Current Juvenile Corrections Professional Development Practices and Future Directions

Abstract

Personnel in juvenile corrections (JC) work with students who have challenging academic, behavioral, and mental health needs. The complexity of the JC setting requires personnel to be highly skilled in effective practices to meet the demands of their job. Unfortunately, juvenile correctional personnel are neglected as an important link in the school-to-prison pipeline that can be used to redirect students away from further or repeated involvement in the court system. In this article, our purpose is to provide readers with information on the professional development (PD) needs of JC personnel. Student, teacher, and facility contextual considerations in JC are described. Then, specific JC PD knowledge, skills, and dispositions associated with student academic, behavior, and mental health needs are detailed. Finally, resources and future directions are offered.