Moving the Needle: Cultivating Systemic Change in Juvenile Services

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52935/21.1881545.06

Abstract

Approximately 1.7 million delinquency cases are disposed in juvenile courts annually (Puzzanchera, Adams, & Sickmund, 2011). Of these youth, tens of thousands experience confinement in the US (Sawyer, 2019), while hundreds of thousands experience probation or are sentenced to community based programs (Harp, Muhlhausen, & Hockenberry, 2019). These youth are placed in the care of programs overseen by directors and clinicians. A survey of facility directors and clinicians from member agencies of the National Partnership for Juvenile Services (NPJS) Behavioral Health Clinical Services (BHCS) committee identified three primary concerns practitioners face in caring for these youth; 1) low resources to recruit and retain quality staff, 2) training that is often not a match for, and does not equip staff to effectively manage the complex needs of acute youth, and 3) the perspective of direct care as an unskilled entry-level position with limited impact on youth’s rehabilitation. This article seeks to address these issues and seeks to highlight potential best practices to resolve for those obstacles within juvenile services.

Author Biographies

  • Kellie Rhodes, Limbic Legacy

    Kellie Rhodes
    Kellie Rhodes is an author, keynote speaker, Founder and Executive Director of Limbic Legacy, and the Institute of Limbic Health. She hosts the Spitfires and Hotshots podcast, serves on the Executive Board of the National Partnership for Juvenile Services, and chairs the Behavioral Health Clinical Services committee. Her decades of experience working with youth and families across the Child Welfare-Youth Corrections continuum serve as the foundation for her unique perspective on prevention and treatment. Her professional focus is to educate youth, families, and the professionals who serve them, in the naturally occurring biological processes that often bring youth into the system; to prevent system-involvement and improve treatment. Additional works by Kellie include; The Pursuit of Homeostasis: Closing the Gap between science and practice in the treatment of aggression and violence, and Lion in the Field: Survival Instructions from our Ancestors.

  • Aisland Rhodes, Limbic Legacy

    Aisland Rhodes
    Aisland Rhodes, a resident of Denver (CO), is the co-founder of the Institute of Limbic Health, an author, and speaker. She co-hosts the national podcast Spitfires and Hotshots, which bridges the gap between science and practice in the treatment of youth demonstrating violence and aggression. She has built strong relationships with scientists whose research augments the health equity of youth and families around the world. Aisland is a passionate advocate for advancing best practices in juvenile services through data driven approaches that integrate contemporary science and improve the lives of youth and staff.

  • Wayne Bear, National Partnership for Juvenile Services

    Wayne Bear, MSW
    Wayne R. Bear, MSW is the CEO of the National Partnership for Juvenile Services (NPJS), the Project Lead for Juv-CMS Data Management System, and the Chairperson of the NPJS Critical Issues and Policy Direction Committee, which is responsible for developing and promulgating all of the Position Statements for the organization. His 40+ year career path includes work as a detention front line staff, juvenile probation officer, residential program management and private practice as a licensed social worker. In his current role with NPJS, he has unwaveringly led the organization down the path which lifts up evidence-informed decision making but also acknowledges the wealth of wisdom that comes with the vast expertise from within the field. Wayne continues to challenge the system to pursue a balanced approach that supports the implementation of good operational practice supported by research as well as intensive staff development that advances positive developmental relationships. In his mind, his single most important role is to guide the field to ensure appropriate care, supervision and connections to family support is provided at every touch point within the juvenile justice system.

  • Larry Brendtro, Starr Commonwealth

    Larry Brendtro, PhD
    Larry K. Brendtro, PhD, is Director of Resilience Resources which provides research, publications, and training in strength-based approaches to youth, families, and communities. He has extensive experience as a direct care worker, educator, and licensed psychologist. He is president emeritus of Starr Commonwealth serving troubled youth in Michigan and Ohio. He has taught at the University of Illinois, The Ohio State University, and at Augustana University, which hosts the annual Reclaiming Youth Seminars. He is the author of 16 books and 200 articles and trains youth professionals world-wide. Dr. Brendtro was a member of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the administrations of Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama. He is a recipient of the James E. Gould Leadership and Vision Award presented by the National Partnership for Juvenile Services. Larry and his wife Janna, research editor for his publications, have three adult children and seven grandchildren.

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01/01/2021

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Vol. 35 No. 1 (2021): JAJJS 2021 Issue

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Moving the Needle: Cultivating Systemic Change in Juvenile Services. (2021). Journal of Applied Juvenile Justice Services, 35(1), 89-100. https://doi.org/10.52935/21.1881545.06