Competencies for Training Juvenile Services on JusticeInvolved Youth with Traumatic Brain Injury

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52935/24.181523.1

Keywords:

Traumatic Brain Injury, Corrections, Juvenile, Staff, Training, Competencies

Abstract

Research indicates young individuals with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in juvenile justice settings lack essential support, mainly due to staff members' insufficient knowledge and skills in TBI-related areas stemming from a lack of relevant professional development. This study aimed to improve services for justice involved youths with TBI in juvenile correction facilities by establishing empirically validated core competencies tailored to their needs. Through a Delphi study involving experts in juvenile services, juvenile corrections, TBI, transition services, and professional development, we identified and refined a set of 44 competencies distributed across six domains: knowledge (12 competencies), screening (6 competencies), eligibility (3 competencies), assessment (4 competencies), intervention (10 competencies), and community reentry (9 competencies).

Author Biographies

  • Dawn A. Rowe, Clemmer College of Education and Human Development, East Tennessee State University

    Dawn A. Rowe, PhD
    Dawn A. Rowe, PhD, is the Quillen Chair of Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Clemmer College of Education and Human Development and Professor in the department of Educational Foundations and Special Education at East Tennessee State University. Her research and scholarship are focused on three main areas of research: evidence-based practices and predictors of post-school success for students with disabilities, life skills interventions (e.g., goal setting, self-management, communication skills), and professional development (e.g., families, in-service and pre-service educators). She has over 20 years’ experience working in the adult service system and as a teacher and transition specialist for youth with disabilities in the public-school system. Dr. Rowe’s publications have focused on transition assessment, transition skill instruction for low incidence disabilities, and family engagement. 

  • Deanne K. Unruh, Secondary Special Education and Transition, University of Oregon

    Deanne K Unruh, PhD
    Deanne Unruh, PhD, Research Professor and Associate Vice President of Research at the University of Oregon. Dr. Unruh currently is the Co-Director of National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: the Collaborative. Her externally funded research focuses on high risk adolescents (e.g., youth with ED, juvenile justice involvement). Dr. Unruh has received external research funding from multiple entities including Office of Special Education Programs, Institute of Educational Sciences, and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Programs. In her role at the University of Oregon, she co-directs the Secondary Special Education and Transition (SSET) research unit. Her research expertise focuses on transition and re-entry practices for justice-involved adolescents with disabilities. Prior to coming to UO, Dr. Unruh was a teacher and administrator in alternative schools for marginalized youth in urban and under-resourced settings for more than 12 years. 

  • Kyle Reardon, Secondary Special Education and Transition, University of Oregon

    Kyle Reardon, PhD
    Kyle Reardon, PhD, is a Research Associate in the Secondary Special Education and Transition (SSET) research unit in the College of Education at the University of Oregon. His research is broadly focused on secondary transitions and postsecondary preparedness for individuals with disabilities. Prior to earning his doctoral degree at the UO, Kyle served in a number of capacities within the field including behavior interventionist, customized employment coordinator, high school SPED teacher, and as the Executive Director of a residential college support program for students with disabilities. Kyle is the project coordinator for several federally funded research projects focused on improving outcomes for students with disabilities involved in juvenile justice.

  • Katherine W. Bromley, Center on Human Development, University of Oregon

    Katherine W. Bromley, PhD
    Katherine W. Bromley, PhD, is a Research Associate in the Center on Human Development research unit in the College of Education at the University of Oregon. Her research focuses on youth with disabilities transitioning to postsecondary settings, predictors of postsecondary education outcomes, work-based learning experiences, and social capital. Dr. Bromley has received external research funding from the Office of Special Education Programs and serves as a methodologist on federally funded projects. Prior to earning her doctoral degree at the UO, Dr. Bromley served as an access and learning specialist for college students with disabilities, and she is a licensed special education teacher.

  • Laurie E. Powell, d Center for Brain Injury Research and Training, University of Oregon

    Laurie E. Powell, PhD
    Laurie Ehlhardt Powell, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor at CBIRT and retired speech-language pathologist specializing in cognitive rehabilitation for people living with acquired brain injury. She has directed NIH and NIDILRR-funded research and development projects targeting the systematic instruction of assistive technology for cognition as well as frontline caregiver training. She has served as Project Director for Oregon's Traumatic Brain Injury State Partnership Grant and is currently Emeritus Board Member of the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA).

  • Sara Izzard, Secondary Special Education and Transition, University of Oregon

    Sara Izzard
    Sara Izzard is a doctoral candidate at the University of Oregon. Her current research interests are PBIS,
    implementation science, and emotional/behavioral disorders. 

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Published

01/14/2026

Issue

Vol. 38 No. 1 (2024): JAJJS 2024 Issue

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Articles

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Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Applied Juvenile Justice Services

How to Cite

Competencies for Training Juvenile Services on JusticeInvolved Youth with Traumatic Brain Injury. (2026). Journal of Applied Juvenile Justice Services, 38(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.52935/24.181523.1

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