Juvenile incarceration in the United States is declining; however, the rate of female youth incarceration is on the rise. Incarcerated female youth are more likely to have educational disabilities compared with female youth in public schools, as well as higher rates of mental health disorders and less consistent relationships with caregivers…

This study offers a cross-national comparison of stakeholders' awareness of the implementation of reintegration policies and practices for incarcerated youths by juvenile justice agencies. Similarities and differences in perceptions of 14 stakeholders from the US and 20 from Australia were collected and analyzed using a self-report measure.…

Juvenile delinquency is a major social problem in many countries. This special series of "Intervention in School and Clinic" focuses on the intersection of youth with disabilities and the laws in the United States, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Norway, which aim to ensure the provision of educational opportunities responsive to the…

For more than a century, the predominant strategy for the treatment and punishment of serious and sometimes not-so-serious juvenile offenders in the United States has been placement into large juvenile corrections institutions, alternatively known as training schools, reformatories, or youth corrections centers. America's heavy reliance on…

The application of restorative justice (RJ) with hate crime remains an underdeveloped field of research, policy, and practice. This article aims to advance the understanding of these two areas of inquiry: RJ and hate crime. It is known that while most hate incidents involve minor, punishable offenses, their impact can be long lasting and…

The costs of treating youth who sexually harm others can exceed $200,000 Australian (US$220,000) per annum when they are placed in a residential type facility in either Australia or North America. Following the financial meltdown of the past two years, North American based residential-style programs have found themselves under increasing financial…

Although there are many alternative schools that strive for the successful education of their students, negative images of alternative schools persist. While some alternative schools are viewed as "idealistic havens", many are viewed as "dumping grounds" or "juvenile detention centers". Employing narrative inquiry,…

This article poses the question: How do understandings of governmentality play out in discourses of youth? In the twenty-first-century neoliberal contexts of consumer capitalist societies, discourses of youth need now to move beyond the valuable earlier understandings based on psychological and cultural/subcultural studies to harness Foucault's…

With the highest incarceration rate in the world, the United States has set an inauspicious precedent. More than 1.7 million American children--one in every 43--have a parent in jail or prison. The generational effects of incarceration are deep and lasting and include vastly increased risks of criminal justice involvement among the children of…

The purpose of this paper is threefold: (1) to provide information to policymakers and government personnel who support and develop workforce development programming, policies and practices for youth, including those with learning disabilities (LD); (2) to provide a national view of the literacy and employment status of youth with LD who have low…

For an increasing and record number of communities in America and now in other countries, youth courts are providing a positive alternative to the juvenile justice system with significant and unexpected favorable outcomes. Youth court is most commonly identified as a juvenile justice program, given that the vast majority of youth cases referred…

The most recent figures place the number of juvenile arrests in the United States at 2.11 million. (OJJDP, 2009). In some states, children as young as 10 years old are incarcerated for violent offenses. Crowded juvenile facilities are often unable to meet the needs of these large numbers of youth. The cost to treat offenders within long-term…

Poverty among individuals is an enduring condition in almost all societies. The responses by governments to poverty, however, have varied. In the United States, President Lyndon Johnson sought to address poverty through the creation of the Great Society programs in the 1960s. In effect, he declared a War on Poverty. Later, especially during the…

In 2005, the United States Supreme Court, judging it to be cruel and unusual punishment, ended the execution of juvenile offenders. But the practice of sentencing juveniles to prison for life without the possibility of parole presents a much more widespread problem. Presumably future courts will revisit the question of whether growing up in prison…

A significant proportion of the US young people are currently involved in the juvenile justice system. Of all youth in the United States, approximately 21% suffer from a diagnosable mental or substance use disorder that causes at least minimal impairment. This estimate is likely 2-3 times higher for youth who enter the juvenile justice system. A…