The Impact of Formal Social Support: An Evaluation of Civil-Legal Youth Advocacy Services in Washington

• In Event: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for Youth

Abstract

Civil-legal youth advocacy organizations provide counsel and representation to youth who have current or past juvenile court involvement or are identified as having a high-risk for involvement in juvenile court. The purpose of this study was to address questions surrounding the nature of the civil-legal services that are provided to at-risk youth in King County, Washington; and second, to answer the important question of whether or to what extent these services result in an overall positive impact on criminal justice related outcomes. Using a sample of youth offenders (n= 363), analyses indicate an inverse or negative relationship between service dosage and post-intervention criminal charges, or as the service level increases, number of post-service-charges decrease. Policy and theoretical considerations in line with formal sources of social support are discussed.

Authors

• Peter A. Collins, Seattle University

• Paul S. Strand, Washington State University