Reintegration Of Youth Research Articles

Developing Transitional Justice for Youth: An Assessment of Youth Reintegration Programmes in Colombia

ABSTRACT∞ Young people, or ‘youth’ are one of the key groups affected by armed conflict as well as in the process of transitioning from it. This article explores what a youth-inclusive process of transitional justice may entail. It looks at the reintegration of youth, who were previously associated with armed groups, into civilian lives through Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programmes and broader community-based initiatives with a prevention focus that lie outside a traditional transitional justice framework. The article scopes the study to the context in Colombia. A selection of programmes is assessed alongside international standards on youth reintegration, particularly the UN Integrated DDR Standards on Youth and complemented with empirical evidence that attests the ways in which youth experience these interventions. In doing so, the article analyzes potential ‘blueprints’ for the programmatic response to youth reintegration and contribute to an under-researched area that links youth, transitional justice and guarantees of non-recurrence.

Socio-cultural context of youth reintegration process

У статті наведено концептуальні соціально-психологічні основи дослідження процесу реінтеграції молоді в умовах сучасного соціуму. Розкрито процесуальну і змістовну складові процесу реінтеграції та виокремлено його компоненти (стратегічно-цільовий, змістовний, організаційно-діяльнісний, оціночно-прогностичний). На основі системи принципів системно-інтегративного та генетико-моделюючого підходів виявлено соціально-психологічну специфіку процесу реінтеграції молоді в умовах сучасного соціуму, повʼязану з особливостями мотиваційних та когнітивних психічних станів; соціальними механізмами інтеріоризації і трансформації цінностей;соціальним самопочуттям (когнітивно-оцінною, мотиваційно-ціннісною, емоційно-поведінковою складовими) та субʼєктивним соціальним благополуччям (соціальною помітністю, соціальною дистантністю, емоційним прийняттям, соціальним схваленням, соціальними переконаннями); параметрами її ідентичності (за когнітивним, емотивним, конативно-діяльнісним, ціннісно-орієнтаційним компонентами) та соціально-психологічної зрілості (за особистісним, рефлексивним, функціональним компонентами), зокрема в умовах вимушеної міграції. Виокремлено інтеграційні показники результативності процесу реінтеграції молоді за параметрами її соціально-психологічної спроможності/неспроможності та визначено систему параметрів, критеріїв і рівнів соціально-психологічного забезпечення процесу реінтеграції молоді в умовах сучасного соціуму, яка включає когнітивний, емоційно-оцінний, світоглядний, поведінковий компоненти. Виявлено особливості соціального простору і соціальних комунікацій в аспекті проблеми реінтеграції молоді, артикульовані його дискурсивними вимірами. Розкрито змістовно-процесуальні засади побудови і реалізації системи соціально-психологічного забезпечення процесу реінтеграції молоді в умовах сучасного соціуму з використанням методичної, ресурсної та організаційної її складових, основу якої складали інтегративно-інваріантні психотехнології розвитку соціально-психологічної спроможності молоді та підвищення її соціального потенціалу. Визначено основні складові ефективної реалізації системи соціально-психологічного забезпечення процесу реінтеграції молоді в умовах сучасного соціуму. Ключові слова: молодь, реінтеграція, соціально-психологічне забезпечення процесу реінтеграції, сучасний соціум.

Variations in State Laws Governing School Reintegration Following Concussion.

We sought to examine the prevalence, scope, and specificity of provisions governing school reintegration in current state concussion laws. State concussion laws as of May 2016 were independently assessed and classified by 2 trained coders. Statutes were classified as "Return-to-Learn" (RTL) laws if they contained language mandating institutional action at the state, district, or school level related to academic reintegration of youth who have sustained a concussion. All statutes classified as RTL laws were further analyzed to determine scope, required actions, and delineation of responsibility. RTL laws were uncommon, present in only 8 states. Most (75%) of these laws held schools responsible for RTL management but mandated RTL education for school personnel was less frequent, present in only one-quarter of the laws. None of the RTL laws provided guidance on support of students with persistent postconcussive symptoms, and only 1 recommended an evidence-based standard for RTL guidelines. Our review of state concussion laws indicates scant and vague legal guidance regarding RTL. These findings suggest an opportunity for legislative action on the issue of RTL, and reveal the need for better integration of laws and research, so that laws reflect existing best-practice recommendations and remain current as the evidence base develops.

We are different now? The effect of military service on youth reintegration and employment in South Africa

This study examines how young people who have joined the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on the two-year Military Skills Development System (MSDS) contract experience military service, and the effect this has on their ability to readapt to civilian life. The first part of the study examines the theoretical debates associated with military socialisation and reintegration into civilian life. Hereafter, the findings are presented in terms of the experiences of MSDS privates serving in the infantry, those that have left, and the perceptions of employment agencies in terms of the marketability of military skills. The conclusion is reached that MSDS members experience their two years in the SANDF as life-changing, that this affects their ability to reintegrate back into civilian society, and that the skills acquired during military training is of limited market value. The conclusion is reached that more needs to be done to assist these young military veterans to adapt to civilian life and to augment their military experience with more marketable skills to enable them to find gainful employment.

The Summer Youth Reintegration Academy

The Prison Education Project, the Reintegration Academy, and the Summer Youth Reintegration Academy are California-based programs that were designed to create a prison-to-school pipeline. This paper examines the Summer Youth Reintegration Academy for system-involved Black male youth in South Los Angeles. This program immersed participants in academic, life skills, and career development modules for 5 weeks. The overarching philosophy of the program was to immerse the participants into a pastoral, college campus environment, away from the cluttered distractions of the inner city, and expose them to an array of educational and career opportunities. This paper will discuss the genesis of the program, its content, and outcomes.

Doing time, filling time: Bureaucratic ritualism as a systemic barrier to youth reentry

This paper contributes to knowledge about the challenges of youth reentry by examining how transitional services can function as a barrier to – instead of a support for – healthy reintegration of youth. Using participant observation conducted in 2003–2004 at a juvenile aftercare program in Philadelphia, we explore a pervasive problem that Merton (1940) termed “bureaucratic ritualism.” Case workers and administrators became beholden to daily demands related to billing, paperwork, and meeting minimum standards, supplanting the larger goal of individualized care for young people returning from placements. Outputs, not outcomes, became the measure of success. We identify a number of reintegration activities that were ritualistic in nature and explore the features of the system that encouraged ritualistic responses by aftercare workers. Finally, we identify a group of aftercare workers, which we call “proactive caregivers” who resisted the organizational pressures to become bureaucratic ritualists.

Effectiveness of Street Youth Reintegration in East Africa

Youth unemployment in Africa challenges governments and development partners alike. This problem is hard to tackle because of the lack of reliable data and related analysis on scale, distribution and complexity of employment, unemployment and livelihood situation as well as effective policies, programmes and approaches for young women and men (F. Chigunta, J. Schnurr, D. James-Wilson and V. Torres, 2005). In addition to youth unemployment, there are other vulnerable groups of young people such as those on the Streets. Street youth are products of poverty, political instability, war, urbanization, HIV/AIDS amongst other causes. Many participate in crime, sex and drug peddling because of limited income generation alternatives. According to the United Nations 40 percent of young people in the developing countries live on less than USD 1 per day (UNICEF, 2000). There are also over 100 million youth worldwide working and sometimes living on the streets. The focus of this study is on the effectiveness of reintegration practices amongst the street children organizations in East Africa. Most institutions care for street children and reintegrate them once they become young adults, leaving them to find jobs and to fend for themselves. Some institutions reintegrate the children immediately they finish primary school while others while they are undergoing their secondary schooling or tertiary education. Unfortunately, for many children, at the time of reintegration they may not have adequate skills for competitiveness in the job markets (KARDS, 2006). This study will find out the nature of reintegration strategies and existing reintegration activities. Lastly the study intends to generate recommendations to improve the street youth reintegration in East Africa. The study uses a set of data collected by Koinonia Advisory Research and Development Service (KARDS) in 2006. KARDS is a Nairobi based community development consultancy. This data is based on the work-activities for 122 street children institutions in Nairobi and its surrounding areas. The data was collected between May and July 2006. Various operational activities for street children institutions such as rehabilitation, street work, outreach and reintegration were captured in this data. This study only uses the section of the data that focuses on reintegration.The study found out that while there were many rehabilitation activities for street children, reintegration activities for maturing street youth were very minimal on the overall constituting only 2% of the total institutional activities. Disengagement from programme benefits for most institutions is sudden and unplanned and may also be linked to punishments. Disengaging the children is a challenge for institutions because of the fear of what may happen to them once they are on their own.It is hoped that this study could be used to inform practitioners in order to improve their insights on reintegration; the government may use it to formulate policies based on evidence. Lastly it may provide useful insights to the donor community interested in helping reducing the vulnerability faced by street youth.

Evidence-based practice in group work with incarcerated youth

As a result of the Youth Criminal Justice Act's increased focus on restorative justice, treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration of youth, many more juvenile offenders require mental health services while resident in youth detention facilities [Youth Criminal Justice Act (2002, c.1). Ottawa: Department of Justice Canada. Retrieved September 19, 2008 from http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/Y-1.5]. Several common characteristics such as violence, aggression, and other antisocial behaviors, associated with criminal behavior, have been identified among male and female offenders. Dialectical behavior therapy, originally developed by Linehan [Linehan, M. M., 1993a. Cognitive–behavioural treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York: Guildford Press] for chronically parasuicidal women diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, has been successfully modified for use with other populations, including violent and impulse-oriented male and female adolescents residing in correctional facilities. The intent of this article is to encourage the wider use of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) with young offenders. It includes an extensive review of the evidence-base to date and describes some of the creative modifications that have been made to standard DBT program format to meet the particular needs of various groups in both Canada and the United States. In keeping with the movement toward more evidence-based practice, the authors argue that DBT is a promising approach in group work with incarcerated adolescents and should be more widely used.