Relationships Matter: The Role Transition Specialists Play in Youth’s Reentry From the Juvenile Justice System

Abstract

Increasing engagement to school, employment, and community are strong predictors of reducing recidivism for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. This study examined what occurs at reentry upon leaving a youth correctional setting. This study comprised of qualitative semi-structured interviews of transition specialists (TSs; n = 7) and young offenders ( n = 8) who participated in a 4-year reentry project in the Pacific Northwest. A total of 21 (13 TS and eight youth) interviews were thematically coded. Findings from this study included the important role of the TS in supporting a youth’s school, family, and community reentry. Key themes are described around the services to support employment, school engagement, and independent living during a youth’s reentry into a school setting.

Providing high-quality education in juvenile corrections: Next steps.

“…Five studies related to Principle V met selection criteria. With regard to participants, four of the five studies addressed youth with special needs (Mathur et al, 2020, 2021; Ruch & Yoder, 2018; Sinclair et al, 2020). These studies included 7,231 youth, seven transition specialists, and 98 employers as their participants.…”

“…One study identified learning disability as the only category for special needs (Ruch & Yoder, 2018), and two identified LD, emotional disabilities, and other disabilities as primary categories for special needs (Mathur et al, 2020, 2021). One study (Sinclair et al, 2020) did not specify the type of special needs and only described their participants as receiving Individual Education Program (IEP) services. Four studies reported student race (Mathur et al, 2020, 2021, Ruch & Yoder, 2018; Sinclair et al, 2020) indicating that 2,002 youth were White, 2,349 were Black, 2,089 were Hispanic, and 791 were other.…”

“…One study (Sinclair et al, 2020) did not specify the type of special needs and only described their participants as receiving Individual Education Program (IEP) services. Four studies reported student race (Mathur et al, 2020, 2021, Ruch & Yoder, 2018; Sinclair et al, 2020) indicating that 2,002 youth were White, 2,349 were Black, 2,089 were Hispanic, and 791 were other. None of the studies identified if participating youth had a diagnosed mental disorder.…”

“…The fifth article discussed the role of transition specialists, including how they saw their responsibilities for making connections between the facility school and the youth’s home school or alternative setting. Sinclair et al (2020) used qualitative methods to conduct semistructured interviews with 13 transition specialists and eight young offenders. The thematic coding resulted in five main codes: employment, education/training, independent living, barriers toward reentry, and strategies to overcome barriers.…”

A Conceptual Framework for Creating Transition Plans for Incarcerated Youth

“…Ideally, as youths move between various schooling systems, in and out of JJ centers, their education plans and programs should build upon previous achievements to support continuity (Mathur & Griller Clark, 2013;Platt et al, 2015). Recent research conducted in the US has shown positive effects on re-engagement with education when transition back to the community is supported by evidence-based transition planning and processes (Griller Clark & Unruh, 2010;Hirschfield, 2014;Mathur & Griller Clark, 2013;Unruh, et al, 2019). Most youths, however, do not return to formal education post-release due to exclusionary policies, or if they do, they do not remain for long (Feierman et al, 2009).…”