Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ensuring that They Learn

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook of Juvenile Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry

Abstract

With few exceptions, youth in juvenile corrections in the USA do not receive education services commensurate with those received by youth who are not incarcerated. Education services in many juvenile correctional facilities fail to meet minimal standards associated with quality education programs and they fail to use evidence-based practices. In spite of a history of school failure and educational disabilities, youth in juvenile corrections are capable of learning new skills and leaving juvenile corrections more competent and capable than when they entered (Leone et al. 2005). This chapter examines the association between education attainment and successful life experiences of adults, reviews the current status of education services for youth in juvenile corrections, and describes administrative structures and instructional practices associated with quality education services for youth.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 389.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aaron, L., & Dallaire, D. H. (2010). Parental incarceration and multiple risk experiences: Effects on family dynamics and children’s delinquency. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 1471–1484.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alexander S.v. Boyd. (1995). 876 F. Supp. 773, 782. U.S. Dist. Ct., D.S.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baer, J., Baldi, S., Ayotte, K., & Green, P. (2007). The reading literacy of U.S. fourth-grade students in an international context: Results from the 2001 and 2006 progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) (NCES 2008-017). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baldi, S., Jin, Y., Skemer, M., Green, P. J., & Herget, D. (2007). Highlights from PISA 2006: Performance of U.S. 15-year-old students in science and mathematics literacy in an international context (NCES 2008-016). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brock, L., & Keegan, N. (2007). Students highly at risk of dropping out: Returning to school after incarceration. Washington, DC: National Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Children and Youth who are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bullis, M., Yovanoff, P., & Havel, E. (2004). The importance of getting started right: Further examination of the facility-to community transition of formerly incarcerated youth. The Journal of Special Education, 38, 80–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2009). A profile of the working poor, 2007. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christle, C. A., Jolivette, K., & Nelson, C. M. (2005). Breaking the school to prison pipeline: Identifying school risk and protective factors for youth delinquency. Exceptionality, 13(2), 69–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crissey, S. R. (2009). Educational attainment in the United States: 2007. Current Population Reports. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis-Kean, P. E. (2005). The influence of parent education and family income on child achievement: The indirect role of parental expectations and the home environment. Journal of Family Psychology, 19 (2), 294–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeFur, S. H., Messier, L. P., & Potter, R. B. (2000). An evaluation of Virginia’s school re-enrollment plan for juvenile offenders. Richmond, VA: Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Domenici, D., & Forman, J., Jr. (2011). What it takes to transform a school inside a juvenile facility: The story of the Maya Angelou Academy. In N. Dowd (Ed.), Justice for kids: Keeping kids out of the juvenile justice system (pp.283–306). New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dubow, E., F., Boxer, P & Huesmann, R. L. (2009). Long-term effects of parents’ education on children’s educational and occupational success: Mediation by family interactions, child aggression, and teenage aspirations, Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 55(3), 224–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, H. (2007). Meeting the needs of significantly struggling learners in high school: A look at approaches to tiered interventions. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research, National High School Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farmer, S. (2010). Criminality of Black youth in inner-city schools: Moral panic, moral imagination, and moral formation. Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 13(3), 367–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felson, R. D., & Staff, J. (2006). Explaining the academic performance-delinquency relationship. Criminology, 44(2), 299–318.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferris School for Boys. (2010). Program description. http://kids.delaware.gov/yrs/yrs_ferris/yrs_ferris.shtml. Accessed November 11, 2010.

  • Gagnon, J. C., Barber, B., Loan, V., & Leone, P. E. (2007). Juvenile correctional schools: Characteristics and approaches to curriculum. Education and Treatment of Children, 32(4), 673–696.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, E., Dunleavy, E., & Kutner, M. (2007). Literacy behind bars: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy Prison Survey (NCES 2007-473). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregory, A., Skiba, R. J., & Noguera, P. A. (2010). The achievement gap and the discipline gap: Two sides of the same coin? Educational Researcher, 39, 59–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, P. J., Baltodano, H. M., Bal, A. J., Mulcahy, C. A. (2009). Reading achievement of incarcerated youth in three regions. Journal of Correctional Education, 60(2), 120–145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. (2005). 20 U.S.C.A. § 1400 et seq.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krezmien, M. P., & Mulcahy, C. A. (2008). A review of academic research in juvenile corrections. Unpublished manuscript.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krezmien, M. P., Leone, P. E., & Achilles, G. M. (2006). Suspension, race, and disability: Analysis of statewide practices and reporting. Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 14(4), 2117–2226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krezmien, M. P., Mulcahy, C. A., & Leone, P. E. (2008). Detained and committed youth: Examining differences in achievement, mental health needs, and special education status. Education and Treatment of Children, 31(4), 445–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krezmien, Mulcahy, Wilson, & Leone. (2012). An examination of student and school factors among incarcerated youth. Manuscript in preparation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutner, M., Greenberg, E., Jin, Y., Boyle, B., Hsu, Y., & Dunleavy, E. (2007). Literacy in everyday life: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES 2007-480). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leone, P. E., & Meisel, S. (1997). Improving education services for students in detention and confinement facilities. Children’s Legal Rights Journal, 17(1), 2–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leone, P., & Mulcahy, C. (2006). Nationwide analysis of state policies for education in juvenile corrections. Unpublished raw data.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leone, P., & Weinberg, L. (2010). Addressing the unmet educational needs of children and youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Washington, DC: Georgetown University, Center for Juvenile Justice Reform. Available at http://cjjr.georgetown.edu/pdfs/ed/edpaper.pdf.

  • Leone, P. E., Price, T., & Vitolo, R. K. (1986). Appropriate education for all incarcerated youth: Meeting the spirit of P.L. 94–142 in youth detention facilities. Remedial and Special Education, 7(4), 9–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leone, P. E., Krezmien, M., Mason, L., & Meisel, S. M. (2005). Organizing and delivering empirically-based literacy instruction to incarcerated youth. Exceptionality, 13, 89–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leone, P. E., Wilson, M. G., & Mulcahy, C. (2010). Making it count: Strategies for improving mathematics instruction and numeracy for students in short-term facilities. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Losen, D. J., & Skiba, R. J. (2010). Suspended education: Urban middle schools in crisis. UCLA Civil Rights Project. http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/school-discipline/suspended-education-urban-middle-schools-in-crisis.

  • Livsey, S., Sickmund, M., & Sladky, A. (2009). Juvenile residential facility census, 2004: Selected findings. Juvenile offenders and victims: National report series bulletin. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, S. (2005). Educational options for court-involved youth [Issue brief]. Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Poverty Center. (2007, March). Education and health. Policy Brief # 9. University of Michigan: Ford School of Public Policy. Retrieved October 16, 2010, from http://www.npc.umich.edu/publications/policy_briefs/brief9/policy_brief9.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Center on Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice. (2005). Class action litigation involving special education claims for youth in juvenile and adult correctional facilities. [Data table]. College Park, MD: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, T. (2010). Personal Communication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinn, M. M., Rutherford, R. B., Leone, P. E., Osher, D. M., & Poirier, J. M. (2005). Youth with disabilities in juvenile corrections: A national survey. Behavioral Disorders, 71(3), 339–345.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salinger, T. (2010). Meeting the literacy needs of students in juvenile facilities. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1994). Urban poverty and the family context of delinquency: A new look at structure and process in a classic study. Child Development, 65, 523–540.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sedlak, A. J., & McPherson, K. S. (2010a). Conditions of confinement: Findings from the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sedlak, A. J., & McPherson, K. S. (2010b). Youths’ needs and services: Findings from the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNICEF. (2007). Child poverty in perspective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries. Innocenti Report Card 7. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • United States v. Arkansas (Civ-4-03 CV000162, U.S. Dist. Ct., E. Dist. of AR).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wasserman, G. A., Keenan, K., Tremblay, R. E., Coie, J. D., Herrenkohl, T. I., Loeber, R., et al. (2003, April). Risk and protective factors of child delinquency. Child delinquency bulletin series. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wildeman, C., & Western, B. (2010). Incarceration in fragile families. The Future of Children, 20(2), 157–177.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, V. R., Chau, M., & Aratani, Y. (2010). Who are America’s poor children? The official story. New York: National Center for Children in Poverty.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wojcik, L. A., Schmetterer, K. L., & Naar, S. D. (2008). From juvenile court to the classroom: The need for effective child advocacy. Chicago: DLA Piper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, D., Katsiyannis, A., & Herbst, M. (2004). Disciplinary exclusions in special education: A four-year analysis. Behavioral Disorders, 29(4), 337–347.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Binghamton University, AB-235, Binghamton, NY, 13902, USA

    Candace A. Mulcahy PhD

  2. College of Education, University of Maryland, 1308 Benjamin Building, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Peter E. Leone PhD

Authors
  1. Candace A. Mulcahy PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Peter E. Leone PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Candace A. Mulcahy PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University, S. Frontage Road 230, New Haven, 06519, Connecticut, USA

    Elena L. Grigorenko

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Mulcahy, C.A., Leone, P.E. (2012). Ensuring that They Learn. In: Grigorenko, E. (eds) Handbook of Juvenile Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0905-2_34

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation