Systems Coordination and Educational Benefits for Youth in Short-Term Detention Facilities

• In Event: Advancing Equitable Access to Supportive School Discipline and Education: Challenging the School to Prison Pipeline

Abstract

The majority of ever-incarcerated youth will have served at least a portion of their time in short-term detention. In 2012 there were almost 20,000 admissions to short-term facilities in Washington State. Juveniles attend school while in detention, but few studies have identified best practices for detention schools or the impact of these schools on outcomes. This study challenges the common assumption that the average duration of stay in short-term facilities (about 7 days) is too brief to affect the educational pathways of court-involved youth. Participatory research highlighting the experiences of educators, court administrators and others directly or indirectly involved in this process provides a framework for understanding detention school services as part of a matrix of youth services tied to state and federal policies but nested in local community contexts. Washington State’s unique statewide integrated data systems was used to track detained youth pre- and post-incarceration to assess the overall role and impact of identified detention school practices on educational progress and patterns of delinquency. The discussion will highlight the potential for short-term detention schools to “jump-start” stalled educational trajectories in the context of coordinated systems of services supported by sound policies and adequate funding.

Author

• Elizabeth Coker, University of Washington, Tacoma