Drift, Risk and Misalignment: Evidence-Based and Evidence-Informed Practice Use in Juvenile Justice

• In Event: Evaluating the Promise of Evidence-Based Practice in Juvenile Justice Settings: Short and Long Term Feasibility

Abstract

Evidence-based and evidence-informed practices (EBP/EIPs) are the reform de jour in today’s correctional agencies, yet we know little about how EBPs work in practice. This study uses data collected during four years of qualitative fieldwork within a juvenile justice agency that includes intake/diversion, probation, detention, and two halfway houses to consider how juvenile justice workers understand and use several EBP/EIPs including Motivational Interviewing (MI), risk-needs assessment tools and Trauma-Informed Care—during for case management and during interactions with juvenile clients. Findings suggest that juvenile justice staff regularly speak the language of evidence, but often do not understand it and frequently misalign practice with the scientific base in ways that do not suggest outward resistance. Rather, the bench-to-trench hurdle and other contextual barriers make adopting, adapting, implementing and sustaining EBP/EIPs challenging, and at times, debilitating. The presentation concludes with some theoretical and practical implications for moving evidence into practice within juvenile correctional settings.

Authors

• Danielle Rudes, George Mason University

• Kimberly S Meyer, George Mason University