Reducing Recidivism Among Serious and Violent Youth Megan

Reducing Recidivism Among Serious and Violent Youth Megan C Kurlychek and Alysha Gagnon University at Albany/New York State Youth Justice Institute

Politics and Panic Lyndon B. Johnson first to declare “war on crime” A war to be carried across administrations Taking Aim at Juvenile In late 1980’s The Juvenile “Superpredator” myth Do the Crime, Do the Time

From Rhetoric to Reality State Responses to Serious and Violent Juveniles Transfer to Adult Court Introduce Blended Sentencing Remove Confidentiality Protections Introduce Victim Presence/ Impact Statements

Who is the Serious Violent Juvenile Offender

The Truth about Serious and Violent Youth Chronic Juveniles about 5 to 8% of population Serious Violent juveniles less than 1% of arrestee population About 13% of juvenile arrests for violent crime estimated to be gang members

Definitions: What do we mean by Serious Violent? UCR Violent Crime Any Felony? Just Chronic offenders—those we see again and again and again

The Truth about Serious and Violent Youth Act Maturity Premise of Juvenile Justice System Seriousness of crime punishment Needs of youth treatment

Understanding the Serious Violent Juvenile Offender

Pathways to Delinquency The true serious, chronic and violent offender develops along a progressive pathway Behaviors emerge early and escalate over time These youth have multiple problems that span systems

Example: Moffitt’s Taxonomy

Example: Loeber’s Pathways

The Role of Gangs SELECTION FACILITATION ENHANCEMENT *Most gang-involved youth selfreport having committed acts of violence

Responding to the Serious Violent Juvenile Offender

RNR (Andrews, Bonta and Hoge, 1990) Risk—what places this youth at risk of further crime Needs—what needs does the youth have (education, health, etc.). Responsivity—what type of program will work best for which youth?

The Comprehensive Strategy Howell, Lipsey, and Wilson 2014 Strengthen families Support core social institutions Prevention prevention prevention Intervention Interagency teams to conduct in depth assessment and craft comprehensive case plans

What did I skip? Institutionalization

The Problem with this Approach We “give up” on some kids Studies find community based programs to be at least as effective as incarceration Institutionalizing youth in adult jails and prisons increases recidivism

Evidence Based Practice What works: Holistic approaches Family involvement Community engagement Mentoring/Credible Messengers

EBP continued Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches Education and Skill-Building Approaches Restorative Practices Mixed Services

Future Directions and a Call for Action

Beyond Treatment The best way to prevent recidivism is to prevent the initial act ACEs—and trauma informed care Communities of Healing—moving to strength based approaches

Beyond “holistic” care to multimodal care Fragmented systems must work together Education Health Care/Mental Health Social Welfare Juvenile Justice

Avoid the “cycle” of juvenile justice Maintain Leniency: The Kid is a Kid (Barry Feld) Integrate Assessments Expand Treatment Ensure Sufficient Funding Continue to Grow Evidence –Based Knowledge and Practice