By ALICE McINTYRE

Urban teens of color are often portrayed as welfare mothers, drop outs, drug addicts, and both victims and perpetrators of the many kinds of violence which can characterize life in urban areas. Although urban youth often live in contexts which include poverty, unemployment, and discrimination, they also live with the everydayness of school, friends, sex, television, music, and other elements of teenage lives. Inner City Kids explores how a group of African American, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, and Haitian adolescents make meaning of and respond to living in an inner-city community.

The book focuses on areas of particular concern to the youth, such as violence, educational opportunities, and a decaying and demoralizing urban environment characterized by trash, pollution, and abandoned houses. McIntyre's work with these teens draws upon participatory action research, which seeks to co-develop programs with study participants rather than for them.

New York: London: NYU Press, 2000. 255p.

By Kirsten Russell

Research aims and overview

Youth violence, which occurs between individuals aged 10 to 29, can take many forms and has health, social, and economic consequences for individuals, families and communities (World Health Organisation, 2015). When considering figures relating to young people’s involvement in violence in Scotland alongside concerns that the indirect social and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to an increase in youth violence (Irwin-Rogers, Muthoo, & Billingham, 2020), it is clear that there is a pressing need to better understand which strategies can be implemented to address violence in youth. This report was undertaken to draw together high-quality international evidence about what works to prevent youth violence and is intended to inform policymakers and practitioners about the extant evidence base and effectiveness associated with different approaches and interventions.

Key Findings

• There is evidence to suggest that school and education-based approaches are effective in reducing youth violence. These include both bullying prevention programmes (e.g. Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, KiVa) and social and emotional learning programmes (e.g. PATHS).

• Interventions that have been identified as promising include: school-based programmes which seek to prevent violence in dating and intimate partner relationships, parenting and family-focused approaches, mentoring programmes, and community-based coalitions.

• There is mixed evidence about the effectiveness of out-of-school activities and early childhood home visitation programmes.

• Deterrence and fear-based approaches have been identified as having no effect on youth violence outcomes and, at worse, are potentially harmful to young people.

• Due to a limited body of evidence, it is not yet possible to draw reliable conclusions on the effectiveness of programmes that specifically aim to prevent gang involvement and subsequent gang violence. As a result, the evidence is inconclusive.

Moderating factors: Key Findings

Across this report, the importance of accounting for the moderating factors, potential facilitators, and potential barriers for prevention interventions for youth violence have been highlighted where evidence is available. Accounting for these factors can encourage effective implementation of these evidence-based interventions.

According to the Early Intervention Foundation the “key principles of effective programmes” for preventing youth violence include:

• Strategies that seek to create positive changes in the lives of youth and/or their families, as well as reduce risk factors and prevent negative outcomes

• The involvement of trained facilitators who are experienced in working with children and families

• Working with young people in their natural setting (e.g. school or home)

• Ensuring that programmes are delivered as originally designed, specified and intended (i.e. high implementation fidelity)

• Regular and/or frequent contacts (e.g. regular weekly contact delivered over the school term or year)

• Encouraging positive interactions between young people, families and teachers/schools (i.e. addressing violence at individual and relationship levels)

• Regular and/or frequent contacts (e.g. regular weekly contact delivered over a school term, the school year or longer)

• Delivery though interactive sessions that provide the opportunity for skills-based demonstrations and practice

In addition, it has been emphasised within the literature that programmes should be theory-driven (Nation et al., 2003; Kovalenko et al., 2020). That is to say that interventions should be based on an explicit theoretical model that describes and justifies how and why an intervention may lead to a change in violence-related outcomes.

Conclusions

The impact of the COVID-19 crisis has the potential to contribute to a rise in youth violence. Moreover, the direct and indirect consequences of violence are broad, extending beyond victims and perpetrators to families and communities. As such, the evidence presented within this report can contribute to decision-making in work to prevent youth violence. School and education-based approaches have been shown to be effective, and the factors that influence their effectiveness have been highlighted. It has been noted, however, that there is limited evidence regarding who is more likely to change (e.g. in relation to age, gender, and sociodemographic status) and when programmes should be implemented. Moreover, it remains to be seen whether interventions of this nature influence youth violence outcomes when delivered out-with education settings or within non-school-aged samples (e.g. those aged 19-29).

Overall, much of the available high-quality evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to prevent youth violence has come from high income countries (such as the USA). As such, it is important to account for cultural context when considering the application of interventions within a Scottish context (Annex B of the report outlines implementation fidelity and associated issues).

Some interventions have been identified as out of scope for this report (see Annex E for a full out of scope list). While these interventions have not been included within this report, this does not necessarily indicate that they do not work. Rather, they have been excluded due to limited available evidence (e.g. high-quality evaluations) or they are beyond the primary prevention focus of this report (e.g. topic out of scope).

Edinburgh: Scottish Government, 2021. 70p.

By Western Australia Corruption and Crime Commission

In the early hours of 12 October 2023, a 16-year-old First Nation's boy, Cleveland Keith Dodd - died in custody. He was found hanging from a damaged vent in the ceiling of his cell at Unit 18 in Casuarina Prison. Cleveland's death comes some 32 years after the conclusion of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The painful truth is that he is by no means the first Indigenous Australian to have died in custody in Western Australia since that time. The profound tragedy is that he is the first child. While the cause and manner of Cleveland's death have not yet been determined by the Coroner, the Commission is satisfied within its jurisdiction that Cleveland fixed a torn piece of t-shirt material to a damaged ceiling vent, the ligature point from which he was later found hanging. At 01:35 on 12 October 2023, Cleveland used his cell call to contact a Youth Custodial Officer to tell him of his intention to hang himself -shortly before doing so. Cleveland's final threat of self-harm was one of at least 17 threats of self-harm or self-harm attempts made by the young people detainees at Unit 18 in the 24 hours leading up to it. Why Cleveland was driven to self-harm is not an inquiry within the jurisdiction of the Commission. The question of how he was able to attempt to take his own life in a tightly controlled space - is. There are several bodies vested with statutory power to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a child in custody. That is for good reason. The death of a child in such circumstances deeply affects not only their family but the Western Australian community as a whole. Broader systemic and cultural issues within the Department of Justice (DOJ) may have contributed to this outcome. In his May 2023 Inspection of Banksia Hill Detention Centre and Unit 18, the Inspector of Custodial Services Mr Eamon Ryan found young people, staff, and a physical environment in acute crisis. In the almost 18 months leading up to his inspection, the rates of self-harm and attempted suicide among young people in custody were unprecedently high. Staffing was in terminal decline. These wider considerations may form part of the Coronial inquest into Cleveland's death or the inquiries of the other authorities. The Commission has a narrow but important jurisdiction. Until 2014 the Commission also had jurisdiction in respect of public officers who engage in conduct that constitutes or involves a breach of the trust placed in the public officer by reason of his or her office of employment as a public officer and could constitute a disciplinary offence providing reasonable grounds for termination of employment. In 2014 Parliament removed that jurisdiction from the Commission and vested it in the Public Sector Commission. Therefore, acts of neglect or misfeasance which do not disclose a possible offence of 2 or more years' imprisonment are outside the Commission's jurisdiction. The Commission is empowered to investigate serious misconduct. Serious misconduct is defined in the Corruption, Crime and Misconduct Act 2003 (CCM Act) s 4. To constitute serious misconduct under s 4(a) or (b), a public officer must have acted or failed to act corruptly. Corruption has been held to include conduct that involves moral impropriety in public administration, or some perversion of the proper performance of the duties of office.1 There was no evidence giving rise to a reasonable suspicion that any public officer had engaged in conduct of that kind. As a result, the Commission concentrated on investigating whether any public officer may have engaged in serious misconduct under s 4(c), by committing an offence punishable by 2 or more years' imprisonment while acting or purporting to act in his or her official capacity. The scope of the Commission's investigation was limited to forming opinions asto whether any public officer committed an offence punishable by 2 or more years' imprisonment. The purpose of the investigation was to determine whether any public officers engaged in conduct of that kind in the execution of their duties at Unit 18 at Casuarina Prison from 10 to 12 October 2023. On 12 October 2023, the DOJ notified the Commission of Cleveland's critical incident.2 After assessing the matter, on 20 October 2023 the Commission formed Operation Lowestoft to investigate. The same day, the Commission took the unusual step of making a public announcement in relation to the investigation, given the extensive reporting, public interest and the seriousness of the incident. On 2 November 2023, a member of Cleveland's family made a report directly to the Commission.3 The Commission's inquiry focused on the actions of the five DOJ Youth Custodial Officers (YCOs) and one nurse contracted to the DOJ who worked the night shift during which Cleveland self-harmed. A significant amount of CCTV footage and a large volume of records were obtained. Interviews with witnesses were conducted. The DOJ fully cooperated with the Commission's investigation. All five YCOs and the Nurse were examined under oath or affirmation between 29 January and 2 February 2023. Between 5 and 8 February 2023, the Unit Manager of the day shift at Unit 18 on 11 October 2023, the Superintendent of Unit 18, Mr Douglas Coyne, and the Deputy Commissioner for Women, Ms Christine Ginbey, who was at the time the Deputy Commissioner for Women and Young People, were examined under oath or affirmation. Having carefully weighed the benefits of public exposure and public awareness against the potential for prejudice or privacy infringements, the Commissioner did not determine that it was in the public interest to open those examinations to the public. Nonetheless, the Commission considered that there was a strong public interest in the Commission investigating the persons present at Unit 18 on 11 and 12 October 2023, and those who supervised them. Under their watch - a boy died. The Commission's mandate was to investigate and expose any possible serious misconduct by those who may have played a part in it. The criminal offences that the Commission's investigation centred around were those of the falsification of a record by a public officer contrary to the Criminal Code s 85, an act or omission causing bodily harm or danger under the Criminal Code s 304 (arising by way of a breach of the duty to provide the necessaries of life under the Criminal Code s 262) and failing to protect a child from harm pursuant to the Children and Community Services Act 2004 (CCS Act) s 101. The Commission analysed the information gathered by the investigation. The Commission assessed the evidence of all the witnesses who gave evidence. In the Commission's opinion each of the witnesses was genuinely affected by Cleveland's death. There were undoubtedly breaches of DOJ procedures and policies that occurred on the night of Cleveland's self-harm. There may have been conduct engaged in that constitutes misfeasance or misconduct of another kind described in the CCM Act s 4(d). That is a matter about which the Commission has no jurisdiction to form an opinion. While Cleveland's death is plainly a devastating outcome of the events that occurred between 10 and 12 October 2023, in the Commission's assessment, there is no evidence to suggest that the public officers involved committed an offence punishable by 2 or more years' imprisonment in the execution of their duties at Unit 18 during that time. Consequently, the Commission has formed no opinions of serious misconduct.   

Northbridge, WA: The Commission, 2024. 70p.

Edited by: Joseph Giordmaina and Michela Scalpello

In 2019, a group or representatives from various countries interested in education and rehabilitation in prisons, through the Erasmus+ programme, sub-programme for Support for Policy Reform, submitted an application according the call for proposal EACEA-34-2019 in the Action: Social Inclusion through Education, Training and Youth. The focus of this sub action is the Social Inclusion and Common Values: The Contribution in the Field of Education. The partners meet informally to discuss the application, and decided to focus on an inclusive approach to persons in prison, social rehabilitation and education. Following the application stage, the partners were awarded funding for a three-year project entitled: Inclusive Approach to Inmate Social Rehabilitation and Education, the acronym of which is REEDU. The partnership is made up of the applicant organisation, Centre for Education and Culture Trebnje (CIK), The Slovenia Association for Social Work (ACSW), the Prison Education and Re-Entry Platform, University of Malta (UM), the International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology Europe (IACFP Europe), the Bremen Ministry of Justice and Constitution and Baia Mare Prison, Romania. The partnership was rewarded close to half a million euros to complete the project. The Project This project promotes the idea that resilience and desistence to crime need the support of the family and the community, and that it is necessary for successful rehabilitative programmes in prisons, particularly those focused on work with juveniles, to include significant others in their programmes. The family is considered to be the first model of a community in which we socialise, in which we share values, such as those of truth, respect, love and solidarity (Brighouse & Swift, 2014). It is the place where we are nurtured and initiated in the norms of the society we live in. These values are then shared with the extended family, and eventually with the outside world, such as schools, the place of work and one’s greater social circle. 

By Melissa M. Labriola, Samuel Peterson, Dulani Woods, Michael J. D. Vermeer, Brian A. Jackson

Based on a one-day count, the number of youth held in juvenile justice facilities declined 77 percent between 2000 and 2020. As a result, the number of residential placement facilities has also decreased, by 50 percent. This decrease is starkest among large facilities, which have decreased 74 percent from 1997 to 2019. Facility closure has gained attention and support for several reasons, such as investments in alternative rehabilitation and community-based programs, cost savings, and recognition of the need to treat youth involved in the juvenile justice system with a focus on rehabilitation rather than punitive measures. The decisions to close these facilities are complex.

This report presents findings and recommendations from an expert panel that explored challenges and opportunities associated with closing juvenile residential facilities and implementing community-based alternatives. The highest-priority needs centered on equity and disparity and the need for family engagement throughout the punitive process. These results are pertinent to a wide audience, including justice-system stakeholders, community corrections practitioners, the research community, and funders or grant-making organizations

Rand. 2024. 24p.

By Carey Marr, Sara Singh, Claire Gaskin, John Kasinathan, Trisha Lloyd & Kimberlie Dean

Past research suggests that diverting young people away from the criminal justice system and into mental health services can reduce subsequent reoffending, but the impact of such programs on the rates of timely mental health service contact are largely unknown. In this study, we examined a sample of 523 young people who were deemed eligible for mental health diversion between 2008 and 2015. Around half (47%) of these young people were granted diversion by a Magistrate. Overall, the levels of timely mental health service contact after court finalization, even for those who were granted diversion, appeared low given that the purpose of diversion is to facilitate such contact for all those diverted. Specifically, only 22% of those who were granted community-based diversion and 62% of individuals granted inpatient-based diversion had mental health service contact within 7 days of court finalization. Rates of health contact were much lower for those who were not granted either type of diversion (8% and 23%, respectively). Diversion was associated with a significant reduction in reoffending rates, but the impact of early mental health service contact was less clear. There is a need to understand the reasons why many young people are not accessing appropriate mental health services following diversion in order to improve outcomes and fully realize the intended benefits of mental health court diversion.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FORENSIC MENTAL HEALTH, 2024, VOL. 23, NO. 3, 204–216https://doi.org/10.1080/14999013.2023.2276961

By Eleanor Staples and Jo Staines

This research sought to provide evidence about care-experienced children’s involvement with YJSs from the perspectives of both professionals and children. It looks at how YJS professionals understand care-experienced children’s needs and challenges and what barriers exist to working with them. It also explores perceived success factors, roles and relationships with multi-agency partners, and the impact of policy instruments designed to reduce the numbers of care-experienced children entering the youth justice system.

Research & Analysis Bulletin 2024/03 Manchester, UK: HM Inspectorate of Probation, 2024. 52p.

By Elizabeth Cauffman

With support from NIJ and others, the University of California (UC), Irvine and the Superior Court of California, Orange County engaged in a collaborative effort to evaluate a Young Adult Court (YAC) that specifically handles justice-system-involved 18- to 25-year-old young men in Orange County, California. The study is a randomized controlled trial that follows young men in the YAC treatment group as well as similar young men who are processed in traditional court (“control”) for 30 months after their enrollment into the court (YAC treatment) or study (control). For this project, the research study team has interviewed the young men every 3 to 6 months for 30 months (baseline; 3-month follow-up, 6-month follow-up, 12-month follow-up, 18-month follow up, 24-month follow-up, and 30-month follow-up). Questions in the research interviews cover various domains, including criminal and antisocial behavior, perceptions of the legal system, psychological development, psychosocial maturity, social context (e.g., peer groups, family support), and environmental factors (e.g., neighborhood disorder). We also collect data from two additional sources for YAC treatment participants actively engaged in the court (i.e., pre-graduation). First, we conduct 10-minute interviews with YAC participants before or after their court hearings to assess their perceptions and experiences of the court as it unfolds. Second, case managers and the YAC probation officer submit reviews of each participant’s progress in the program. The primary goal of the study is to understand whether the YAC improves life outcomes for the young men by reducing recidivism, reducing antisocial behavior,  improving health, improving developmental and psychological outcomes, and/or promoting positive socio-economic and educational outcomes. When data collection is complete, another goal is to examine whether the YAC reduces racial, ethnic, and socio-economic disparities across the life-course– particularly after YAC graduation. In addition to designing and launching the brand new Orange County YAC, this NIJ-sponsored project also aimed to describe the perceived successes and challenges associated with involvement in another, pre-existing YAC: The San Francisco Young Adult Court (which was established in 2015; https://sf.courts.ca.gov/divisions/collaborative-courts/young-adult-court). For this component of the project, our goal was to use data from the San Francisco YAC to inform and improve the Orange County YAC. 

Washington, DC: U.S. National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Program, 2024. 23p.

By Jack Cattell, Sarah Webb, Ammeline Wang, Kasra Aghajani, Sophia Hasapopoulos, and Lorraine Khan

This evaluation has found that the Youth Justice Reform Programme (YJRP) foundations have been laid, and better outcomes were reported, particularly for the workforce. The Youth Custody Service (YCS) can build on these to sustain and improve the changes so it can implement the individualised approach fully. 2.1 Background Charlie Taylor’s (2016) review of the youth justice system found several shortcomings in the youth custody system, including poor safety, missed education opportunities, insufficient staff skills, and disjointed resettlement pathways. The government’s response was to launch a series of initiatives jointly known as the YJRP. The YJRP covered custody and community management of children who offend. This evaluation focused on custody changes. The YJRP aimed to (i) deliver an individualised approach through an integrated framework of care (ii) create a larger, more resilient, and more stable workforce with specialist skills and (iii) provide strong leadership and governance to support a rehabilitation culture. This report responds to the first two aims. The programme was composed of four work strands: (i) Education and Sports (ii) Behaviour Management (iii) Workforce and (iv) Leadership and Culture. Under each of those four work strands, sets of work packages were implemented to achieve the programme’s aims: education and sports provision in the secure estate; behaviour management packages to make child custody safer; workforce packages for improved recruitment and training; and leadership and culture packages to increase the capacity of the YCS.

2.2 Evaluation approach The evaluation of the YJRP ran from spring 2020 to spring 2022. It aimed to i) provide evidence of the implementation and delivery of the YJRP and ii) assess the programme’s impact on key outcomes of interest (such as assaults on the estate and increase in the workforce) robustly. The evaluation consisted of three strands: a scoping study, a process evaluation, and an impact evaluation. The Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) within the evaluation’s scope were Feltham A, Cookham Wood, Parc, Werrington, and Wetherby.1 The secure schools remain part of the overall YJRP, though the first secure school (Oasis Restore) will be evaluated separately. The scoping study identified the baseline position of each YOI, such as current population size, composition, staffing level, and when the YJRP work packages were or were to be implemented. The process evaluation implemented a theory of change2 approach to understand how operational and contextual factors contributed to child and workforce outcomes. Data were collected from staff and children in the YOIs through semi-structured interviews and an online survey. The impact evaluation estimated the YJRP’s impact on the number of staff and their time in post and the number of assaults in the YOIs using an interrupted time series analysis where longitudinal data from before the intervention was used to construct a counterfactual. Given the limited availability of a strong counterfactual, the conclusions are suggestive rather than definitive. A children’s survey was designed to measure their attitudes to relevant elements of the YJRP. 2.3 Evaluation key findings Building a professional, specialist workforce The aim of the YJRP’s Workforce work strand was to (i) create a bigger, more resilient, and more stable workforce (ii) employ more staff with specialist skills and (iii) create a culture change for staff who want to work with children with a focus on rehabilitation. Creating a bigger, more resilient, and more stable workforce Staffing levels increased at every YOI that participated in the study. Further, the proportion of staff who remained in their post for at least 12 months increased after implementing the reforms. However, changes are still required to recruitment strategies and the workforce and management culture to allow for a more resilient and more stable workforce. 

Employing staff with specialist skills More staff were trained and completed training on the delivery of CuSP3 and the Framework for Integrated Care (SECURE STAIRS)4 under the Unitas training and foundation degree. The findings also suggested a need for more specific training on the core elements of the YJRP and professional development, as well as time for staff, such as study days, to complete relevant training. Culture change towards a rehabilitative environment The YJRP was found to have changed the culture of YOIs and STCs to a more rehabilitative environment. Staff members reported taking a more rehabilitative approach to working with children, which contributed to a better relationship between staff and children. The shift to a rehabilitative approach was also reflected in the responses gathered from children, who reported feeling safe, being treated fairly by staff members, and having their needs better understood by staff. Delivering an individualised approach Central to the YJRP was an intention to offer support that is closely aligned with the needs of individual children.5 The individualised approach has education and wellbeing at its heart and is delivered principally through the Behaviour Management and the Education and Sports work strands. Behaviour Management Results were inconclusive about the impact of the YJRP on child-on-child and child-on staff assault rates within the YOIs, due to COVID masking any impact of the programme. Progress to make sites safer, however, was attained through other means, such as staff support for children, making them feel safer and as though they were being treated fairly. This approach helped children learn from their mistakes and de-escalate challenging situations. Staff and children also reported that the development of consistent relationships facilitated good discipline. The Framework for Integrated Care (SECURE STAIRS) and CuSP generally supported positive outcomes for some children, such as improved and supportive relationships with staff, feelings of safety, and confidence when leaving the establishment. However, children’s feedback in the survey suggested case workers and CuSP did not benefit all children, particularly those with ethnic minority backgrounds. Education and Sports The provision of education was hindered by the COVID pandemic, with a lack of face-to face education. Nevertheless, most children regularly attended the face-to-face classes available and reported a good choice of courses. Many children also reported being involved in various sports and physical activities. Further improvements could be made in (i) skill-building for careers (ii) educational level of courses and (iii) staff training to deliver all courses sufficiently.       

London: UK Ministry of Justice, 2024. 76p.

By Philip Baiden , Yangjin Park , Catherine A LaBrenz , Saltanat Childress 

Although studies have investigated and found an association between victimization and weapon carrying, few studies have examined the association between exposure to neighborhood violence (NV) and gun carrying among adolescents. The objective of this study was to examine the cross-sectional association between exposure to NV and gun carrying among adolescents. Data for this study came from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. An analytic sample of 17,033 adolescents aged 14 to 18 years old (51.7% male) was analyzed using logistic regression with complementary log-log link function. The outcome variable investigated in this study is gun carrying and was measured as a binary variable, whereas the main explanatory variable examined in this study was exposure to NV, which was also measured as a binary variable. Of the 17,033 adolescents, 4.2% carried a weapon during the past year, and 18.7% were exposed to NV. Controlling for the effects of other factors, adolescents who were exposed to NV had more than double the odds of carrying a gun when compared to their counterparts not exposed to NV (adjusted odds ratio = 2.33, 95% Confidence Intervals [1.69, 3.23]). Other significant factors associated with gun carrying include being a male, non-Hispanic Black, being threatened or injured with a weapon, use of alcohol, cigarette smoking, and misuse of prescription opioids. High parental monitoring was protective against gun carrying. The findings of this study underscore the importance of developing age-appropriate intervention strategies to reduce gun carrying among adolescents. School counselors and other professionals working with adolescents in disadvantaged neighborhoods should actively engage parents in assessments and interventions.

Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume 39, Issue 15-16, August 2024, Pages 3396-3423

By Richard Mendel

Well designed alternative-to-incarceration programs, such as those highlighted in Effective Alternatives to Youth Incarceration: What Works With Youth Who Pose Serious Risks to Public Safety,1 are critically important for reducing overreliance on incarceration. But support for good programs is not the only or even the most important ingredient for minimizing youth incarceration. To reduce overreliance on youth incarceration, alternative-to-incarceration programs must be supported by youth justice systems that heed adolescent development research, make timely and evidence-informed decisions about how delinquency cases are handled, and institutionalize youth only as a last resort when they pose an immediate threat to public safety. In addition, systems must make concerted, determined efforts to re duce the long standing biases which have perpetuated the American youth justice system’s glaring racial and ethnic disparities in confinement. This report will highlight state and local laws, policies and practices that have maximized the effective use of alternative-to-incarceration programs and minimized the unnecessary incarceration of youth who can be safely supervised and supported at home.   

Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project, 2023. 25p.

By Ciera Phung-Marion | 99 Wash. L. Rev. 277 (2024)March 1, 2024

Abstract: In June 2022, the United States Supreme Court released the historic decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, holding that the U.S. Constitution does not protect an individual’s right to an abortion. Dobbs overturned many cases, including J.D. v. Azar, which previously protected abortion rights for unaccompanied migrant youth in federal detention facilities. Post-Dobbs, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)—the agency responsible for caring for detained immigrant children—still protects abortion rights as part of its own internal policy. Without judicial precedent, however, this policy lacks the stability to truly protect the rights of the children in its care. This Comment discusses the impact of Dobbs on the rights of unaccompanied immigrant children (UCs) detained in immigration custody by ORR. Now that detained UCs’ right to abortion is only protected by agency policy, it can be changed by ORR without going through notice and comment rulemaking. This Comment explains the historical context of the rights of migrant children and the right to an abortion. It advances the argument that states that want to protect abortion for detained immigrant youth must incorporate those rights in child welfare laws.

99 Wash. L. Rev. 277 (2024)March 1, 2024

By Clarence Okoh

Public and private actors are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and other big data technologies to engineer new futures for structural racism and social inequality in the United States, a phenomenon that the sociologist Ruha Benjamin has termed the “New Jim Code.”

These technologies are upending decades of civil and human rights legal standards, expanding mass criminalization, restricting access to social services, and enabling systemic discrimination in housing, employment, and health care, among other areas.3 The New Jim Code carries unique threats to youth and young adults of color, especially in the context of K-12 public schools.

In recent years, federal policymakers have taken steps to address the societal implications of AI and big data technologies, including the White House Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, President Biden’s Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence, and the U.S. Department of Education’s guidance on AI in schools. However, these efforts have largely failed to address the specific harms that these technologies raise for youth and young adults of color and youth from other historically marginalized communities.

As the infrastructure of police surveillance grows in public schools, communities must be prepared to safeguard the rights and freedoms of students and families. This report is designed to help youth justice advocates, youth leaders, educators, caregivers, and policymakers understand and challenge the impact of school surveillance, data criminalization, and police surveillance technologies in schools.

This report includes:

• An analysis of six key facts about the impacts of data criminalization and school surveillance technologies on education equity.

• A case study of an AI school surveillance technology that can land children in adult misdemeanor court.

• Key recommendations for education policymakers and school district leaders for advancing youth data justice.

Washington, DC:CLASP, 2024. 17p.

By Hannah Sutherland, Jessica Norton, Danielle Munguia, Trevor Fronius

Research on the factors that contribute to male gang involvement is extensive and varied. It includes studies of environmental, cultural, and social factors that increase the risks of gang involvement or lead to gang involvement, including how these factors vary by race and ethnicity. These factors are typically referred to as “push” and “pull” factors. Push factors are external to the gang (e.g., history of abuse, lack of parental support or supervision) and push an individual toward membership, and pull factors are internal to the gang (e.g., street credibility, protection, economic benefits) and draw an individual into membership. This paper extends the focus on push and pull factors by providing a systematic review of research from the past decade specific to female gang involvement. Until recently, research on the roles of females in gangs has been minimal because violence and gang membership have historically been thought to be male-dominated phenomena (Esbensen et al., 1999). Females have commonly been thought to be auxiliary members or nonactive members because of the roles they would stereotypically inherit or be placed into by male gang members. For example, initial research on the female roles within gangs was focused on narrow parameters regarding what constitutes an appropriate or even possible set of gang activities for girls and women (Coughlin & Venkatesh, 2003). These activities were usually based around sexual favors to their male counterparts, weapon concealing, drug carrying, and whatever else may be instructed to them by the dominant males. Furthermore, longitudinal research has not been conducted on the push and pull factors that attract females to gang involvement. Often this research has disregarded gender differences when observing push and pull factors by assuming factors were the same across genders. Additionally, insight into female gang involvement has often reflected male-gendered perspectives, suggesting a deficit model for gang affiliation and engagement (Deuchaur et al., 2020). However, some literature has provided fresh perspectives that argue that female gang affiliation is much more “agentic” than previously thought (Bandura, 2001). For instance, Moore and Hagedorn (2001, p. 3) found that gang membership can be viewed as an “assertion of independence” from familial, cultural, and class constraints. In this way, the gang lifestyle offers females empowerment and the prospect of individualism that counters previously reflected gendered perspectives that suggested a deficit model of gang affiliation and engagement (Deuchar et al., 2020). In a qualitative comparative study, Deuchar and colleagues (2020) compared female gang involvement in Los Angeles and Glasgow and found that the method of entry and point of entry into gangs were especially important to female respondents. Their entry determined not only how they were viewed, categorized, and perceived by their male counterparts but also how they were positioned within their own street gang hierarchy. This finding challenges the common assumption that females join gangs to be affiliated with male gangs. In fact, it could be argued that street gangs offer females a variety of reasons for joining—for some, gang affiliation is a way to escape from past experiences; for others, gang affiliation is a way in (i.e., past experiences have normalized gang involvement); and for others, gang affiliation may be a way of achieving social mobility and power (Deuchar et al., 2020). Although some factors may be similar for male and female gang involvement, others may be uniquely identified by expanding the research on female gang involvement. To start, numerous studies have demonstrated that females involved in gangs experience different forms of and more severe victimization than do their male counterparts (Klein & Maxson, 2006; Sutton, 2017; Valasik & Reid, 2019). For example, studies show that many female gang members experience an excessive amount of victimization early in life, even prior to joining a gang (Sutton, 2017). Female gang members often have a history of physical and sexual abuse at home by older male figures who are either family members or family friends (Valasik & Reid, 2019). This victimization is known to continue in various forms between female and male gang members upon joining a gang. Once they join a gang, females are at increased risk of being victimized, especially sexually, by older male counterparts in the gang (Valasik & Reid, 2019). They are also at increased risk of being forced by established female gang members to have sex with multiple male members (Gibson et al., 2012). This form of victimization is rarely experienced by male gang members and is uniquely identified in female gang members. Moreover, another stark gender difference between males and females is that females who experience a lack of family support are at increased risk of joining a gang to fulfill their desire of having an emotionally satisfying familial group, while males are typically seeking adventure and excitement in gang lifestyle and relationships (Valasik & Reid, 2019). Common gang-involved factors such as street status, protection, physical and sexual victimization, delinquency, lack of parental monitoring or support, and a craving for an emotionally satisfying familial peer group are only a few mentioned factors that are not completely generalizable across genders (De La Rue & Espelage, 2014; Deschenes & Esbensen, 1999; Deuchar et al., 2020; Esbensen et al., 1999; Gold, 2000; Simon et al., 2013). In his early research, Gold explored power and status as prominent pull factors due to the significant number of females who join gangs because of limited opportunities in their homes and communities that in turn push them toward gang involvement. His research around female gang involvement showed that roles for female gang members have expanded, and they are no longer viewed as just sexual objects or the girlfriends of male gang members; they have gained their own gang autonomy and control (Gold, 2000). In addition, Gold (2000) researched the ways in which peer relationships among females are fostered in gangs and how such relationships influence their decision to join, stay, and pressure other peers to conduct delinquent activities. Some scholars suggest that females can perceive gangs and gang life as a source of empowerment. According to Gold (2000), many females perceived the gang as a place where they could gain some power and control over their lives. Relatedly, Curry (1998) has suggested that it is important to develop a feminist perspective in order to formulate more useful observations and theories about female gang involvement that counter the initial, hegemonic, male-centered view of gang lifestyle. In other words, a feminist perspective could limit the generalizations made about factors that influence females to join gangs and facilitate a greater inclusion of relevant environmental, cultural, and social factors that promote female gang involvement. The sections that follow describe why and how a systematic review of relevant literature was conducted and then provide a synthesis of the quantitative empirical literature on push and pull factors that influence females to join gangs and on collateral involvement in sex trafficking.

Boston: Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Office of Children, Youth and Families. 2024; 32p.

By Delfina Bilello, Lucy J. Swancott, Juliane A. Kloess, Stephanie Burnett Heyes

Introduction: Gang involvement poses serious risks to young people, including antisocial and criminal behavior, sexual and criminal exploitation, and mental health problems. There is a need for research-informed development of preventive interventions. To this end, we conducted a qualitative study of young people’s responses to an educational virtual reality (VR) experience of an encounter with a gang, to understand young people’s decisions, emotions and consequences. 

Methods: Young people (N = 24 aged 13-15, 11 female, 13 male) underwent the VR experience followed by semi-structured focus group discussions. Questions focused on virtual decision-making (motivations, thoughts, feelings, consequences) and user experiences of taking part. Data were analysed using Thematic Analysis. 

Results: Three themes were developed to represent how participants’ perceptions of the gang, themselves, and the context influenced virtual decisions. Social pressure from the gang competed with participants’ wish to stand by their morals and establish individual identity. The VR setting, through its escalating events and plausible characters, created an “illusion of reality” and sense of authentic decisions and emotions, yielding insights for real-life in a safe, virtual environment. 

Discussion: Findings shed light on processes influencing adolescent decision-making in a virtual context of risk-taking, peer pressure and contact with a gang. Particularly, they highlight the potential for using VR in interventions with young people, given its engaging and realistic nature.

Front. Virtual Real., 16 July 2023

By Andrew McGrath, Alison Gerard, and Emma Colvin

The current study examines the factors underlying pathways from out-of-home care into the criminal justice system. Using a multi-method approach—specifically, court observations, file reviews, and qualitative interviews—we found evidence of how histories of trauma and situational factors relating to the care environment interact to increase criminalization. While many policy initiatives have been developed to address this criminalization, in all parts of our study we found little evidence these are having an impact on practice in relation to care-experienced children. Some innovations we observed in our United Kingdom case study offer potential solutions to address this serious and ongoing problem.

Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 600. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. 2020. 14p.

By William D. Murphy, and Jacqueline Page

Nationally and internationally there has been a heightened awareness and response to the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC)/domestic sex trafficking of children. CSEC “refers to a range of crimes and activities involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of a child for the financial benefit of any person or in exchange for anything of value (including monetary and non-monetary benefits) given or received by any person” (Development Service Group, Inc., 2014). Within the United States, the response has included both federal and state governments’ recognition and efforts to address the issue. Many view the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) as a turning point in formal, organized recognition of the gravity of the issues of sex trafficking including minors. Efforts to combat and prevent CSEC and develop resources to meet the needs of victims of CSEC have continued. The PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008 required the Attorney General to develop and implement a National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction (National Strategy). The first report was published in 2010 and was updated in 2016. Each report included a National Child Exploitation Threat Assessment and identified how the federal government and its partners can address the issue of child exploitation. The 2016 report focused on changes to the child sexual exploitation threat since 2010 and examined potential threats for the next five years. In addition, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), has provided significant funding to both combat human trafficking and assist in essential services being available to victims of trafficking. As a part of this funding, the Office for Juvenile Organizations provides mentoring services for children and youth who are victims of domestic sex trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation and projects focused on preventing the sex trafficking of girls. The National Judicial Institute on Domestic Child Sex Trafficking was created by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges with the goals of helping judicial officers understand the dynamics involved in child sex trafficking, examining legal considerations for victims, and connecting children at risk of, or who have been trafficked, to needed services. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation launched a public awareness campaign in 2014 aimed at educating residents of Tennessee about human trafficking and what they could do to help end trafficking. The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services’ provides a webpage about the commercial sexual exploitation of minors which includes links to resources and information from different organizations. Despite the increased focus and efforts, commercial sexual exploitation of children and domestic sex trafficking continue to be a serious issue impacting our children and youth. Research related to CSEC is ongoing and is important to our understanding of the issue and its impact. The research is also instrumental in developing strategies to prevent the sexual exploitation of children and youth, identifying needed services, and developing appropriate treatment frameworks and modalities for victims of CSEC. There continues to be significant discussion about how we as adults, professionals, and as a society can best help and support the children and youth at risk of or impacted by CSEC. The purpose of this document is to 1) provide a review of the research related to what is currently known about the experiences of children and youth who are commercial sex exploited, 2) discuss possible factors impacting the child/youth’s exit from the sexual exploitation situation and 3) examine what is known about how to best help victims of commercial sexual exploitation including identifying their needs, appropriate approaches and possible interventions.  

Tennessee Joint Task Force for Children’s Justice and Child Sexual Abuse Treatment Committee  2021. 54p.

By The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime’s Observatory of Illicit Economies in South Eastern Europe (SEE-Obs)  

The Western Balkan Six (WB6) has historically not been at the center of attention and research investigating commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Despite a growing body of literature on human trafficking in southeastern Europe generally, there is little data on CSEC specifically. Information is rarely reported by local media, also because the patriarchal and traditional structure of societies in the Western Balkans fuels a widespread belief that sexual exploitation of children either does not exist or is an exception rather than the rule. Very few reports have therefore previously looked at the WB6’s role, its vulnerabilities, and its contribution to the CSEC phenomenon in a comprehensive way. At the same time as CSEC is gaining attention globally, societies and institutions in the Western Balkans continue to have low levels of awareness and capacity to take on the phenomenon. CSEC manifests itself in several interconnected forms in the WB6, including in the sex trafficking of minors, exploitation of children in travel and tourism, early and forced marriage, and sexual exploitation in venues such as brothels, bars, and strip clubs. It is also reflected in the creation and distribution of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) online, including but not limited to the recording, live-streaming, sharing, and downloading of materials depicting minors being sexually exploited. There are also several overlaps between CSEC and other forms of exploitation, including labor exploitation (e.g., begging). Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the WB6, the region was recording an increasing number of CSEC cases. Given the lack of research and court data that could serve as a basis for analysis, there is no common profile of perpetrators involved in CSEC in the region. It seems that perpetrators are operating across the region without much scrutiny, facilitated by digital technologies and networks, the rise in tourism, and widespread weaknesses in the child protection system. Criminal actors also take advantage of the region’s socio-economic vulnerabilities and endemic marginalization, making various ethnic minorities even more vulnerable. This report assesses children’s vulnerability to CSEC across the WB6 and focuses specifically on online sexual exploitation of children and sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism (SECTT). It also provides an overview of what law enforcement authorities, private companies, and civil society organizations are doing – and what they are not doing – to respond to, combat, and prevent the various manifestations of CSEC.

Geneva: SWIT: The Initiative, 2021. 96p.

By Aysegul Kayaoglu

A child laborer makes a most casual sight in Istanbul. In many sectors from construction to textiles, Turkey's business capital is where thousands of children go to work on any day. In this huge metropolis of over 15 million residents, child labor has long been a given. However, is it also inescapable? Are children hopelessly destined for abusive work here forever? This report is the product of a meticulous study conducted by a group of researchers who believe otherwise. They aimed to paint a comprehensive picture of the urban child labor in Istanbul with all its push and pull factors accurately identified for both girls and boys. They went door to door to meet all stakeholders -- children, parents, employers, teachers, elected officials, and experts as well as workers at public agencies and not-for-profit organizations. This summary report pertains to the specific case of Syrian refugee children as well as those of the low-income host community and the extremely impoverished Roma people. There, readers will not only see critical statistics and insights deduced from the interviews but also hear members of those study groups speak for themselves and discuss their experiences, perceptions, hopes, and fears. What follows is a long list of findings and recommendations that could be useful in actual policymaking and implementation.

London: Save the Children International, 2021. 63p.

By The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY)

For over 12 years, hundreds of individuals serving juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) have not received a second look at their sentences despite mandates from the United States Supreme Court limiting the practice and requiring new sentencing procedures for youth. Twenty-two states still legally allow JLWOP and what's worse, certain outlier states are increasing their incarcerated populations of children serving the sentence. These concerns become even more alarming when contextualized in the broader picture. As outlined in this report, the imposition of juvenile life without parole is not only becoming increasingly unusual nationally but also more unequal. In the past 12 years, we've seen an overall 85% decrease in the population of those serving these sentences, while the number of states banning JLWOP has increased by over 800%. However, despite these positive shifts, the percentage of Black children serving juvenile life without parole has risen significantly – from 60% historically to nearly 80% today. The continued legality of life without parole for youth also further enables the legal system to sentence children to other extreme terms. For instance, JLWOP sentences can be used as bargaining chips in plea deals, resulting in children receiving lengthy terms of years or de facto life sentences with minimal chance of parole. Furthermore, in a context where JLWOP is an option, sentencing a child to 20 years may be more accepted despite the fact that this exceeds the maximum sentence for adults in many countries around the world. As this report details, the use of JLWOP is increasingly unusual and increasingly unequal. And when contextualized in these trends, its persistence in outlier states is exceedingly unacceptable. The more unusual and unequal it is to sentence a child to life without parole nationally; the worse outlier states fare when held up to globally accepted standards of decency for our youth. Taken together, the need to address the unfinished business of ending juvenile life without parole is urgent. 

Washington, DC: CFSY, 2024. 13p