Translations
Lessons Learned: Challenges and Strategies for Conducting Family-Based Intervention Research in Juvenile Justice Settings

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2019.05.011Get rights and content

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Challenge 1: Building Collaborations

Implementing research within the juvenile justice system requires building collaborations with many stakeholders who provide services to justice-involved youth on probation, including probation officers, defense attorneys, educators, mental health teams, and personnel in social service agencies. Thus, research conducted in this setting should engage the multiple systems of care charged with the welfare and rehabilitation of these youths as well as the communities affected by justice

Challenge 3: Research Design

Although randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the gold standard in intervention studies, RCTs in juvenile justice settings may not be the most practical or ethical option. For example, the court and/or probation system may wish for all youths to get the intervention offered by research and find it unethical to withhold a promising and/or effective program from youths in the control group. Furthermore, RCTs require high levels of resources, support, and time. In almost all

Discussion

Although implementing family-based intervention in juvenile justice settings is challenging, families play an essential role in youths’ lives. Therefore, it is critically important to identify strategies to address the various barriers and challenges that impact engagement of families in intervention.11 In this article, our goal was to highlight what we have encountered as some of the most consistent and critical challenges working with youths and families in the juvenile justice system and

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This study was funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD; grant P20MD000182 to Drs. Milburn and Bath). Dr. Milburn’s time during the funding period was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH; grant P30 MH058107-22), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA; grant 2R25DA035692) and the California HIV/AIDS Research Program funded UCLA Center for AIDS Research Health Disparities Core. For her work on this manuscript, Dr. Bath received support from the AACAP Physician Scientist Program in Substance Abuse K12 Award funded by NIDA (K12DA000357).

The authors thank all the families and youths who participated in this study and shared their experiences. The authors also acknowledge Michael Verner, Probation Director, and Dolores Bryant, Supervising Deputy Probation Officer, of the Los Angeles County Department of Probation, who made time and met with the authors to support this project. Finally, the authors thank all the juvenile court personnel at the Eastlake, Inglewood, and Los Padrinos courts; the clinical and aftercare staff from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health; and Soledad Enrichment Action in supporting their recruitment efforts.

Disclosure: Dr. Bath has received funding from the AACAP Physician Scientist Program in Substance Abuse K12 Award funded by NIDA, the California Community Foundation, the Judicial Council of California, and the Pritzker Foundation. Dr. Milburn has received funding from NICHD, the National Institute of Health Fogarty International Center, the California HIV/AIDS Research Program, the National Institute of Mental Health, and NIDA. Drs. Kim, Amani, and López report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

All statements expressed in this column are those of the authors and do not reflect the opinions of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. See the Instructions for Authors for information about the preparation and submission of Translations.

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©2019 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry