Preventing Youth Incarceration Through Reading Remediation: Issues and Solutions

Abstract

The majority of court-involved youths have experienced academic failure, school exclusion, and dropout. Researchers have identified factors that increase a youth's risk for court involvement and incarceration. The risk factors include individual, family, community, peer, and school factors. Researchers actually have identified specific school-based policies and practices that may exacerbate the risks for delinquent behavior and incarceration among youths. For example, many incarcerated youths have failed to learn to read. The fact that youths who have deficits in reading are disproportionately represented in correctional institutions suggests that the juvenile justice system has become the default system for many youths who have reading problems. This article describes factors that put youths at risk for incarceration, discusses factors that protect youths from delinquency and incarceration, examines the specific protective factor of reading remediation, and offers recommendations to school-based personnel to ensure that schools adopt effective remedial reading programs for at-risk youths.