Abstract
Purpose
– Institutional staff encounter juveniles with complex problems (externalizing and internalizing) which calls for adequate formal education/training and professional experience to deliver quality treatment, contributing to an effective organization and increasing public value. The purpose of this paper is to investigate staff's formal education, professional experience and the institutions’ organizational strategies providing knowledge and clinical training to staff.
Design/methodology/approach
– The study includes staff questionnaires from eight wards (n=102). In addition, 39 in-depth interviews were conducted with management and staff members.
Findings
– Results show that institutions lack clearly defined target groups, 70 percent of staff members lack college education, 30 percent has never been offered education within the organization, and the vast majority of staff does not feel competent in performing their daily work.
Practical implications
– The results from this study shed light on an overlooked area in institutions, detention centers and prison settings, and are important to policy makers and governmental organizations responsible for coercive care of juveniles.
Originality/value
– Unlike previous studies, treatment and detention organizations are emphasized as similar to manufacturing industry and profit organizations, and the results are discussed with departure in organizational theory.
Subject
Health Professions (miscellaneous)
Reference37 articles.
1. Abrahamsson, B.
and
Andersen, J.A.
(2005), Organisation: att beskriva och förstå organisationer (Organizations: Describing and Understanding Organizations), 4th ed., Liber, Malmö.
2. Ahonen, L.
(2012), “Changing behaviors or behavioral change? A study of moral development and transbehavioral processes in juvenile institutional care”, doctoral thesis, Örebro University, Örebro.
3. Ahonen, L.
and
Degner, J.
(2012), “Moral development as a crucial treatment goal for young people in institutional care: a critical comparison between Milieu Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy”, The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, Vol. 33 No. 1, pp. 4-15.
4. Ahonen, L.
and
Degner, J.
(2013), “Staff group unanimity in care of juveniles in institutional treatment: routines, rituals, and relationships”, Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, Vol. 52 No. 2, pp. 119-37.
5. Andreassen, T.
(2003), Institutionsbehandling av ungdomar – vad säger forskningen? (Treatment of Juveniles Placed in Institutions. What Does Research Tell Us?), Gothia, Stockholm.
Cited by
10 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献