Reaching underserved youth: A pilot implementation of a skills-based intervention in short-term juvenile detention

Abstract

Despite a clear need, psychological interventions are lacking in detention facilities. In particular, efforts to implement such interventions in short-term juvenile detainment are virtually absent from scholarly literature. However, short-term juvenile detention facilities (JDFs) serve as important settings for intervention. Detained youth in JDFs present with a variety of charges/offenses, from truancy to murder and vary with regard to their history of contact with the system and the length of their detainment. The present study provides an overview of a brief skills-based intervention implemented in a group-based format with detained adolescents in a JDF, in an effort to examine youths' engagement, buy-in, and perceived obstacles in such settings. Preliminary findings from our pilot intervention effort informed our understanding of youths' engagement, buy-in, and perceived relevance and utility of the intervention.