Higher Education as a “Hook For Change”

• In Event: The School Environment, Crime, and Juvenile Delinquency

Abstract

The Youth Development Center (YDC) is a “school” for high-risk juvenile offenders in Bannock County Idaho, operated by Juvenile Probation. Their mission is to reduce recidivism by rehabilitating youth and enabling them to become productive citizens. The program focuses on GED completion, but unlike most programs, the YDC wants to promote higher education. Currently, they have no program in place to achieve that goal; they are understaffed and underfunded so their promotion of higher education is limited to discussion of the possibility and personal support. Our criminal justice program provides college student mentors to YDC to support those participants who want to attend college. They do so by helping with the college admission and financial aid application processes. I argue that many aspects of being a college student are similar to the features of a good job that have been found to promote desistance (Sampson and Laub, 1993; Uggen 2011). Students are engaging in interesting and challenging curriculum, which will lead to a career level job. I am currently applying for external funding to finance one introductory college course for each YDC student who is interested. I would like to discuss the utility of such a program.

Author

• Teresa Casey, Idaho State University