Blog: Positive Youth Development

As a follow-up to yesterday's guest post, "The Power of Second Chances: Employment After Treatment," I thought it would be great to share with you a fantastic post from 2007 by Barbara Dwyer called "Job Coaching," for mentors, professionals, and caregivers working with at-risk youth to prepare them for getting a job. (Hat tip to Paul Savery for calling it to my attention.) 
The article appeared in Children's Voice, a publication of the Child Welfare League of America's (CWLA). Here's some of the highlights: 

Here's more poetry from teens in King County Juvenile Detention in Seattle. These youth participated in the Pongo Teen Writing program; their work appeared in a 2007 collection under the title, Love is Like All the Colors of the Doors in Juvie.
I'll start by quoting the closing stanza of a poem, "Dreams," by the Young Men's Group:
Hold on, be strong
Because if dreams die
Life is like being incarcerated
How's that for summing up the emotional and physical realities that teens in the justice system face? 
 

 
I thought the next poem was appropriate for this blog because of the insight the young writer shows into various kinds of addictions. (Follow the link in the title to see it on the Pongo site.)

Having trouble rounding up mentors for youth in the juvenile justice system?
Then you won't want to miss this webinar from the National Reentry Resource Center and the Center for the Advancement of Mentoring titled, "Identifying and Engaging Reentry Mentors for Justice-Involved Youth." (Follow the link to register.)
[UPDATE (Nov. 12): Go here to access the archived webinar and PowerPoint slides.]
The second of two webinars, it's scheduled for 12:30 pm PST / 3:30 pm EST on November 1, 2010. It'll focus on working with family members to identify "pro-social support" for youth, as well as finding and training extended family and other "natural mentors" in each youth's life to support the mentor and help the young person return to the community.
All of which sounds like it would apply to any youth in the justice system, not just those reentering the community from a locked facility.
According to the press release, speakers will include:

• David Altschuler, Principal Research Scientist, Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies
• Shay Bilchik, Founder and Director, Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, Georgetown University
• Roger Jarjoura, Associate Professor, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis; Founder, Aftercare for the Incarcerated through Mentoring
• Dennis Talbert, President, Michigan Neighborhood Partnership

Work with teens in the juvenile justice system who sit on a youth advisory council? Do you need some help coaching them on how to understand budgeting or how to build and use ... (drum roll, please) ... logic models? 
The Finance Project is way ahead of you. They've produced two excellent guides:

1. The Youth Guide to Budgeting
2. The Youth Guide to Developing Logic Models

 
(Hat tip to findyouthinfo.gov.)

Consider this for a moment: 

What should recovery-oriented care for adolescents with substance abuse issues or co-occurring mental health issues look like? 

Have that picture firmly in your mind? Okay, good. Does it change if the youth in question are in the juvenile justice system? If so, how? 
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
To aid you in your thinking, I'm attaching a copy of the report from a 2008 meeting sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The report is titled, "Designing a Recovery-Oriented Care Model for Adolescents and Transition Age Youth with Substance Use or Co-Occurring Mental Health Disorders." Check out pp. 36-39 for themes from the meeting, along with specific recommendations. 
Just in case it's useful, you may also want to review this "Working Definition of Recovery." The actual definition's quite brief, but this two-page handout also includes guiding principles and elements of systems of care. Also, check out this report from the Coalition for Juvenile Justice called "Positive Youth Justice: Framing Justice Interventions Using the Concepts of Positive Youth Development." It offers insights about the benefits of using positive youth development to help youth contribute to community life.
Feel free to leave me a comment below.

Juvenile Justice System News

• We're glad to welcome a new juvenile justice reform organization to the national ring this week: Families and Friends Organizing for Reform for Juvenile Justice. It was founded by Tracy McClard, whose son committed suicide in an adult facility - you can see her testify at a legislative hearing here. (Hat tip to @wildclearing.)
• Last week, I posted an announcement from the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) on its first round of grand awards to support mentoring for youth in the juvenile justice system (see next to last bullet).

Turns out I should've linked to John Kelly's column in Youth Today, where he laid out a very long list of recent grant awards in the juvenile justice arena (subscription required) from the OJP's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Among other things, he reported on awards for a multi-state mentoring initiative, violence prevention, gang prevention, family drug courts, and more.

 
Resources for the Juvenile Justice System

• The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has completed its first-ever "Census of Juveniles on Probation" (CJP), which it says "provides critical data on the characteristics of youth on probation, the nature of their offenses, and how they are served." Initial findings were presented at the American Probation and Parole Association's Annual Training Institute on August 17, 2010. I can't find a report on line, but I expect it'll be out shortly. If I've just overlooked it, let me know where I can find it and I'll post it here. 
• Work with Native American youth, or for a tribe? You might be interested in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP) Tribal Youth Program Web site. There, you'll find funding opportunities, resources on culturally appropriate prevention and intervention strategies, and federally-recognized tribes can request "web-based resources, individualized technical assistance, or on-site training or technical assistance."

Want to help kids in the justice system? Just ask juvenile probation officers what the kids on their caseloads need to be successful. They'll give you a list -- but a surprisingly short one.
Two of the items on everyone's list: helping teens stay in school or find a job. But these can be a challenge for young adults in the juvenile justice system. Youth of color often face the biggest barriers - helping them in these two areas could impact rates of disproportionate minority contact (DMC).
 
Here's two publications from Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) that might help:
 

 

Want to plan an event for teens celebrating and promoting recovery from substance abuse? Want ideas from others?
SAMHSA recently released a toolkit to help individuals and organizations plan recovery events in conjunction with Recovery Month 2010, and to provide you with tools and educational materials to distribute in your community.
As we discussed in a previous post, 2010 marks Recovery Month’s 21st year, and we are celebrating with the theme “Join the Voices of Recovery: Now More Than Ever!” The theme emphasizes how high levels of stress may contribute to or exacerbate alcohol or drug use, which can lead to a substance use disorder or relapse. The toolkit also raises awareness about the increasing level of stress in society and the impact it has on addiction.
 
The toolkit, available online and in hard copy, is divided into three sections: media outreach, targeted outreach, and resources. The media outreach section includes tips and template documents to help plan and promote your events. The targeted outreach section provides details about substance use disorders that are tailored for specific audiences. The resource section shares information to help you prepare for events and suggests organizations in which you could consider partnering.