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Youth Perspectives on the Experience of Reentry

NCJ Number
203814
Journal
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2004 Pages: 56-71
Author(s)
Mercer L. Sullivan
Date Published
January 2004
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article reports on case studies of youth from disadvantaged communities in New York City who were incarcerated and then involved in the re-entry process back into their communities, with attention to contextual factors and developmental issues involved in re-entry.
Abstract
The case examples discussed were part of several research projects the author directed. These included three field studies from the 1980's and more recent research in the late 1990's that focused on violence among younger adolescents. Issues discussed in the case studies are differences in degree of prior criminal involvement, education, mental health, crime patterns, continuity and change in social relationships, and the features of the community into which re-entry occurs. The experiences of the youth profiled in this article indicate that there is significant variation among individuals in the process of re-entry following incarceration, with much of the variation linked to the amounts and types of social support available within the re-entry community. The problems encountered by re-entering youth are compounded by issues related to their transition from adolescence to adulthood. They experience the challenges that face all youth in transition to adulthood, namely, moving from dependence on family of origin to independence, from school to work, and from immersion in the adolescent peer group to intimate partnership and parenthood. Thus, in addition to addressing the problems that impede the obtaining of education, employment, and housing, youth must engage in constructive ways of negotiating the changes associated with transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. The case management of each youth must involve an assessment of the particular needs of each youth and the resources available in the community and the youth's social network that can assist in meeting those needs. Aftercare planners should make use of such mechanisms as community advisory groups, established community organizations, and support groups for re-entering youth. To the extent that resources can be coordinated better between their community networks and institutional providers of supervision, education, employment and training, physical and mental health, and other social services, their prospects will improve. 6 notes and 36 references