Poster #19 - Cross-National Reflections on Multi-System Involvement in USA and Brazilian Youth

• In Event: Poster Session 19

Abstract

United States (7.1 million) and Brazil (124,839) rank among the countries with the highest child abuse/neglect rates worldwide (Brazilian Nacional Council of Public Ministry, 2020; World Prison Brief, 2019). Both countries also report the highest ranks of global mass incarceration (1st and 3rd, respectively)—about 35%-43% U.S. inmates are minors with about 1 in 4 currently/formerly involved in the child welfare system (Prison Policy Initiative, 2019; Brasília: Conselho Nacional de Justiça, 2021). Placement in foster care has been identified as a primary risk factor for juvenile justice involvement and an increased risk for multiple negative outcomes (Trejos-Castillo & Trevino-Schafer, 2018). The disproportionate risk of being incarcerated for child welfare youth is a growing international trend steaming from policies and laws funneling youth from one system to another. Though this so-called “Care-to Prison Pipeline” or “Care-Criminalization” is a pervasive phenomenon (McFarlane, 2017), little is known about the life trajectories of youth involved across child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Geographically and contextually, Brazilian and American youth may have been exposed to unique factors leading to their involvement in systems of care in each country including different types of abuse, neglect, forced labor, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, forced displacement due to armed conflict and/or political instability, extreme poverty, parental death, natural disasters, and parental migration to other countries among other factors (Drybread, 2013; Iannelli, Gonçalves, & Wernersbach, 2015). Developmentally, however, compared to the overall population of children, abused and neglected youth across countries face similar socio-emotional challenges and developmental outcomes. This study aimed to provide a more nuanced understanding of multi-system youth’s unique experiences using a cross-cultural/cross-national qualitative methodological approach informed by Grounded Theory and the Positive Youth Development perspective. Using Grounded Theory will provide youth with a voice so they can tell their own stories. Using a Positive Youth Development approach will allow for identifying the youth’s challenges, needs and strengths, which, as shown by previous research, represents a powerful tool for supporting prevention and intervention efforts and positive outcomes. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews with 13-17 years old multisystem youth from USA (N=15; females n=3) and Brazil (N=15; females n=2) and analyzed using Thematic Network Analysis and Atlas.ti 8 software (including quotations and graphical representations. Bio vs. foster family transitory placements, power representations (authoritarian vs. authoritative figures), lack of “normalcy”, lack of life-skills, stigmatization, being “invisible” across systems, depersonalization, reoffending, mental health problems, emotional closure, breaking the cycle, permanent connections and self-dissociation emerged as salient challenges across participants in both countries. Resilience, creativity, self-sufficiency, human values, and emotional plasticity were identified as strengths across multisystem youth in both countries. Theoretical implications for understanding potential factors and trajectories propelling foster youth’s involvement in the justice system across contexts as well as methodological implications for the importance of using a positive development perspective and a cross-national qualitative lens to understand youth development across contexts will be discussed. Broader implications for policy makers, child welfare, juvenile justice, and professionals in general working with multi-systems youth across different countries will be addressed.

Authors

• Elizabeth Trejos-Castillo, Texas Tech University
  Presenting Author

• Silmara Carneiro e Silva, State University of Ponta Grossa