Young People Transitioning from Juvenile Justice to the Community: Transition Planning and Interagency Collaboration

Abstract

This study investigated the collaborative transition process for youth incarcerated for three or more months in New South Wales (‘NSW’) juvenile justice facilities. Qualitative methodology was employed to analyse interviews conducted with staff from both the education and juvenile justice systems in NSW to determine how the agencies involved with the transition planning for incarcerated youth collaborate. The study also aimed to determine the roles and understanding of staff in each sector with reference to the transition process. The results of the study were examined under the framework of Kohler's Taxonomy for Transition Programming and revealed that although many best practices were occurring in the area, improvements to the coordination of interagency collaboration would improve the likelihood that incarcerated youth would successfully transition back into the community.

Keywords:

• incarcerated youth
• transition to community
• juvenile justice
• transition planning
• interagency collaboration
• New South Wales