Delivering Trauma-Informed Care in the Juvenile Justice Setting

Youth taken from the home and placed in emergency shelter, secure detention, and residential set-tings are exposed to new sources of trauma and danger that may re-activate severe stress symptoms leading to re-traumatization. A juvenile justice center planned a trauma-informed, system-focused in-tervention that included recommended elements: appropriate assessments of trauma symptoms, evi-dence-based programs and treatments to build resilience skills in youth and families, staff training, community collaboration and partnerships, and a safe environment to reduce the risk of re-traumatization. The purpose of this study was to describe the implementation over two years of the trauma-informed, system-focused intervention in the juvenile justice center and associated effects on youth trauma symptoms. Current and past traumatic event exposure, change in youth participants’ emotional regulation, effects of an evidence-based, trauma-informed therapeutic intervention on youth participants’ stress symptoms, and quality of the organizational trauma-informed care plan were assessed. Although efforts to improve participant emotional regulation and post-traumatic stress symptoms did not demonstrate significant differences, efforts to screen for trauma exposure at intake provided important information about participant multiple traumas to assist with the therapeutic pro-cess. Efforts in changing organizational culture and policy did result in minor self-reported facility envi-ronmental improvements. For the practitioner, even when an intervention is well planned, results are not always positive in actual practice.

Pennsylvania Juvenile Probation Departments in the Wake of the Luzerne County Scandal: What Has Changed?

In 2008, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania made national headlines when the “Kids for Cash Scandal” broke. As a result of the actions of the Juvenile Court Judge and other juvenile system personnel, the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice was created to develop rules to prevent the juvenile jus-tice system in Pennsylvania from failing again. The purpose of this study was to determine how juvenile probation practices have changed since the scandal and if those departments were following through with the recommendations of the Commission. While many policies and practices have changed since the scandal, such as the policies regarding gifts and gratuities, there was a lack of consistency in the magnitude of those changes.

Gender-Specific Programming and Trauma-Informed Approaches

Yoga has been making its way into juvenile detention centers, but little research has looked at the pos-sible effects of yoga on this special population of individuals. The purpose of this paper is to review the relevant literature available on the effects of yoga on youth involved with the justice system and its potential for rehabilitation. Notably, the objective here is to highlight the need for gender-specific pro-gramming, specifically those designed with women and girls in mind. This paper takes a gender-responsive and trauma-informed approach when discussing literature on alternative rehabilitation and, importantly, identifies the gaps in previous research while offering ways of improvement. The findings in this review highlight the need for trauma-informed care and gender-specific programming. Importantly, this review identifies the need for race-sensitive programming while addressing cultural, historical, and gender-based issues within the field of criminology and criminal justice. Overall, we find that gender-specific programs are useful but lack in implementation and program evaluation. With that said, more research is needed in this area of study.

Moving the Needle: Cultivating Systemic Change in Juvenile Services

Approximately 1.7 million delinquency cases are disposed in juvenile courts annually (Puzzanchera, Adams, & Sickmund, 2011). Of these youth, tens of thousands experience confinement in the US (Sawyer, 2019), while hundreds of thousands experience probation or are sentenced to community based programs (Harp, Muhlhausen, & Hockenberry, 2019). These youth are placed in the care of programs overseen by directors and clinicians. A survey of facility directors and clinicians from member agencies of the National Partnership for Juvenile Services (NPJS) Behavioral Health Clinical Services (BHCS) committee identified three primary concerns practitioners face in caring for these youth; 1) low resources to recruit and retain quality staff, 2) training that is often not a match for, and does not equip staff to effectively manage the complex needs of acute youth, and 3) the perspective of direct care as an unskilled entry-level position with limited impact on youth’s rehabilitation. This article seeks to address these issues and seeks to highlight potential best practices to re-solve for those obstacles within juvenile services.

Brain Injury in Justice-Involved Youth: Findings and Implications for Juvenile Service Professionals

It is well-established that the prevalence of brain injury among justice-involved populations is significantly greater than that of the general population. From 2014-2018, a demonstration project was conducted in two juvenile detention centers in southeastern PA. Its core strategy was to identify youth with history of brain injury; determine their neurocognitive barriers to successful re-entry; and create release plans including connections to appropriate resources. 489 youth participated. They were screened for brain injury utilizing the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method, and those who screened positive, were assessed utilizing standardized measures of memory and executive functioning. Results indicated that 49% had history of brain injury, with an average of 2.59 injuries per youth. 62% of injuries did not involve a loss of consciousness, and two-thirds never sought treatment for their injury. A history of repetitive blows to the head was also common, and often caused by violence. 147 youth were subsequently evaluated for cognitive impairment. 57% showed evidence of significant cognitive impairment, with the most common impairments being working memory, behavioral regulation, and delayed recall of novel information. Resources included referrals to brain injury school re-entry programs, vocational rehabilitation, and medical rehabilitation.

Implementing a Sexual Risk Avoidance Intervention in a Juvenile Justice Setting: What We Learned, and How it Can Help Others

Despite relatively high rates of teen pregnancy and sexual risk-taking among justice-involved youth, there is a scarcity of programming to help these youth become better informed about sexual health and decision making. The lack of adequate programming may in part be due to challenges that exist when trying to develop and implement programs in juvenile justice settings. Project With is a sexual risk avoidance intervention that includes storytelling and mentoring components and is currently being implemented within a large juvenile justice agency in California. This paper shares the lessons learned through implementation of the Project With program at five juvenile justice facilities. These lessons focus on the relationships, processes, and logistics that facilitated and impeded implementation, as well as aspects of the Project With design that promoted youth engagement. In particular, insights about the importance of leveraging relationships, gathering buy-in at multiple levels, understanding the system, and allowing for flexibility are highlighted. A checklist is included to support other program developers and researchers who seek to create, implement, and study teen pregnancy prevention programming for justice-involved youth.

Educational Experiences: Voices of Incarcerated Male Youth & School-to-Prison Pipeline

Youth who experience academic failure are at a greater risk for involvement in delinquency. While studies have revealed a myriad of factors for such failure, the perceptions of these youth regarding their educational experiences have proven to be one of the most valuable resources regarding the systematic barriers to academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to understand how incarcerated male youth perceive their educational experiences. Results indicated that some incarcerated youth make meaning of their educational experiences through a series of complex events, changes, and circumstances occurring in their school and personal lives. Some of these were positive, while others often exposed them to unhealthy environments, substance abuse, and criminal elements. Although their experiences varied, it was clear that failure was an ongoing occurrence throughout their academic journey. Their stories were also rife with suspensions, expulsion, truancy, retention, academic failure, school violence, poverty, and parental neglect; furthermore, youth revealed personal challenges that had a direct or indirect impact on their academic journey, including feeling of inferiority due to their academic shortcomings.

The Effect of a Character Education Program on Moral Development and Self-Esteem of At-Risk Youth

The purpose of this study was to examine the results of a psychological and educational intervention with at-risk youth that could benefit from a character education program. All sessions and material used focused on improving moral development and possibly self-esteem in each child. In summary, the findings did not support the use of the present character education intervention with the targeted population sample. The study did provide encouragement to continue to design and investigate programs that could possibly benefit at-risk youth. Ancillary data was also discussed concerning the issue of a false sense of high self-esteem in at-risk youth. Implications for counselors are also discussed. Keywords: Character education, at-risk youth, moral development, self-esteem

Strategies for Enhancing Programming in Local Juvenile Courts: Logic Models and Quality Assurance Procedures

The authors provide a case-study related to a recent project using program logic models as a primary component in the implementation of a formal quality assurance process in a local juvenile court. Program logic models illustrate the evolution of court personnel’s thoughts about how best to conceptualize programming. Juvenile court officials are developing and implementing formal “quality assurance” procedures to allow for ongoing planning and program development. The authors argue that quality assurance procedures hold great promise for assuring that juvenile court programming is efficient and effective and serves the needs of local communities.

Attitudes toward Rehabilitation and Punishment Orientations among Juvenile Detention and Probation Officers

The purpose of this paper was to explore the individual factors, job perceptions, and organizational characteristics that predict rehabilitation and punishment orientations among juvenile detention and probation staff members. Our results indicated juvenile officers who reported more education, less job ambiguity, and more adequate safety training were more likely to indicate preference for a rehabilitation orientation. However, those who reported less education, worked in detention rather than probation, and had higher job ambiguity were more likely to hold a punishment orientation. Finally, individual characteristics had a greater impact on both rehabilitation and punishment than either job perceptions or organizational factors. These results provide useful information for agencies about staff perceptions, which may in turn impact their interactions with and decision-making related to juvenile offenders under their supervision. Keywords: juvenile detention officers, juvenile probation officers, community corrections, punishment orientation, rehabilitation orientation, professional orientation.