The Return to Family Intervention in Youth Services: A Juvenile Justice Case Study

Abstract

Examined a juvenile justice system's effort to implement a 'family-focus' approach to juvenile probation, based on a 9 mo field study which employed participant observations, informal interviews, document analysis, and an ethnographic perspective. Data collection was conducted in case manager and supervisor offices, juvenile courts and a variety of field settings. 10 management supervisors and 40 case managers were interviewed. Results show that district managers, supervisors and staff agreed that families played an important role in delinquent behavior. However, there was little consensus about the relative importance of working directly with families and the most effective technique in doing so. Implications for implementing such policies in juvenile justice and other social service organizations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)