Incarceration to Inspiration: A National Study of Peer Mentoring Policies Used by Former Justice-Involved Youth Now Operating Community- Based Reentry Programs

Date of Award

Spring 2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ded)

Department

Instructional Support

First Advisor

Sonja Harrington Weston

Second Advisor

Ronald Grace

Third Advisor

Dwight Varnum

Abstract

Justice-involved students face a unique set of barriers that, unfortunately for most, exist early in their educational career and persist well into adulthood. Unless students are presented with life-changing mentoring experiences, intentional educational intervention, and transitional reentry programs, juvenile adjudication is often an orientation to a lifetime of institutionalization. This study investigated peer mentoring policies used by former justice-involved youth who operate community-based reentry programs. Using narrative inquiry, eight participants were interviewed and reflected on their personal reentry experiences, mentorship journey, and reentry policies that have enabled them to provide reentry support for justice-involved youth. The data was analyzed in Atlas IT using constant comparative analysis, and the findings were compared to the related literature to derive themes for viable reentry interventions. The themes that emerged were (a) trauma-informed care, (b) a system of support, (c) mentoring training, (d) credible messengers, and (e) strategic partnerships. Based on the themes, it is recommended that community-based reentry programs have trauma-informed care, that peer mentorship be used as a reentry intervention, and that mentors have social-emotional support as they address the needs of their mentees. Additionally, centering the voices of former justice-involved individuals in reentry research, policies, and programs can enhance understanding of the complex journey of reentry post-adjudication and ways to reduce juvenile recidivism.

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