Improving Engagement, Empowerment, and Support in Juvenile Corrections Through Research

• Published in: Translational issues in psychological science Vol. 5; no. 2; pp. 182 - 192
• Main Authors: Mikytuck, Alyssa, Woolard, Jennifer L, Umpierre, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washingon Educational Publishing Foundation 01-06-2019
• Subjects: Correctional Institutions; Corrections Officers; Empowerment; Facilities; Family; Human; Incarceration; Involvement; Juvenile Justice; juvenile secure confinement; family engagement; youth empowerment; staff support
• ISBN: 1433892790; 9781433892790
• ISSN: 2332-2136; 2332-2179
• DOI: 10.1037/tps0000190

The concentration of high-risk and high-service needs youth in juvenile secure confinement facilities has greatly challenged facility staff and administrators. Reform initiatives focused on helping facilities manage the challenges of this smaller, more high-risk population of incarcerated youth are based on a body of literature that has limited translational applications. Motivated by the challenges of supporting the population of incarcerated youth in tandem with the limited juvenile justice literature, this article provides a critical review of the family engagement, youth empowerment, and staff support literatures as they apply to juvenile confinement facilities. Using case studies from the Youth in Custody Practice Model, one facility-based reform initiative, we highlight how the existing research has been applied to juvenile confinement facilities and the gaps in the literature that remain. In order for research to keep pace with reform efforts in the field, we advocate a research agenda guided by interdisciplinary perspectives to move the field forward in theory and in practice.
What is the significance of this article for the general public?
Reform initiatives in family engagement, youth empowerment, and staff support domains are based on a body of literature that has not been applied to confinement contexts. We critically review the existing literature in these three areas and offer directions for future research. Using one evidence-based reform initiative, the Youth in Custody Practice Model, we demonstrate how the limited literature challenges reform efforts in the field.