Justice-Involved Youth Perspectives on Educational Interventions to Enhance Future Prospects

The purpose of this clinical report was to explore the educational interests of justice-involved youth within a secure residential facility. Utilizing a two-step approach involving an open-ended survey and a focus group, we sought to gather feedback directly from youth (N = 100) to identify preferred voluntary educational classes offered by the behavior analytic team. The open-ended survey revealed a strong interest in practical skills, such as financial and mental health literacy, and trade skills. The focus group (N = 76) on anger management revealed an interest in learning how to think more rationally and acquire coping skills to deal with difficult situations. These outcomes highlight (1) a method that includes youth in the creation and design of voluntary educational programming; (2) that youth understand that they need, and are interested, in self-improvement; and (3) potentially important system-wide implications for improving rehabilitative outcomes in juvenile justice settings.