Youths from high-risk settings are often labeled based on their behavior, which leads to cycles of negative stigmatization and punitive interventions. Traditional behavioristic approaches used in schools, courts, and therapy have shown limited success in fostering long-term positive change. The SPARK mentoring program offers an innovative approach…

There are many young people living in various states of detention around the world right now. This article brings greater awareness to this group, reinforces their right to play, and provides promising strategies to support greater access to sport and physical activity in detention.

Based on focus groups with justice-involved youth in the United States, this case study considers researcher responsibility and ethics when engaging with vulnerable populations in research projects. Specifically, this case explores how trauma-informed research strategies work to empower these youth while supporting an iterative and reflexive…

Restorative Justice (RJ) models of diversion from the criminal justice system have been used successfully with adults and youth charged with minor offenses. Professionally mediated RJ conferences bring together the offender and the person(s) harmed to discuss the impact of their actions and develop a plan to restore community safety and make…

"Court-involved" students -- those who are incarcerated, on probation, in foster care, in residential treatment facilities, or have concurrent adjudications -- retain their full educational rights under federal and state laws. They also face many educational challenges, as they are often highly mobile, have concentrated needs, and may…

This article explores how arts-based pedagogies give insight into the lives and dreams of students who experience detainment and incarceration. This article begins with an overview of imagination as a framework that the authors used to explore student work. They connect the concept of imagination to research on multiliteracies and arts-based…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are at an increased risk for poor outcomes (e.g., dropout, unemployment, mental health problems). These risks are heightened for students placed in juvenile justice and/or alternative placement settings. Increasing college and career readiness (CCR) opportunities may potentially lead to…

Employment is a defining aspect of adult life as well as a protective factor for youth involved in the juvenile justice system, but employment rates for juvenile-justice-involved youth are substantially lower than for their noninvolved peers. Interventions have been developed to increase employment for juvenile-justice-involved youth, yet few…

Employment is a defining aspect of adult life as well as a protective factor for youth involved in the juvenile justice system, but employment rates for juvenile-justice-involved youth are substantially lower than for their noninvolved peers. Interventions have been developed to increase employment for juvenile-justice-involved youth, yet few…

This systematic literature review (SLR) aims to explore the current role and functions of educational psychologist (EP) practice within youth justice work. The Crime and Disorder Act (1998) requires all local authorities (LAs) to have a multi-agency team (incorporating health, education, care, police and probation agencies) whose role is to…

Our study examined co-occurring substance use and major depressive disorders among justice-involved adolescents to inform behavioral health services planning within U.S. criminal justice systems. We used data from the 2015-2017 administrations of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an annual survey of non-institutionalized U.S.…

The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program aims to reduce youth substance use by fostering multi-sector collaboration and implementing locally tailored strategies within the community. This study is among the first to evaluate the program's impact on youth development outcomes in the United States. Using the Callaway and Sant'Anna (2021)…

Exclusionary school discipline is one of the primary ways that schools address student behavior. Existing scholarship has focused on examining the implications of exclusionary school discipline for two sets of outcomes: academic achievement and future juvenile and criminal legal involvement. However, these two areas of scholarship are largely…

As criminological perspectives of youth justice shift from rehabilitative ideals to desistance frameworks whereby young people assume a central role in their own identity-development and relationships with others, child-centred approaches that afford youth with agency and voice have been seen as increasingly important. However, noting that…

Aftercare seeks to address challenges juveniles face when re-entering the community after residential placement. This study compares changes in recidivism in five Pennsylvania counties that piloted aftercare reforms in 2005 to 2010 as part of Models for Change to recidivism in counties that did not. The sample includes 3,107 referrals to court in…