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This study examined the clinical utility of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument–Second Version (MAYSI-2) among African American (AA) incarcerated youth and used White incarcerated youth as a comparison group. Data were analyzed for 314 incarcerated youth (193 AA offenders and 121 White offenders) of ages 13–17 years who were adjudicated delinquent from a southeastern United States medium security residential facility. Seven logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) models were built to determine whether the MAYSI-2 subscales accurately identify committed AA male incarcerated youth who have a mental illness diagnosis on file. Analyses also examined how well the MAYSI-2 subscales identify specific mental illnesses among AA-committed male incarcerated youth. Results demonstrated that no MAYSI-2 subscales accurately identified and categorized AA-committed male incarcerated youth who have mental disorders, and only two subscales (Alcohol/Drug Use, Depressed/Anxious) identified and categorized White committed male incarcerated youth who have a mental disorder. Additional results and implications for research and practice are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical activity (PA) and its contributions to wellbeing are understudied among incarcerated youth. We used 2019 Minnesota Student Survey data to describe PA rates and test PA's associations with indicators of psychological, social, and perceived health for adolescents in juvenile corrections facilities (JCFs). Participants (n = 265, 29% female, mage = 15.4 years) self-reported days of $ \ge $ ≥ 60 min of PA in the previous week. They also reported how often they experienced joy and energy and built trusting peer relationships, as well as how they perceived their overall health and symptoms of anxiety and depression. We calculated descriptive statistics and tested PA's associations with psychological, social, and perceived health variables among the full sample, then stratified by sex, with unadjusted and age-adjusted models. Female and male youth averaged over 5 days of $ \ge $ ≥ 60 min of PA. PA was positively, significantly associated with experiencing joy and energy, building trusting peer relationships, and having better perceived health, though sex-related differences emerged. PA was unassociated with anxiety and depression. Results suggest PA rates are high in JCFs, though quality remains unclear. While PA is positively associated with certain developmental outcomes for incarcerated youth, PA alone seems insufficient for mitigating their mental health concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth served within juvenile justice facilities are to be afforded the same educational benefits as their peers in nonsecure educational settings, including transition supports. Transition supports include the purposeful delivery of strategies and interventions to build a wide variety of skills based on youth interests and preferences regarding navigating movement from the juvenile justice environment to their neighborhood school, postsecondary education, workforce, or community at large as well as overall success in the new environment. In the current qualitative study, 11 staff (e.g., teachers, administrators, parole officers) who work with justice-involved youth across five states participated in semistructured, open-ended interviews on the transition programming and needs of youth from their facility back to traditional K-12 schools and the community at large. Using the constant comparative method, the interviews were coded to gain a deeper understanding of the transition programming and practices in juvenile justice facilities along with identifying areas for future youth support and research. Five major themes were identified across interviews related to the barriers and successes in transition programming, establishing collaborative partnerships in the community, and gaining access to additional transition resources. We touch on each theme with direct quotes from the interviews and discuss future directions to best support transitioning youth from juvenile justice settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1900, the Westbrook Reformatory for Boys, an institution holding both young people convicted of criminal offences and those deemed to be neglected children, was established in a farming region in Queensland, Australia. The institution would remain in the same location until 1994. By then, it had been rebranded as a Youth Detention Centre, housing teenagers convicted of crimes or on remand rather than the original mix of neglected and offending children and young people. In the institution's earliest stages, rurality and agricultural labour, were central to its work. By the century's end, Westbrook's rural setting, its distance from the capital city, and its inclusion of a working farm were key contributing factors to its closure. Drawing on archival data, newspaper records, memoirs of former inmates, and the findings of three inquiries into the institution, this essay seeks to explain how and why rurality, perceived as central to projects of moral reform in 1900, became understood primarily through the lens of inconvenience and danger by 1994. In doing so, it argues that the moral and rehabilitative discourses associated with rurality did not necessarily become obsolete or irrelevant by the end of the twentieth century. Instead, they interacted with shifting cultural expectations about the treatment of institutionalised children, as well as changing economic circumstances, creating a situation in which the perceived value of rurality alone was insufficient to justify the continued presence of a youth justice institution at Westbrook. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was done to prepare a Persian version of the MAYSI-2 and investigate its psychometric properties among the adolescents of the Juvenile Correction and Rehabilitation Center in Mashhad. By available study sample 329 male adolescents were selected. The findings showed that the Cronbach's alpha values for subscales were from.74 to.91. Compound reliability was also obtained in different scales between.72 and.98 indicating the optimal reliability of the scale. The CVR and CVI indicating the appropriate content validity. The results of CFA showed that the factor loading of the items was more than.5. The scale had good structural validity. The GFI of.90, IFI of.91, and RMSEA of.072 were all within the acceptable limits. Convergent and divergent validity indicators showed that the subscales benefited from the convergent validity. Our results showed that the Persian version of the MAYSI-2 had desirable psychometric properties. Therefore, it can be used for assessing mental health problems of juvenile delinquent and upcoming research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown that experiences of childhood trauma disproportionally impact incarcerated youth and may decrease self-regulation skills including identification of emotions and ability to control behaviors. Purpose: The current study aimed to investigate changes in emotional state identified by incarcerated youth after receiving sensory-based occupational therapy treatment. Methods: A quasi-experimental retrospective chart review design was used in addition to surveys. Results: Participants had an average ACE score of 5.91 traumatic experiences and at least three mental health diagnoses. Results showed a statistically significant change between pre-and post-session emotions via a Likert scale as well as a decrease in the frequency of negative words used to identify emotions. When surveyed, participants reported a calmer body state after occupational therapy and highlighted the importance of learning coping strategies. Conclusion: Results suggest that sensory-based occupational therapy may be an effective, trauma-informed intervention to improve self-regulation and support daily function of these incarcerated youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based treatment has long been a major component of the criminal justice system in most Western jurisdictions; however, this is not the case in China. Based on a review of academic journal articles and legal documents, this paper highlights the evolution of community correction programs for juvenile offenders in China. Reflecting on its development over the past two decades, the existing community correction programs in China are not restorative in facilitating an offender's effective reintegration into the community. This paper aims to address the existing gap by examining the historical roots and characteristics of Chinese juvenile community corrections and analyzing how restorative justice can be incorporated into the youth rehabilitation system. In this regard, this paper advocates for a restorative juvenile community correction model that motivates social capital and actively engages all concerned parties in meeting various correctional goals of victim reparation, accountability taking, capacity building, and maintaining community safety. With the momentum of the recent criminal justice reform alongside the continued open-door policy in China, it is hoped that the Chinese government may be more willing to include restorative ideas for offender reintegration in the future. With more frequent applications of restorative justice, we are confident that effective intervention models could be put into practice in the years to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This mixed-method exploratory inductive study examined incarcerated youths' and staff members' perceptions of a new community-focused therapeutic model in a large youth prison. Via 18 focus groups (N = 141) and facility-wide surveys (N = 248), both youth and staff shared perceptions of specific structural components of the model designed to change their relationship to one another, such as consistent staffing, higher staff-resident ratios, and program features designed to enhance rapport. Both groups also provided rich descriptions of the altered interpersonal dynamics related to connection and caring, two of the five C's of Positive Youth Development (PYD), that were facilitated through those structural changes. Findings suggest the model's intentional redefinition of resident-staff relationships directly contributed to meaningful resident and staff experiences. Perceptions of those relationships—rarely explored in the extant literature—were examined and illustrated through focus group data. This study illuminates the subjective experiences of both groups as they put the model into practice and reveals key insights about therapeutic correctional programs based on PYD in secure facilities that have important implications for juvenile correctional theory, research, practice, and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study addresses the complexities of providing education and rehabilitation to incarcerated youth during the COVID-19 crisis. A total of three state-level administrators, one supervisor for juvenile residential services health care, and one medical director of state detention centers from three states completed a survey focusing on the key domains of education, physical safety, mental health support, social support, support for physical health, and information sharing. With each domain, respondents were queried on the adequacy and basis of policies, as well as monitoring of compliance with policies and barriers to compliance. The state officials then each participated in two 45-minute interviews. Results indicate that the survey respondents found policies to be adequate across domains. Interview findings yielded across-state themes of learned capability and collaboration and/or cooperation. Additional results, as well as implications for research and practices, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature highlights that youth in correctional centres face multiple risk factors which can be buffered by resilience. This study aimed to explore and describe the experiences of at-risk youth in a juvenile correctional centre in Eswatini regarding their resilience. The participants were purposively sampled and engaged in individual (n = 41) and group (n = 25) data collection. Following thematic analysis, the findings revealed four main themes: Understanding of resilience, protective factors to resilience, risk factors to resilience and youth's recommendations for resilience. This study provides insight into resilience of youth from youth's perspective that may be useful in rehabilitation or programme development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of COVID-19 placed immediate pressure on the juvenile justice system to adapt to changes in case processing and decision-making practices. Juvenile probation agencies were tasked with quickly altering their policies and practice to abide by local public health measures. As probation supervision is the most common disposition in the juvenile justice system, there is both an empirical and practical need to understand the impact that COVID-19 has on a variety of issues surrounding the supervision and provision of services for juveniles. Using self-report survey data from juvenile probation directors across the United States, the current study examines (a) the biggest challenges faced by juvenile probation agencies during the pandemic, (b) the strategies implemented in response to these challenges, and (c) the most pressing issues currently facing the field of juvenile community corrections. Results have the potential to inform future agency decision-making when adjusting juvenile probation policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive research has been conducted on the causes and factors associated with juvenile delinquency. Work has consistently revealed that family has a significant influence on the likelihood of youth crime. More specifically family structure and primary caregiver significantly influence the probability of juvenile delinquency in the community. But minimal work has examined the influence of family structure on the likelihood of misconduct among incarcerated youth. The current study helps to fill this gap in the literature by examining the relationship between misconduct among youth incarcerated in the California Division of Juvenile Justice and the youth's primary caregiver type (both parents, single parent, other). Results highlight a significant association between violent misconduct and primary caregiver type; youth are less likely to participate in violent misconduct if they report having both parents as their primary caregiver. The findings have theoretical implications, specifically the need to understand what influences from the community youth are importing into correctional settings. There are also implications for policy and practice; specifically, the importance of taking primary caregiver type into consideration for placement within a facility, and treatment considerations. Highlights: We examined the relationship between youth institutional misconduct and primary caregiver. Analyses revealed that youth were less likely to engage in violent misconduct if they reported having a both parents as their primary caregiver(s). Primary caregiver status predicted the likelihood of violent misconduct, but not misconduct in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience-focused programmes advocate nurturing positive adoptive traits to inform prevention and intervention efforts. Considering that no resilience intervention programmes have been developed specifically for at-risk youth in correctional centers in Eswatini, the authors developed a programme with this focus through a combination of literature review and earlier empirical research with correctional officers and youth in a correctional center in Eswatini. This study aimed to evaluate the programme through exploration and description of experiences of at-risk youth in a correctional center in Eswatini regarding the programme. A purposive sample of 16 youths in a correctional center in Eswatini participated in a World Café, and data were analyzed thematically. Three themes were identified: Positive outcomes of participation, challenges encountered in the programme, and recommendations for the programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This research aimed to provide young people in a juvenile rehabilitation centre (JRC) with access and exposure to virtual reality (VR) as a growing media technology industry, to offer media education that was fun and engaging, and to introduce the digital arts to participants as a potential career path. The project evolved through a partnership with the Washington State Librarian who, as a part of her role overseeing public library activities, wanted to ensure that newly acquired VR equipment was made available to as many people as possible. This effort included libraries within sites of incarceration. Analysis: This article presents a reflective and analytical discussion on the success and challenges of creating, implementing, and researching a VR art design program in a JRC. Conclusions and Implications: Carceral logics are entangled in research and education, in constant tension with anti-oppressive methods in place. Improvisational action as a design method in media education programs, including VR art design with incarcerated youth, may support greater participation and stronger research outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience-focused programs advocate nurturing positive adoptive traits to inform prevention and intervention efforts. Considering that no resilience intervention programs have been developed specifically for at-risk youth in correctional centers in Eswatini, the authors developed a program with this focus through a combination of literature review and earlier empirical research with correctional officers and youth in a correctional center in Eswatini. This study aimed to evaluate the program through exploration and description of experiences of at-risk youth in a correctional center in Eswatini regarding the program. A purposive sample of 16 youths in a correctional center in Eswatini participated in a World Café, and data were analyzed thematically. Three themes were identified: Positive outcomes of participation, challenges encountered in the program, and recommendations for the program.

Few juvenile justice group experimental and quasi-experimental literacy-focused studies document fidelity of implementation (FOI). Even fewer of those studies consider the psychometric properties of the FOI instrumentation used. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a brief FOI instrument used with English language arts classes in a juvenile justice school as part of an Institute of Education Science research project. Six teachers were observed a total of 209 occasions across three instructional conditions (Business-as-Usual, REACH, REACH + Strategic Instruction Model) within one long-term juvenile justice facility with approximately 300 male youth aged 12 to 18. Findings indicated the instrument has high internal consistency at 0.98. Rasch modeling suggested the instrument measured two separate constructs (e.g., instruction and behavior management). Developmental pathway analyses indicated items are arranged on an ability continuum with some items being easier or harder for teachers. Findings suggest the FOI instrument has the potential to be used in English language arts classes within a juvenile justice facility. Future directions include developing additional easier and harder items to account for the abilities of less and more skilled teachers. Moreover, research is needed to examine the FOI instrumentation usability and feasibility across similar and different types of juvenile justice facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dr. Peter Leone is an internationally renowned researcher and advocate for incarcerated youth. Throughout his almost four decades at the University of Maryland, his expertise and research have influenced lawsuits related to the provision of education and special education services in juvenile corrections and paved the way for changes in policy and practice. Dr. Leone shared his reflections on his career, progress that has been made in juvenile justice education, urgent matters, future directions, and recommendations for future juvenile justice educators and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The status of Mississippi's juvenile corrections landscape was the focus of a 2018 federally‐funded study exploring the viability of a comprehensive database of statewide juvenile arrest data. Study findings indicated that the state's juvenile corrections infrastructure was primitive and incapable of sustaining such a database. However, promising elements were found to exist that may drive organizational changes at both the local and state level, and further innovations including adaptation of new technologies are also explored. Qualitative data from the pilot study reveals these indicators of potential change, which are then contrasted with theories on how organizational change can be conceived, implemented, and sustained. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice (U.S. DOE/DOJ) jointly released the Guiding Principles for Providing High-Quality Education in Juvenile Justice Secure Care Settings to provide recommendations within five principles that affect education, including safety (i.e., behavioral and mental health interventions), funding, staffing, curriculum and instruction, and reentry. However, no systematic review has evaluated the research within and across the Guiding Principles since their publication. The purpose of the current article is to (a) describe the literature review process that resulted in 36 studies across all of the principles, (b) briefly summarize information from the separate literature reviews focusing on behavior, mental health, and curriculum and instruction for which no separate literature reviews have been conducted, (c) provide detail concerning studies focusing on staffing and reentry, and (d) identify patterns across studies in all of the reviews, particularly related to study quality. In addition, we provide implications for research, policy, and practice. Public Policy Relevance Statement: The present systematic literature review resulted in finding relatively more studies related to facility safety and curriculum and instruction, while few or no studies in the areas of funding, staffing, and reentry. Broadly, limited evidence of intervention effectiveness was noted for: (a) cognitive–behavioral approaches with or without praise to address inappropriate behavior and mental health symptom reduction; (b) antecedent instructions, verbal and written reminders, and restating rules, with or without praise/reinforcement; and (c) personalized reentry supports for youth that include cross-agency collaboration. However, intervention studies often neglected key quality indicators, including treatment integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many youth who are incarcerated have serious behavioral problems that negatively affect their ability to benefit from educational services. In the Guiding Principles for Providing High-Quality Education in Juvenile Justice Secure Care Settings published at the end of 2014, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education address this issue in Principle 1, which asserts the importance of ensuring the safety and well-being of youth who are incarcerated. To address the research progress since publication of the Guiding Principles, ProQuest and Ebsco were systematically searched and a hand search was conducted. Ten intervention studies were identified that addressed youth behavior. The studies primarily employed a single subject research design and focused on increasing youth compliance and/or decreasing disruptive behaviors. Reviewed studies provide support for providing clear behavioral expectations and reminders, praise, and reinforcement, as well as cognitive-behavioral interventions. However, methodological limitations, including the lack of treatment integrity in nine of the studies, limit conclusions. Public Policy Relevance Statement: The Guiding Principles for Providing High-Quality Education in Juvenile Justice Secure Care Settings offered a framework for researchers to ensure intervention studies are conducted that focused on the behavioral interventions necessary to ensure a safe and healthy juvenile correctional environment. The current systematic review reveals important research is being conducted on increasing youth compliance and decreasing disruptive behaviors. However, researchers must be provided access to facilities and conduct high-quality single subject and group design research in juvenile correctional facilities that also addresses such issues as youth lack of social skills, socially acceptable self-assertion, and ability to cooperate with peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To promote the safety and well-being of youth who are incarcerated, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education identified the importance of evidence-based mental health interventions. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize and synthesize intervention research focusing on the mental health of youth who are incarcerated since the publication of Guiding Principles for Providing High-Quality Education in Juvenile Justice Secure Care Settings. ProQuest and Ebsco databases were searched to identify relevant published studies from 2015 to 2020. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies mainly focused on cognitive-behavior interventions and included the following outcome domains: symptoms, functioning, personal growth, and multiple domains. To evaluate study quality, modified versions of Gersten et al.'s (2005) group design and Mulcahy et al.'s (2016) single-case design quality indicators were used. Of concern are the small number of studies, methodological limitations within studies, and lack of a common intervention and outcomes of focus that limit individual study conclusions and evaluation across studies. In particular, studies rarely included necessary information, such as participant mental health characteristics, interventionist training or qualifications, intervention details, and/or measures/reports of treatment integrity. For the Guiding Principles to be realized, one key issue is for government funding to target high-quality mental health interventions in juvenile correctional facilities within identified target areas. Public Policy Relevance Statement: No systematic literature review has addressed progress on mental health interventions since the publication of the Guiding Principles for Providing High-Quality Education in Juvenile Justice Secure Care Settings. This review brings to light the urgent need for high-quality research that continues to consider effects on symptoms, functioning, and personal growth as outcomes, as well as additional short- and long-term outcomes. While some of the reviewed interventions appear promising in the secure care setting and are based on solid research, additional studies are needed to clearly chart a path forward for research, policy, and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to high-quality curriculum and instruction is essential for all youth incarcerated in juvenile corrections facilities. In a landmark 2014 collaboration between the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice Guiding Principles for Providing High-Quality Education in Juvenile Justice Secure Care Settings were established. Principle independent variable (IV) identified the importance of access to rigorous and relevant curricula and evidence-based instruction that promotes college- and career-readiness. To explore research progress since publication of the Guiding Principles, a systematic review of research was conducted. The review identified eight peer-reviewed studies relevant to curriculum and instruction published since 2014. Employing a variety of research designs, the studies focused on literacy (n = 5) and instruction (n = 3). Quality indicators, based on modified forms of Mulcahy et al. (2016) single case design, Gersten et al. (2005) group design, and Miles et al. (2019) qualitative standards, were used to evaluate the studies. Results revealed a lack of replicable information pertinent to participants and intervention, as well as a lack of fidelity. Of grave concern is that only four of the participants included across all studies were female. Research that adheres to quality indicators, is described with replicable precision, and is representative of females is needed. Public Policy Relevance Statement: Little scientific research exists on curriculum and instruction in juvenile justice education. This systematic review documents the lack of rigorous, peer-reviewed research on which to build sound policy in the education of incarcerated youth and highlights the need to develop an evidence base to determine what works for youth, especially those with learning and other educational disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Supreme Court has placed restrictions on courts' ability to impose life-without-parole sentences on juveniles. Most recently, Jones v. Mississippi underscored how existing Eighth Amendment protections fail to extend categorical protection to all juveniles. Tracing the history of intrachildhood classifications, this Note argues that Jones's discretionary process forces sentencers to sort children into pseudoscientific categories. An analysis of sentencing transcripts reveals that sentencers routinely rely on unfounded assumptions when sentencing juveniles to life in prison. Highlighting efforts led by formerly incarcerated youth, this Note concludes that an agebased ban is necessary to protect youth from irreversible punishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microglia depletion did not alter the established binocularity of neurons in V1 (Juvenile Control = 0.45 ± 0.08 vs Adult Control = 0.30 ± 0.08 cpd, vs Adult PLX5622 = 0.36 ± 0.11). Histogram of ocular dominance index for excitatory (e) and inhibitory (f) neurons in juveniles (grey), adults (blue), and mice lacking microglia (red). [Extracted from the article]

This essay analyzes Colson Whitehead's 2019 novel The Nickel Boys through the prism of the tension between concealment and unveiling, and its impact on the text's rhetorical, narrative and ideological structure. The novel focuses on its main character's experience of confinement at Nickel School, a juvenile correction institution. Like most prison narratives, it conceptualizes such experience in terms of an opposition between outside and inside, sliding over the legal and ethical dialectics between freedom and confinement. Thus, a rhetorical structure is articulated in the text around these and other parallel binaries: visible-concealed, public-secret/private. My interpretation of the novel relates these dichotomies to the pattern of confinement and redemption which is typical of the African American prison narrative. Furthermore, in terms of narrative progression, the text is organized as a structure of unveiling, in which the delayed disclosure of key information regarding the main characters forces a reconsideration of the entire sequence of events organized through causal relations. The novel relies on the mechanism of the "surprise ending" in order to solve its structural tensions, provoking not only the reconstruction of its lineal sequence, but a readjustment in the readers' ethical judgment of what has been previously read. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several states initiated school finance reforms during the post-1990s, commonly named the "adequacy" era, with the primary purpose of providing adequate funding for low-income school districts. This article uses the space–time variation in court-ordered reforms in this period as shocks to school spending and investigates its effects on juvenile arrest rates and risky behaviors. Using a 2SLS-DDD approach and a wide range of data sets, I find that exposure to reform reduces the juvenile arrest rates, increases the likelihood of high school graduation, increases the time spent on educational activities, and reduces risky behaviors at schools. A 10 |$\%$| rise in real per-pupil spending is associated with 7.4 fewer arrests per 1,000 in the population aged 15–19. This rise is equivalent to a reduction of roughly 90,806 arrests annually. It also implies a minimum of 20 |$\%$| return in school spending due to the avoided costs of deterred crimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]