Family-Centered Care in Juvenile Justice Institutions: A Mixed Methods Study Protocol

Living Situation of Juveniles After Secure Residential Treatment: Exploring the Role of Family Centeredness, Child, and Family Factors

To promote the return of juveniles to a home-like environment (e.g. living with (foster)parents) after secure residential treatment (SRT), it is important to know which factors are related to this outcome. The current study examined which characteristics of the juvenile, family, and SRT, including family centeredness and use of systemic interventions, are related to the living situation after discharge. For 259 juveniles (mean age 15.82 years, 127 girls) in SRT and their parents, questionnaires were administered at admission, discharge, and 6-months follow-up. Furthermore, information about the living situation before and after SRT was gathered. Higher likelihood of living in a home-like setting after SRT correlated with more furlough moments with parents, receiving a systemic intervention, and a shorter duration of the SRT. Systemic interventions during SRT and spending furlough moments with parents may have a positive impact on returning to a home-like situation after SRT for juveniles.

The effectiveness of Dutch Cell Dogs in correctional facilities in the Netherlands: a study protocol of a quasi-experimental trial

BACKGROUND

Many former inmates recidivate, resulting in high costs for societies worldwide. Evidence based treatment practices may not work in prisons, due to detainees' lacking motivation, impaired well-being, and an unsafe group environment. One attempt to improve social group climate and well-being is the use of Prison-based Animal Programs (PAP). Using a quasi-experimental design, the aim of the current study is to examine the effectiveness of one such PAP in the Netherlands: Dutch Cell Dogs (DCD).

METHODS/DESIGN

Participants (N = 256) from 12 justice centers, including psychiatric, juvenile and adult facilities, will be recruited. Half of the sample (n = 128) will receive DCD training after voluntarily signing up (intervention group); The other half (n = 128) will be recruited to participate in the research and receive treatment-as-usual (TAU/Ccomparison group). Factors related to psychosocial functioning (e.g., self-esteem, empathy, self-control, life satisfaction, attention) and general therapeutic factors (i.e., therapeutic alliance, treatment motivation), expected to contribute to treatment success, will be assessed to measure the effectiveness of DCD. In addition, behavioral problems will be measured as well as recidivism rates. Questionnaires and neuropsychological tests will be employed to measure aforementioned outcome variables. Moreover, physiological data, based on heart rate and cortisol measures, will be collected to provide insight into the functioning of participants' physiological stress response and to determine whether stress reduction occurs over time. Multimethod data collection will occur at pre-training (T1), at 1-month (halfway training/T2), at 2-months (end training/T3), and 6-months after the end of the training (follow up/T4).

DISCUSSION

This is the first study to examine the effectiveness of a widely implemented PAP in the Netherlands. Challenges associated with conducting the proposed study are typical for practice based research in correctional settings (e.g., a demanding workload of staff, lack of motivation to participate in research). Study results on the effects of a PAP will have an impact on inmates, justice centers, and municipalities across the Netherlands.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Retrospectively registered. The Netherlands National Trial Register TC = 6894 .

A program of family-centered care for adolescents in short-term stay groups of juvenile justice institutions

BACKGROUND

To provide successful treatment to detained adolescents, staff in juvenile justice institutions need to work in family-centered ways. As juvenile justice institutions struggled to involve parents in their child's treatment, we developed a program for family-centered care.

METHODS

The program was developed in close collaboration with staff from the two juvenile justice institutions participating in the Dutch Academic Workplace Forensic Care for Youth. To achieve an attainable program, we chose a bottom-up approach in which ideas for family-centered care were detailed and discussed by workgroups consisting of group leaders, family therapists, psychologists, other staff, researchers, and a parent.

RESULTS

The family-centered care program distinguishes four categories of parental participation: (a) informing parents, (b) parents meeting their child, (c) parents meeting staff, and (d) parents taking part in the treatment program. Additionally, the family-centered care program includes the option to start family therapy during detention of the youths, to be continued after discharge from the juvenile justice institutions. Training and coaching of staff are core components of the family-centered care program.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of training and the identification of attainable ways for staff to promote parental involvement makes the family-centered care program valuable for practice. Because the program builds on suggestions from previous research and on the theoretical background of evidence-based family therapies, it has potential to improve care for detained adolescents and their parents. Further research is required to confirm if this assumption is correct.