William H. Barton

Towards a Strength-Based Juvenile Correctional Facility: Sustainability and Effects of an Institutional Transformation

In 2006, the administration of a state-run, secure juvenile correctional facility initiated an attempt to transform its institutional culture using a strength-based approach to assessment and case planning. This resulted in a rapid improvement in institutional climate. The current study revisits this setting several years later to see if those improvements were sustained, if they have produced better outcomes for youth, and if the assessment and case planning practices demonstrate fidelity to the intended approach. Results suggest that the institutional climate remains greatly improved and that recidivism results are encouraging, but that implementation of the practice model could be strengthened.

Assessing youth strengths in a residential juvenile correctional program

Summary Assessments and case plans that identify and build upon the strengths of clients, their families and communities are increasingly being used in many fields of practice, but are only beginning to be introduced in juvenile justice settings. This article describes a strengths‐based assessment tool developed specifically for use in juvenile justice programs and discusses its implementation in a secure juvenile correctional institution. Early results suggest that the adoption of this strengths‐based assessment protocol was the catalyst for an improvement in institutional climate as perceived by both youth and staff. Complaints from youth and parents/guardians as well as behavioral incidents at the facility have also declined markedly. While further research is needed to assess the impact on youth outcomes, this study offers lessons for other juvenile correctional institutions regarding the potential benefits and challenges of adopting a more strengths‐based approach.