Juvenile Probation Department Research Articles

Racial/ethnic disparities of the pact in predicting recidivism and court dispositions for justice-involved youth.

Responding to the concern about racial/ethnic disparities (R/ED) in the use of risk assessment instruments (RAIs) in justice systems, previous research has overwhelmingly tested the extent to which RAI scores consistently predict recidivism across race and ethnicity (predictive bias). However, little is known about R/ED in the association between RAI measures and court dispositions (disparate application) for justice-involved youths. This study investigated predictive bias and disparate application of three risk measures-criminal history, social history, and the overall risk level-produced by the Positive Achievement Change Tool (PACT) for White, Black, and Hispanic justice-involved youths. Given the mixed evidence in existing research for predictive bias and lack of evidence for disparate application, we did not make any specific hypothesis but conducted exploratory analyses. From a clinical perspective, however, we anticipated little or no evidence to support predictive bias and disparate application of the PACT among White, Black, and Hispanic youths in the jurisdiction we examined. The sample consisted of 5,578 youths (11.4% White, 43.9% Black, and 44.7% Hispanic) who completed the PACT while in the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, Texas. The outcome variables included recidivism (general and violent reoffending) and court dispositions (deferred adjudication, probation without placement, and probation with placement). We ran a series of moderating binary logistic regression models and moderating ordinal logistic regression models to evaluate predictive bias and disparate application. Race and ethnicity influenced how the criminal history score related to violent recidivism: This compromised the validity of the score as a predictor of recidivism. Moreover, evidence showed that the overall risk of reoffending was associated with harsher sanctioning decisions for Black and Hispanic youths than for White youths. Ensuring that RAI results are consistently interpreted and used in informing decisions is as important as ensuring that RAI scores function equally well in predicting recidivism regardless of race and ethnicity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Assessing Readiness for Change of Juvenile Probation Policies and Practices: A Factor Analysis of the Probation Officer Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behavior (POABB) Scale.

As juvenile probation undergoes nationwide reform to better align with research on adolescent development, it is critical to understand probation officers' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about corresponding changes to supervisory practices within juvenile probation departments. The Probation Officer Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors (POABB) Scale was designed for use with juvenile probation officers (JPOs) undergoing training in a specific evidence-based supervision strategy (i.e., Graduated Response) to assess staff's knowledge and beliefs about Graduated Response's practices and intended supervisory behaviors. To provide foundational empirical support for the novel scale, the current study examined the factor structure of this self-report measure using POABB data from 351 juvenile probation staff across three mid-Atlantic states. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that a five-factor structure within the POABB provided the best fit and, overall, the POABB had good internal reliability (ɑ = 0.84). Importantly, the five-factor structure suggests a key difference between knowledge of Graduated Response components and attitudes toward using those components in everyday practice. Results suggest that use of the POABB can provide probation departments with information about specific attitudes and overall willingness to implement specific supervision practices as well as offer targeted areas for additional training to support developmentally appropriate probation transformations.

Hopes for healing: An exploratory study of trauma-informed care training and the juvenile justice system

The topic of traumatic stress among justice-involved youth has gained national attention. Studies have shown a multitude of factors contributing to youth experiencing trauma or victimization. Reports indicate that about 34% of children in the United States experience at least one traumatic event in their lives. Studies have shown that between 75% and 93% of youth in the juvenile justice system have suffered traumatic victimization of one form or another. In 2013, Texas passed legislation mandating all juvenile probation and juvenile supervision personnel to complete trauma-informed care training. A web-based Qualtrics survey, consisting of 28 items, was sent to Texas juvenile probation departments (JPD) with the goal to survey juvenile probation officers and other personnel, resulting in 108 responses. The study addressed (1) the type of trauma-care training received; (2) the implementation of trauma-focused practices and policies; and (3) the promotion of a physically and psychologically safe environment for justice-involved youth. The findings indicate that most of the respondents completed trauma-informed care training and met the state requirement. Although the training provided knowledge and understanding of youth trauma, not all juvenile probation officers referred youth to trauma-specific services, indicating a need for specific trauma-informed policies and practices with regular monitoring to ensure that youth received these rehabilitative services.

The Relationship Between YLS Score and Length of Placement

Data were obtained from a county juvenile probation department in Pennsylvania to examine the predictive ability of the Youth Level of Service Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) relative to the number of days a juvenile delinquent spent in a residential treatment facility. An analysis of 152 delinquents in placement (n=152) revealed that there is no relationship between scores on the YLS and days spent in a treatment facility. In addition, no relationship was found between days spent in placement and any of the covariates examined.

REDESIGNING JUVENILE PROBATION TO ALIGN WITH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLEs: A Quasi-Experimental study.

Science advisory boards and policy organizations have called for adolescent brain science to be incorporated into juvenile probation operations. To achieve this, Opportunity-Based Probation (OBP), a probation model that integrates knowledge of adolescent development and behavior change principles, was developed in collaboration with a local juvenile probation department. The current study compares outcomes (recidivism and probation violations) for youth in the OBP condition versus probation as usual. Inverse probability weighting (IPW) and coarsened exact matching (CEM) were used to estimate causal effects of OBP's average treatment effect (ATE). Results indicated clear effects of OBP on reducing criminal legal referrals, but no significant effects were observed for probation violations. Overall, results provide promising recidivism-reduction effects in support of developmentally grounded redesigns of juvenile probation.

COVID-19's Impact on Probation Professionals' Views About Their Roles and the Future of Probation.

In 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic forced probation departments to change their practices overnight. The phenomenon presented many challenges for probation departments but also opened avenues for innovation and changes in attitudes toward supervision practices. We surveyed adult and juvenile probation departments in the entire state of Texas, specifically targeting management and supervisory personnel, officers with caseloads, including court officers, and information technology personnel (N = 1,353). Our goals of this research included not only obtaining information about operational changes made because of the pandemic but also gauging attitudes toward these changes and the future of probation. We understood operational changes were inevitable, thus findings of significant operational changes were not surprising. We found that probation personnel were open to changes in operational procedures and that the pandemic spurred innovation and widespread acceptance in the use of technology for a variety of activities going forward that may not have been accepted prior to the pandemic.

Pennsylvania Juvenile Probation Departments in the Wake of the Luzerne County Scandal: What Has Changed?

In 2008, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania made national headlines when the “Kids for Cash Scandal” broke. As a result of the actions of the Juvenile Court Judge and other juvenile system personnel, the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice was created to develop rules to prevent the juvenile jus-tice system in Pennsylvania from failing again. The purpose of this study was to determine how juvenile probation practices have changed since the scandal and if those departments were following through with the recommendations of the Commission. While many policies and practices have changed since the scandal, such as the policies regarding gifts and gratuities, there was a lack of consistency in the magnitude of those changes.

Review 1 of "Pennsylvania Juvenile Probation Departments in the Wake of the Luzerne County Scandal: What Has Changed?"

Review 1 of "Pennsylvania Juvenile Probation Departments in the Wake of the Luzerne County Scandal: What Has Changed?"

Review 3 of “Pennsylvania Juvenile Probation Departments in the Wake of the Luzerne County Scandal: What Has Changed?”

Review 3 of “Pennsylvania Juvenile Probation Departments in the Wake of the Luzerne County Scandal: What Has Changed?”

Review 3 of "Pennsylvania Juvenile Probation Departments in the Wake of the Luzerne County Scandal: What Has Changed?"

Review 3 of "Pennsylvania Juvenile Probation Departments in the Wake of the Luzerne County Scandal: What Has Changed?"

Shifting probation culture and advancing juvenile probation reform through a community-based, participatory action research-informed training.

Many jurisdictions are currently transforming their juvenile probation systems to reflect research-informed, developmentally based case management approaches. Training, developed through a community-based, participatory action research (CBPAR) framework and guided by a community-academic partnership, may promote probation staff's readiness for such change. This paper examined whether such training could serve as an effective method to impact organizational culture by exploring shifts in probation staff's knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about graduated response - a structured juvenile probation case management system that aligns with research on adolescent development and youth behavior change. Data came from 559 juvenile probation staff trained in graduated response theory and practice between 2016 and 2019. Results demonstrated that at the end of a 1-day, CBPAR-grounded training program, participating staff reported significantly more buy-in to graduated response, greater knowledge of this new system, and attitudes more strongly in favor of graduated response and intended behaviors. Study findings revealed important shifts indicative of readiness for change within juvenile probation departments. Additional implementation strategies are needed to extend training gains and overcome organizational- and system-level barriers to change.

Examining What Works for Youth With Moderate Risk Involved With the Juvenile Justice System: Comparing the Effect of the Community Connections Program and a Vocational Support Program Over a 9-Year Time Period

Using administrative data from an urban juvenile probation department between January 2007 and August 2016, the study included youth who were placed on court-ordered postadjudication community supervision and who were deemed to have a moderate risk of reoffending by the department’s risk and needs assessment. The two programs evaluated include a vocational support program (VSP) and the Community Connections program (CC). Youth across both groups were matched using propensity score matching, creating a final sample of 301 individual youth per program. When examining the program effect of CC versus VSP across six time-to-event variables (i.e., time to second program, detention, out-of-home placement, another offense, violation of court order, and days in program), the findings were mixed. However, across both programs, analyses revealed youth with a successful discharge and longer time spent in their program had better outcomes.

Examining What Works for High Risk Youth Involved in the Juvenile Justice System: Comparing the Effect of the Community Connections (CC) Program to Intensive Supervision Probation (ISP) Over A Nine-Year Time Period

Using administrative data collected by an urban juvenile probation department between January 2007 and August 2016, this study compared the impact of the Community Connections (CC) program to a matched sample of youth who received intensive supervision probation (ISP) on six time-to-event variables (i.e., time to second program, detention, out-of-home placement, another offense, violation of court order, and days in program). The study included youth who were assigned to court-ordered post-adjudication community supervision and who were deemed to have a high risk of re-offending by the department’s risk and needs assessment. CC and ISP youth were matched using propensity score matching that created a final sample of 381 youth in each program. When examining the program effect of CC vs. ISP on the time-to-event variables the findings were mixed. However, across both programs, the analysis revealed that youth who remained in the programs longer and youth with a successful program discharge generally experienced better long-term outcomes than their peers.

Operationalizing Risk, Need, and Responsivity Principles in Local Policy: Lessons From Five County Juvenile Probation Departments

We examined the operationalization of risk, need, and responsivity principles (RNRP) in local policy in five Pennsylvania county juvenile probation departments. “Core” policies focused on officers’ assessment; decision-making about client services and supervision; engagement with system stakeholders; and intervention with clients. “Supporting” policies focused on competency development; management and supervision; and performance measurement. Policy variations highlighted innovations and dilemmas in operationalizing RNRP. Dilemmas included the extent to which officers are cast as change agents; how needs are prioritized; how risk and needs are tied to decisions; and how officers advocate about assessment results with system stakeholders.

Implementation of risk-need-responsivity principles into probation case planning.

Research indicates moderate-to-limited integration of the risk-need-responsivity (RNR) principles in probation case planning. Efforts to improve implementation are important targets for research, policy, and practice. This study examined the ability of two juvenile probation departments to implement RNR principles with fidelity following a comprehensive implementation protocol that included RNR-related policies, creation of a service matrix for criminogenic need-to-service matching, and extensive staff training. The researchers anticipated fidelity to the risk and need principles would be stronger than previous studies. This implementation study involved secondary data analysis of services received over 10 months for 254 adolescent offenders (76.80% male, 72.40% White, M age = 16.13 years) from two probation departments following adoption of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory. Probation departments evidenced strong fidelity to the risk principle, such that higher risk youth were assigned more services with higher intensity. Fidelity to the need principle was moderate at best (an average 24.61% to 29.38% need-to-service match) and varied by criminogenic need, overall risk level, and the operational definition of criminogenic need. Comprehensive implementation practices are associated with strong fidelity to the risk principle, but it may take longer for probation departments to achieve strong fidelity to the need principle. Researchers should identify more feasible methods for implementing the need principle and strive for a consensus on methods for measuring need-to-service match that are also consistent with probation policies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The role of education, participation in departmental decisions, and burnout in social support and consulting networks in juvenile probation departments

Juvenile probation officers (JPOs) play an important role as decisionmakers for adolescents under their supervision in the community. While some research has examined how individual and organizational characteristics may affect their decision-making, this is the first study to examine the role of social networks that naturally occur within the juvenile probation department workplace. Specifically, demographics, attitudes about participation in the workplace, and burnout were examined as predictors of social support and consultation networks within the workplace. The current study was exploratory in nature. Participants were JPOs who supervised adolescents in the United States within one state. JPOs who felt more involved in workplace decision-making processes reported receiving more social support from their colleagues. JPOs with some graduate education or a Master’s degree were less likely to provide consultation to others on tough cases or to be rated by others as providing social support. Implications are discussed.

Text Messaging to Enhance Behavioral Health Treatment Engagement Among Justice-Involved Youth: Qualitative and User Testing Study.

BackgroundMental health and substance use disorders are highly prevalent in justice-involved youth, yet only 8% of court-involved, nonincarcerated (CINI) youth in need of treatment receive it. Dual diagnosis (co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders) in justice-involved youth is highly predictive of recidivism. Identifying novel approaches, such as the use of mobile health (mHealth) technologies, to close this gap between need and receipt of behavioral health treatment for the CINI population could potentially offset rates of reoffending into adulthood. Text-messaging (short message service, SMS) interventions have demonstrated efficacy in improving treatment adherence and other associated outcomes in other vulnerable youth populations, but development and testing of mHealth interventions to improve behavioral health treatment rates and outcomes for CINI youth are lacking.ObjectiveThis study aimed to collect qualitative data from key stakeholders to inform the development of a theoretically grounded, family-based text-messaging (SMS) intervention targeting CINI youth’s behavioral health treatment engagement; additionally, the aim was to conduct end-user testing over 6 months with CINI youth and caregivers to determine intervention feasibility and acceptability.MethodsCINI youth and caregivers were referred from a California-based Juvenile Probation Department and community-based provider organizations providing services for justice-involved youth. Eligibility criteria included the following: being a justice-involved youth or a caregiver of a justice-involved youth, English speaking, youth aged 13 to 17 years old and either referred to or currently attending mental health or substance use treatment, and youth and caregiver have access to a cell phone with text-messaging capability.ResultsOverall, 28 individuals participated in focus groups and interviews—8 youth, 5 caregivers, and 15 juvenile justice (JJ) personnel. Three major themes emerged: (1) texting among JJ personnel and CINI youth and caregivers in their caseload is common but not systematic, (2) stigma and privacy are perceived as barriers to texting youth about behavioral health treatment appointments, and (3) messages should be short, simple, relatable, positive, and personalized. In total, 9 participants (7 youth and 2 caregivers) participated in end-user testing and rated the intervention as useful, helpful, and supportive.ConclusionsText messaging (SMS) is an acceptable and feasible means of reminding CINI youth to attend behavioral health treatment appointments. Future implementation challenges include making text messaging (SMS) personalized and tailored but not resource intensive (eg, requiring one-to-one, 24/7 human contact) and identifying which systems will deliver and sustain the intervention. Text messaging (SMS) among justice personnel, youth, and their caregivers is already widespread, but lack of clear guidelines about privacy, confidentiality, and information sharing poses ethical conundrums. Future hybrid-type research designs that explore the efficacy of the intervention while also studying ethical, system, and policy-level factors associated with using digital health interventions to improve CINI youth outcomes is a key next step.

Matching Services to Criminogenic Needs Following Comprehensive Risk Assessment Implementation in Juvenile Probation

One emphasis of juvenile justice reform has been implementation of risk assessment instruments to improve case planning. This study examined the ability of juvenile probation departments to apply the risk-needs-responsivity (RNR) framework into case planning following a comprehensive implementation protocol. Data were collected on 385 adolescent offenders across three probation departments following implementation of the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk for Youth (SAVRY) and an RNR-related case planning policy. As expected, as risk levels of youth increased, probation departments assigned more services and addressed more criminogenic need areas in their case plans. Most case plans (86%) adhered to the policy to limit the number of needs addressed at one time. The quality of service-to-need matching varied by criminogenic need area, risk level, and site. Implications to juvenile courts’ and probation officers’ case planning and the challenges of research on service-to-need matching are discussed.

Treatment Services in the Juvenile Justice System: Examining the Use and Funding of Services by Youth on Probation

Youth enter the juvenile justice system with a variety of service needs, particularly for mental health problems. Research has examined the extent to which youth have mental health disorders, primarily among detained youth, and factors associated with treatment referrals, but little research has examined youth on probation and the actual use of services. Using data obtained from the Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Department from July 2012 through August 2014 ( N = 3,779), the current study examines (1) the factors associated with receiving treatment services while on probation and (2) the factors associated with receiving treatment services through different funding streams. Findings reveal that only about 25% of the sample of youth on probation received treatment services, suggesting the underservicing of youth. Consistent with prior research, there were also racial and ethnic disparities concerning treatment use, with Blacks and Latinos less likely to receive services. Additionally, certain characteristics of youth and their background influenced the funding source for treatment services. Implications for policy and research are discussed in light of these findings.

What Do Pediatric Residents Gain From an Experience in Juvenile Justice? A Qualitative Analysis of Community-Based Learning

BackgroundTraining in advocacy and community pediatrics often involves the use of community site visits. However, data on the specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes gained from these experiences are limited. In this study we used qualitative analysis of written narratives to explore the response of residents to a juvenile justice experience. MethodsPediatric residents participated in a week-long experience in the juvenile probation department and completed a written narrative. Narratives were analyzed using grounded theory to explore the effects of this experience on residents' views of youth in the juvenile justice system. ResultsAnalysis of 29 narratives revealed 13 themes relating to 5 core concepts: social determinants of behavior, role of professionals and institutions, achieving future potential, resolving discrepancies, and distancing. A conceptual model was developed to explore the interactions of these concepts in the resident view of youth in the juvenile justice system. Of the themes only 3 (23%) were related to content explicitly covered in the assigned reading materials. ConclusionsSeveral important concepts emerged as elements of this experience, many of which were not covered in the explicit curriculum. Variability in attitudinal response to the experience raised important questions about the influence of the ideological framework of the learner and the hidden curriculum on the learning that occurs in community settings. We propose a theoretical model that delineates the factors that influence learning in community settings to guide educators in planning these types of experiences.