader reform activities. Developing diverse partnerships to engage in juvenile justice reform is an achievable goal that can advance reform efforts.

Racial Disparities in the Juvenile Justice System

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrika McCoy ◽  
Emalee Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Racial Disparities ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Youth Of Color ◽  
Impact Reduction ◽  
Decision Points ◽  
Prevention Act ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
And Gender

Racial disparities in the juvenile justice system, more commonly known as disproportionate minority contact (DMC), are the overrepresentation, disparity, and disproportionate numbers of youth of color entering and moving deeper into the juvenile justice system. There has been some legislative attention to the issue since the implementation of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) and most recently with attempts in 2017 to reauthorize the Act. Originally focused solely on confinement, it became clear by 1988 there was disproportionality at all decision points in the juvenile justice system, and the focus changed to contact. DMC most commonly is known to impact Black and Hispanic youth, but a closer look reveals how other youth of color are also impacted. Numerous factors have been previously identified that create DMC, but increasingly factors such as zero-tolerance in schools and proactive policing in communities are continuing to negatively impact reduction efforts. Emerging issues indicate the need to consider society’s demographic changes, the criminalization of spaces often occupied by youth of color, and gender differences when creating and implementing strategies to reduce DMC.

Race, Ethnicity, and Official Perceptions in the Juvenile Justice System: Extending the Role of Negative Attributional Stereotypes

2021 ◽  
pp. 009385482110046
Author(s):  
Laura Beckman ◽  
Nancy Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Attribution Theory ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Youth Of Color ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Disparity

Overrepresentation of youth of color in the juvenile justice system has been well-documented. Although prior research has frequently drawn on attribution theory to explain the sources of racial and ethnic disparity in juvenile court outcomes, the key mechanisms (negative internal and external attributions) put forth by this theory have seldom been directly empirically tested. Using juvenile probation file content ( N = 285) that quantitatively captures court officials’ perceptions of youth, this study examines whether negative attributions differentially influence diversion decisions for Black, Latino/a, and Native American youth. Findings reveal that youth of color are more likely to be linked to negative internal attributions in comparison with White youth. Importantly, negative internal attributions in turn decrease the probability of receiving diversion. Analyses demonstrate that negative stereotypes play an important role in how juvenile court officials form perceptions of youth. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Taking the “Girl” Out of Gender-Responsive Programming in the Juvenile Justice System

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 321-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Irvine-Baker ◽  
Nikki Jones ◽  
Aisha Canfield
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Youth Of Color ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Gender Nonconforming ◽  
State Custody ◽  
System States ◽  
State And Local

Since the early 2000s, state and local policy makers, practitioners, and advocates accelerated existing federal efforts to reform the youth justice system and dramatically reduce the number of youth detained in the juvenile justice system. States across the country achieved these drops through policy changes that created fiscal disincentives and legal roadblocks to state custody. Yet recent research shows that youth of color and LGBQ-GNCT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, gender-nonconforming, and transgender) youth continue to be overrepresented in many juvenile justice systems throughout the country. In this review, we interrogate these disparities more deeply in an effort to ( a) advocate for continued and increased efforts to reduce racial disparities in the juvenile justice system; ( b) break the silence around the experiences of LGBQ-GNCT youth in the system, which are overwhelmingly youth of color; and ( c) encourage a deeper appreciation of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression and how they intersect with race when it comes to serving youth in the justice system.

Transforming Practice Through Culture Change: Probation Staff Perspectives on Juvenile Justice Reform

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-293
Author(s):  
Sino Esthappan ◽  
Johanna Lacoe ◽  
Janine M. Zweig ◽  
Douglas W. Young
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Youth Of Color ◽  
Youth Engagement ◽  
Juvenile Courts ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Home Placement ◽  
Equity And Inclusion

Probation plays a central role in the juvenile justice system, and probation officers are often involved in numerous decisions made in juvenile courts. This study examines the views of probation staff from 23 jurisdictions, some of which participated in an Annie E. Casey Foundation–funded juvenile justice reform effort intended to safely and significantly reduce the use of out-of-home placements, especially for youth of color. We survey juvenile probation staff members at two waves and describe changes in reported practices and principles relating to individualized case planning, youth engagement, family and community engagement, and racial and ethnic equity and inclusion as well as beliefs about the purposes of out-of-home placement. Reform sites reported slightly more frequent use of practices and principles addressing community engagement and racial and ethnic equity and inclusion in the second wave than in the first wave.

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