“I Grew Up Too Fast For My Age:” Postdischarge Issues and Experiences of Male Juvenile Offenders

Abstract

This study adopts a contextual approach to examine factors related to the community reentry experiences and post discharge recidivism among youth who have been placed in residential juvenile justice treatment programs for a minimum of 6 months. A total of 35 youth were interviewed: 18 youth who remained arrest free in the community after discharge from residential treatment; and 17 youth who were rearrested almost immediately after residential treatment. All subjects were interviewed with a semistructured interview, which included 71 data points and 61 qualitative responses. Findings underscore the importance of the youth's perspectives, interagency collaborations to address health and service needs, and initiatives to prevent high-risk and often traumatized youth from entering the juvenile justice system, particularly services that are family based.