Despite extensive research into juvenile justice interventions, there is a limited focus on family engagement, including parent–child experiences in these various programs. Even less research explores how families, specifically youth and parents, are affected by diversion from the traditional juvenile justice system. The current study fills this gap by drawing from in-depth interviews with 19 parents and 19 youths participating in a juvenile pretrial diversion program in Southern California. This research highlights how a diversion program can influence how families understand the justice system and law-related behaviors. The themes discussed include how diversion programs shape parent–child bonds, how parents navigate negative indictments of youth and themselves for participating in diversion, and the influence of external challenges and social forces shaping youth and parent experiences. Findings support the theoretical contributions from social bond and labeling theory. Implications and future research will also be discussed.
This study uses in-depth interviews to explore the relationships between staff and juveniles residing and working in a private juvenile correctional facility in the Midwest. Because staff play a key role in shaping the experience of incarceration and can influence the degree of rehabilitation or punishment carried out within the facility, this is a crucial dynamic to analyze for an understanding of juvenile corrections. Findings from the interviews demonstrate the importance of building trust as a basis for positive,
rehabilitative relationships with staff. Most staff expressed the shared goal of rehabilitation for the youth; however, they differed regarding the best approach for achieving this. While previous research notes the value of a mentoring relationship between staff and juveniles for rehabilitative efforts; staff at this facility varied in their perspectives of the role they played and the correctional response they found most
appropriate. Gender and age of the staff influenced these views.
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