Document Type
Poster Session
Department
Social Work
Faculty Mentor
Rachel Casey, PhD, MSW
Keywords
juvenile justice, child welfare, incarceration, foster care, protective factors
Abstract
Prior literature indicates youth who have had adverse childhood events or are diagnosed with a mental illness are more likely to become involved in the juvenile justice system (Chappard & Maggard, 2020). While research has been performed to involve juvenile justice workers and juveniles that have been involved in the system, there has been little involvement by the child welfare workers who have followed the trajectory of the youth from the beginning of involvement. This study investigates the perceptions of child welfare workers regarding youth involvement in the criminal justice system, addressing a current gap in the literature. In terms of recruitment, a post will be disseminated to multiple child-welfare related groups on Facebook, with the goal of voluntary participation. We will be collecting our data via an original questionnaire of 76 items, comprised of both multiple choice and open-ended questions, administered through Qualtrics. We hypothesize that participants will attach the most importance to factors that fall under Maslow's lowest level of basic needs, and that these factors will be identified as the most important risk factors associated with youth involvement in the foster care and Juvenile Justice System.
Open Access?
1
Included in
Juvenile Law Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Policy Commons, Social Welfare Commons, Social Work Commons
Child Welfare Service Worker's Perspective of the Juvenile Justice System
Prior literature indicates youth who have had adverse childhood events or are diagnosed with a mental illness are more likely to become involved in the juvenile justice system (Chappard & Maggard, 2020). While research has been performed to involve juvenile justice workers and juveniles that have been involved in the system, there has been little involvement by the child welfare workers who have followed the trajectory of the youth from the beginning of involvement. This study investigates the perceptions of child welfare workers regarding youth involvement in the criminal justice system, addressing a current gap in the literature. In terms of recruitment, a post will be disseminated to multiple child-welfare related groups on Facebook, with the goal of voluntary participation. We will be collecting our data via an original questionnaire of 76 items, comprised of both multiple choice and open-ended questions, administered through Qualtrics. We hypothesize that participants will attach the most importance to factors that fall under Maslow's lowest level of basic needs, and that these factors will be identified as the most important risk factors associated with youth involvement in the foster care and Juvenile Justice System.
