The influence of youth and parent reports of parental knowledge and monitoring and reporting discrepancy on high risk youth offending.

INTRODUCTION: Positive parenting practices are known to be related to lower levels of youth offending. Questions remain as to the overlap between youth and parent perceptions of parenting practices, and the relationship of perception discrepancies with youth offending. This study examines the concordance of parenting behaviors reports, the relationship between parent and youth perceptions of parenting measures with youth offending, and whether discordant youth and parent reports are related to heterogeneity in youth offending. METHODS: Survey data from 818 high risk U.S. youth averaging 16 years old who participated in the Pathways to Desistance study and his or her parent form the basis of this analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Results demonstrate youth and parent reports of parental knowledge and parental monitoring are correlated, yet independent predictors of youth offending variety scores. Youth and parent reports about parenting measures demonstrate youth offending is highest when youth perceive parents as uninvolved, and lowest when youth estimates of parental knowledge and monitoring are higher than parent estimates. Parenting matters for high-risk youth, especially in reducing the likelihood of property offending. Using multiple perspectives to assess parenting practices is important in studying these dyadic relationships.

Perceptions of violence in justice-involved youth.

BACKGROUND: Youth are tragically affected by violence. Justice-involved youth are at elevated risk for the effects of violence, as incarceration serves as a risk factor. The objective of this study is to explore the risks and needs of justice-involved youth and identify channels for future hospital-based programming. METHODS: Four weekly focus groups were conducted by a credible messenger at the Douglas County Youth Center with former participants of Dusk 2 Dawn, a youth violence prevention program delivered at the Douglas County Youth Center. Eight participants were prompted with preset interview questions. All focus groups were recorded and transcribed by a professional transcription service. A thematic analysis was performed by 2 independent coders to identify themes using Dedoose software. RESULTS: The 3 most frequently occurring themes involved topics on protection, identified 40 times; family, identified 36 times; and the challenge of overcoming violence, identified 31 times. These themes often overlapped with one another, demonstrating the complexity of youth violence. CONCLUSION: Providing a safe and judgement-free space for the youth to discuss issues of violence was beneficial for 3 reasons: (1) inclusion of youth perspectives allows violence prevention programs to be tailored to specific needs, (2) participants were able to deeply reflect on violence in their own lives and consider steps toward positive change, and (3) open communication encourages trust building and collaborative prevention efforts between the hospital and community.

Factors Influencing Law Enforcement Responses to Child to Parent Violence.

A domestic violence incident perpetrated by a child toward his or her parent presents a challenging dynamic for law enforcement officers responding to these calls for service. To date, law enforcement responses to child to parent violence (CPV) have only been studied dichotomously (i.e., decision to arrest), and as a result, the associated complexities are not well understood. Here, we add to the understanding of individual, situational, and contextual factors that influence law enforcement response to CPV by examining 1,113 calls for service in a Midwestern state. In assessing the relative influence of these factors on responses using a multinomial logistic regression with cluster robust standard errors, we find evidence that the gendered nature of CPV victim-offender dyads and the presence of victim injury influences police decision to arrest in lieu of an informal, de-escalation only response. We also find officers are less likely to refer youth to social welfare agencies or arrest a youth perpetrator when CPV occurs in neighborhoods with a high level of family disruption. In these instances, the officer works to deescalate the situation, but is significantly less likely to take further action or formally refer the family to social resources. Researchers must work to better understand CPV prevention and improve system responses and resources for affected families.

The effectiveness of specialized legal counsel and case management services for indigent offenders with mental illness.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, jurisdictions have recognized the strain placed on limited existing resources by criminal offenders with mental illness who frequently cycle through local jail facilities. In response, many locales have developed and implemented specialized programs to more effectively and efficiently manage these offenders, particularly the process of assigning defense attorneys to these often indigent defendants. METHODS: The current study examined the impact of an Indigent Defense Counsel (IDC) program designed to provide specially trained defense attorneys, and enhanced case management services to 257 indigent jail inmates with a qualifying, major mental health diagnosis (e.g., major depression). These offenders were compared to 117 similar offenders who did not receive these services, on both their length of stay in the jail, and their likelihood of recidivism after release to the community. RESULTS: Survival analyses revealed that program participants spent about 17 fewer days in jail; however, recidivism rates between groups, measured as return to the same county jail or as statewide re-arrest, did not differ. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that defendants with mental illness can potentially be managed effectively in the community, with little added risk to public safety and at potential savings in jail bed days/costs. Implications for the processing of indigent criminal defendants with mental illness are presented.