Those Who Do Not Return

Abstract

In this article we examine the facility-to-community transition experiences of formerly incarcerated youth in the sample who remained in the community for 1 year following release from the juvenile correctional system. Specifically, we studied the relationship of selected predictor variables to engagement status (a transition outcome based on working, going to school, or both activities) at two points in time after the participants exited the juvenile correctional system: 6 months post-exit (Time 1) and 12 months post-exit (Time 2).The data for the study were gathered in a 5-year longitudinal study that examined the community reintegration of 531 incarcerated youth from Oregon's juvenile justice system. Data were gathered on the sample while they were still in custody and then every 6 months through phone interviews in order to describe their work, educational, living, and social experiences in the community. Data on their return to the juvenile correctional system were gathered from an extant database maintained by the state agency. Findings suggest that (a) transition and post-exit services may need to be focused to particular subgroups and (b) career/vocational instruction in the juvenile correctional setting coupled with services offered upon returning to the community could have a positive impact on the adjustment of incarcerated youth.