35th Annual Student Research Conference
Youth Incarceration: Understanding the Factors that Influence Successful Reentry
Jesse Wren
Dr. Heidi Cook and Dr. Wendy Miner, Faculty Mentors
On any given day, more than 50,000 youth under age 18 are incarcerated in juvenile detention facilities across the country. While the juvenile justice system has evolved over the last century from punitive approaches to an emphasis on successful reentry, there is still a lot of progress to be made. Scholars and theorists argue that interventions during detention, transition, and aftercare promote positive outcomes for incarcerated youth, and effective transition planning is the most neglected component. Using an interdisciplinary lens to examine the literature and analyze transition plans from a facility in northeast Missouri, this study examines the various factors that have an impact on the successful reentry of a juvenile offender. My hypothesis argues that positive parental involvement has the greatest impact on a youth’s transition out of the juvenile justice system, and my project will analyze how well parental involvement is addressed by reentry plans.
Keywords: Reentry Plans, Youth Incarceration, Juvenile Justice, Rehabilitation, Recidivism, Parental Involvement, Educational Attainment, Community Engagement
Topic(s):Interdisciplinary Studies Capstone
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Session: 102-3
Location: SUB GEO A
Time: 9:00