Connection and Caring Through a Therapeutic Juvenile Corrections Model: Staff and Youth Resident Perceptions of Structural and Interpersonal Dimensions

This mixed-method exploratory inductive study examined incarcerated youths’ and staff members’ perceptions of a new community-focused therapeutic model in a large youth prison. Via 18 focus groups (N = 141) and facility-wide surveys (N = 248), both youth and staff shared perceptions of specific stru...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Brubaker, Sarah Jane (Author) ; Cleary, Hayley M. D. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
In: International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology
Year: 2023, Volume: 67, Issue: 4, Pages: 373-397
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
Positive Youth Development
Mixed Method
youth prison
resident-staff relationships
therapeutic corrections
Juvenile Justice
Description
Summary:This mixed-method exploratory inductive study examined incarcerated youths’ and staff members’ perceptions of a new community-focused therapeutic model in a large youth prison. Via 18 focus groups (N = 141) and facility-wide surveys (N = 248), both youth and staff shared perceptions of specific structural components of the model designed to change their relationship to one another, such as consistent staffing, higher staff-resident ratios, and program features designed to enhance rapport. Both groups also provided rich descriptions of the altered interpersonal dynamics related to connection and caring, two of the five C’s of Positive Youth Development (PYD), that were facilitated through those structural changes. Findings suggest the model’s intentional redefinition of resident-staff relationships directly contributed to meaningful resident and staff experiences. Perceptions of those relationships—rarely explored in the extant literature—were examined and illustrated through focus group data. This study illuminates the subjective experiences of both groups as they put the model into practice and reveals key insights about therapeutic correctional programs based on PYD in secure facilities that have important implications for juvenile correctional theory, research, practice, and policy.
ISSN:1552-6933
DOI:10.1177/0306624X211065586