Title: Employment and Training for Court-Involved Youth: An Overview
Series: OJJDP Fact Sheet #102
Author: Heather E. Frey
Published: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, April
1999
Subject: Juvenile delinquency prevention, juvenile corrections, and
mentoring programs
5 pages
9,000 bytes

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U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

OJJDP Fact Sheet
April 1999

Employment and Training for Court-Involved Youth: An Overview

by Heather E. Frey

Court-involved youth are youth who come in contact with the juvenile
justice system for committing a status offense or a delinquent act. Often
disenfranchised by the education system and under juvenile justice system
jurisdiction, these youth find it difficult to learn marketable skills or
compete for jobs. Yet research demonstrates that employability is critical
to the success of high-risk youth. The link between crime and lack of
economic opportunity requires the country's more concerted attention
through collaboration between employers, the juvenile justice system, and
the workforce development system.

To help develop effective strategies for improving vocational training,
reducing youth crime and recidivism, and improving the connections
between court-involved youth and the labor market, the U.S. Department
of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA), and the U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (OJJDP), funded the Home Builders Institute of the National
Association of Home Builders to convene a Task Force on Employment
and Training for Court-Involved Youth. The Task Force consisted of
researchers, program experts, market analysts, and individuals
representing businesses, corporations, foundations, and Federal, State, and
local agencies.

The goals of the Task Force were to:

--Understand the diverse needs of court-involved youth.

--Identify the most promising mix of employment and training strategies
to move court-involved youth into the mainstream.

--Define the roles and responsibilities of the agencies and organizations
that work with court-involved youth to enhance training and employment
opportunities.

--Recommend ways the workforce development, juvenile justice,
education, social service, community-based support, and labor market
systems can collaborate to provide effective job training and employment
for court-involved youth.

Recognizing that the operational processes and purposes of the juvenile
justice and workforce development systems are significantly different, the
Task Force analyzed the vocabulary, governance structure, and
programmatic nuances of each system. The findings of the Task Force are
summarized in an upcoming OJJDP Report, Employment and Training for
Court-Involved Youth. The Report, designed for policymakers and
practitioners from each of these fields, provides an overview of the
juvenile justice system, the workforce development system, and other
major systems that must work together to provide services to
court-involved youth. It also offers examples of effective practices,
promising programs, and systems collaboration to help policymakers and
service providers prepare court-involved youth for the job market.

Promising Programs

A key challenge for both policymakers and service providers is developing
programs that prepare court-involved youth for jobs while also meeting
developmental needs of youth, labor market requirements of employers,
and safety and security needs of communities. According to the Task
Force's Report, programs that successfully link court-involved youth to the
labor market share the following elements:

--Age-appropriate and comprehensive youth development. 

--Involvement of an adult advocate and the family.

--Work-based learning and academic development.

--Close attention to career development and job placement. 

--Long-term follow up.

Programs that serve court-involved youth can be divided into three
categories: early intervention, residential, and aftercare.

Early Intervention Programs

Early intervention programs are typically designed as prevention
programs--either to divert youth from entering the juvenile justice system
or to prevent youth from continuing their involvement with the system.
The most effective early intervention programs use a variety of
approaches, including mentoring, afterschool support, employment and
training, school-to-work, and college access services. Intermediaries, such
as community-based organizations, nonprofits, and job brokers, can
provide consistent contacts for court-involved youth who are in the
juvenile justice system or returning to the community after confinement.
Similarly, a comprehensive, front-end assessment of a youth's needs when
he or she enters the juvenile justice system can both facilitate referral to
appropriate services and initiate tracking of the youth's progress.

Residential Programs

Approximately 30 percent of adjudicated delinquents are committed to
residential facilities due to the severity of their needs or their threat to
public safety. To provide quality job training and employment services,
residential facilities must address the behavioral, educational, and social
profiles of confined youth; the geographic isolation of many residential
facilities; public safety concerns; and the belief by employment and
training agencies and employers that confined youth will not meet
performance standards. Effective residential employment and training
programs include those that operate onsite businesses and employ youth at
competitive wages, engage youth in community service and restitution
projects, prepare youth for employment using an entrepreneurship or a
service learning model, or train youth for specific jobs using
industry-approved curriculums. These programs enable youth to develop
practical skills they can use in the workforce after their release from
residential facilities.

Aftercare Programs

Following their release from residential facilities, youth often remain the
responsibility of the State juvenile justice or corrections agency and
continue to require support services. Aftercare can provide critical services
and support a youth's reintegration into the community. Aftercare
programs that emphasize employment and training tend to be most
effective when youth are in the community, are of legal working age, and
have benefited from earlier services (i.e., counseling, basic skills, and
interpersonal skills development). The most effective aftercare programs
typically involve formal partnerships between the juvenile justice system
and other institutions or organizations. Some programs direct
court-involved youth to employment and training programs, create and
tailor slots for court-involved youth in job training programs, or impart
academic skills and knowledge through practical applications and "real
work" projects. These programs create support networks that help youth
develop appropriate attitudes and behaviors for participation in the
community and the workforce. 

Systems Collaboration

The Task Force identified six primary systems that affect court-involved
youth: juvenile justice, workforce development, education, social services,
community-based organizations, and the labor market. Effective job
preparation requires the engagement of each of these systems.

There are some promising models of systems collaboration, and work is
ongoing to develop a comprehensive approach to meet the diverse needs
of court-involved youth. Enhancing collaboration, improving
communication, and increasing the various systems' knowledge of each
other are among the challenges confronted by policymakers, program
personnel, and court-involved youth.

For Further Information

OJJDP will publish the full Employment and Training for Court-Involved
Youth Report later in 1999. Copies of the Report will be available from
the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, 800-638-8736, or OJJDP's Web site:
www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org. Additional information is also available from the
following Web sites: ETA (www.doleta.gov), or the Home Builders
Institute (www.hbi.org).

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Heather E. Frey is a Writer/Editor with OJJDP's Juvenile Justice
Clearinghouse.

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The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component
of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of
Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute
of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

FS-99102