The Experience of Young People Transitioning from Juvenile Justice Back into the Community: Final Report

The report presented here describes a research project that explored the effects of a mentoring program developed and implemented by the community organisation, Shine For Kids. The over-arching goal of the program is to enhance the psychological, social, and physical capacities of young offenders so that they are less likely to reoffend and also become productive members of society. The report begins with a literature review that discusses the intersecting factors that contribute to young people having high offending rates in comparison to adults. The literature review also discusses how mentoring programs may address the intricate needs of young people who are in the process of transitioning from secure placement to the community. The report then focuses on the key characteristics of the Shine For Kids mentoring program and the research questions that guided the study. The components of the research design are then discussed and it is important emphasise that one of the key strengths of the study was that the researchers captured the perspectives of both mentees and mentors over time (approximately 12months), which is rare for research in this field. The results of the quantitative and qualitative data analyses are then reported. With respect to reoffending rates, these were similar amongst the young men participating in Stand As One and those who did not. In regards to the psychological measures that were assessed, there were increases in: self-efficacy, optimism, self-concept and resilience from the time the mentees were in secure care to 9-12 months following their release. There were also fluctuations in some psychological measures, specifically, self-concept - parent, resilience - primary carer, and resilience – context which decreased 3 months after the mentees had re-entered the community. In terms of the qualitative data, it appears that the Stand-As-One mentoring program was instrumental in helping system involved youth transition successfully into the community through a range of means. This included providing mentees with caring interpersonal relationships; facilitating the acquisition of positive mind-frames and developing new perspectives for interpreting the world; building confidence and social skills; adopting fitness routines. These themes suggest that the goal set forth by Shine For Kids – that is, to enhance the psychological, social, and physical capacities of system involved youth, is being achieved.