Juvenile Probation Officers’ Mental Health Decision Making

Wasserman, Gail A.; McReynolds, Larkin S.; Whited, Andria L.; Keating, Joseph M.; Musabegovic, Hana; Huo, Yanling

doi:10.1007/s10488-008-0183-x

Cited by 33 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Respondents rated their level of competency using a Likert-scale from 1 (not very prepared) to 5 (very well prepared). For the study, internal consistency was good (α =.91), and identical to the original validation sample of POs (Wasserman et al, 2008). Items were averaged, with higher scores indicating higher perceived competency for identifying/addressing mental health concerns among juveniles on their caseloads.…”

Section: Mental Health Competency Was Measured Via the Attitudes Aboumentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Competency Questionnaire, a 12-item scale that assesses juvenile probation officers' abilities to identify behavioral health concerns, understand mental health services and recommendations, and relate to youth with behavioral health problems (Wasserman et al, 2008). Respondents rated their level of competency using a Likert-scale from 1 (not very prepared) to 5 (very well prepared).…”

Section: Mental Health Competency Was Measured Via the Attitudes Aboumentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Job-related burnout among juvenile probation officers: Implications for mental health stigma and competency.

White¹,

Aalsma²,

Holloway³

et al. 2015

Psychological Services

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Mental Health Competency Was Measured Via the Attitudes Aboumentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Mental Health Competency Was Measured Via the Attitudes Aboumentioning

confidence: 99%

Job-related burnout among juvenile probation officers: Implications for mental health stigma and competency.

White¹,

Aalsma²,

Holloway³

et al. 2015

Psychological Services

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Additionally, when youth did receive mental health care services in the past, they felt the services were ineffective and unhelpful in achieving life goals [14]. Systemic barriers have also been identified, such as probation officers’ knowledge of mental health and the availability of mental health professionals [15]. Although these studies provide an important foundation, they have focused on youth or professional perspectives, rather than youth-caregiver dyads.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connection to mental health care upon community reentry for detained youth: a qualitative study

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundAlthough detained youth evidence increased rates of mental illness, relatively few adolescents utilize mental health care upon release from detention. Thus, the goal of this study is to understand the process of mental health care engagement upon community reentry for mentally-ill detained youth.MethodsQualitative interviews were conducted with 19 youth and caregiver dyads (39 participants) recruited from four Midwest counties affiliated with a state-wide mental health screening project. Previously detained youth (ages 11–17), who had elevated scores on a validated mental health screening measure, and a caregiver were interviewed 30 days post release. A critical realist perspective was used to identify themes on the detention and reentry experiences that impacted youth mental health care acquisition.ResultsYouth perceived detention as a crisis event and having detention-based mental health care increased their motivation to seek mental health care at reentry. Caregivers described receiving very little information regarding their child during detention and felt “out of the loop,” which resulted in mental health care utilization difficulty. Upon community reentry, long wait periods between detention release and initial contact with court or probation officers were associated with decreased motivation for youth to seek care. However, systemic coordination between the family, court and mental health system facilitated mental health care connection.ConclusionsUtilizing mental health care services can be a daunting process, particularly for youth upon community reentry from detention. The current study illustrates that individual, family-specific and systemic issues interact to facilitate or impair mental health care utilization. As such, in order to aid youth in accessing mental health care at detention release, systemic coordination efforts are necessary. The systematic coordination among caregivers, youth, and individuals within the justice system are needed to reduce barriers given that utilization of mental health care is a complex process.

show abstract

“…The estimated 800,000 youth involved in the juvenile justice system have a higher burden of substance abuse and mental health disorders than the general adolescent population (Wasserman, et al, 2008). In response to these extensive needs, a screening→assessment→service coordination model is recommended by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Reclaiming Futures initiative, which itself is based on research on strategies to address adolescents’ unmet service needs (Binard & Prichard, 2008) (Drug Strategies, 2005; NIDA, 2006, 2009; NIC, 2004).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In response to these extensive needs, a screening→assessment→service coordination model is recommended by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Reclaiming Futures initiative, which itself is based on research on strategies to address adolescents’ unmet service needs (Binard & Prichard, 2008) (Drug Strategies, 2005; NIDA, 2006, 2009; NIC, 2004). This model relies on supporting evidence suggesting that detention-and community-based services are effective in reducing youthful offending behavior (Liddle, Dakof, Henderson, & Rowe, 2011; Wasserman et al, 2008). However, successfully implementing any change, specifically one that focuses on using evidence-based practices in juvenile justice settings, involves surmounting several organizational challenges, such as staff hesitancy to use standardized assessment instruments due to a lack of confidence in the tools, preference for using professional judgment over research-supported practices, and lack of familiarity with the service landscape (Young, Moline, Farrell, & Bierie, 2006; Taxman & Belenko, 2011).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Training Interventions on Organizational Readiness to Support Innovations in Juvenile Justice Offices

Taxman

Henderson

Young³

et al. 2012

Adm Policy Ment Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

OBJECTIVE Clinical trials on technology transfer models are rare, even with the interest in advancing the uptake of evidence-based practices in social service agencies. This article presents the results from a trial examining different transfer strategies to assist juvenile justice caseworkers in using screening, assessment, and case planning practices to address mental health and substance use needs. Study findings examine factors that promote organizational readiness. METHODS A clinical trial was conducted examining the mpact of three post-training strategies: an external coach to build the social network of the justice office (build social climate), an external coach to educate staff (build skills and knowledge), and a control condition consisting of traditional management directives (directives to staff of agency priorities). All groups were exposed to a one day refresher course in motivational interviewing. The social network and skill building groups also attended an intensive three-day training followed by three on-site booster sessions over a 12 month period of time. Twelve juvenile justice offices (with their 231 juvenile justice staff) were assigned to one of three conditions. The study examined the impact of different transfer conditions on organizational readiness to implement the innovation of screening, assessment, and referral strategies. RESULTS External coaching targeting the social climate of the justice office to support innovations improved organizational readiness to change, regardless of office size. Coaching that targeted either the social climate or staff knowledge and skills both improved organizational readiness for change compared to management directives, but social climate coaching resulted in greater improvements in receptivity to change. No individual level features of case workers (e.g., age, gender, years of experience) significantly predicted organizational readiness to change. Unexpectedly, the skill and knowledge building approach did not perform any better than management directives only (no post training) efforts. CONCLUSIONS Organizational readiness has been found to be an important factor supporting agencies’ adoption of evidence-based practices. Techniques devoted to attending to the social climate are critical to increasing organizational readiness. External coach facilitators can accomplish this through modest means (three post training booster sessions) that build internal expertise and resiliency in support of the change. This is a low cost method of preparing a low resourced environment such as juvenile justice agencies to use evidence-based practices.

show abstract

Juvenile Probation Officers’ Mental Health Decision Making

Cited by 33 publications

References 36 publications

Job-related burnout among juvenile probation officers: Implications for mental health stigma and competency.

Job-related burnout among juvenile probation officers: Implications for mental health stigma and competency.

Connection to mental health care upon community reentry for detained youth: a qualitative study

The Impact of Training Interventions on Organizational Readiness to Support Innovations in Juvenile Justice Offices

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About