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This conceptual article synthesizes the empirical research on punitive environmental norms of schools and the disproportionate effects on certain child and adolescent groups, particularly within urban schools. This involvement has come to be known as the school-to-prison pipeline. The young people affected by harsh school discipline protocols and involved formally with the juvenile courts share a number of common vulnerabilities. A review of these common risk factors that children and adolescents experience is presented first. This is followed by identification of which child and adolescent groups are disproportionately involved in the pipeline: the impoverished, those of color, maltreatment victims, students with special education disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.

Young people with learning disabilities, and in particular those of color, are significantly more at risk for having school difficulties, delinquency, and incarceration. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) data were used to investigate how learning disabilities, school experiences, gender, and race impacted delinquency and criminal activity and incarceration—looking at a learning disabilities-to-prison link. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationship between measured variables and latent constructs, comparing those young people with learning disabilities and those without. It was found that these pathways are quite complicated to discern; reflecting the current knowledge of this "learning disabilities pipeline" hypothesis. For young people with learning disabilities compared to young people without learning disabilities, juvenile delinquency was more likely if the young person was male or Hispanic; criminal activities were more likely for Black children and for those delinquent or incarcerated as a juvenile; and females were less likely to be incarcerated as an adult, but school dropouts, Black children, and those incarcerated as a juvenile were more likely. Implications are set forth, as well as recommendations to stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The zero tolerance policy movement across most of this country's school districts significantly limited school personnel's disciplinary alternatives for students who break rules on campus. This has resulted in millions of primary and secondary age students who have experienced suspension, arrests, and for some, expulsion. Within the student population a small number are most at risk for being captured within what has been ubiquitously called the "school-to-prison pipeline," sometimes targeted by authority figures, and prone to recidivism. These school punishments are significant risks, if not direct referrals, for juvenile court involvement. Often the discipline rules set forth by school districts--student codes of conduct--allow no flexibility in discipline alternatives outside of suspensions and expulsions. However, increasing evidence is finding that these discipline codes can be modified to include rehabilitative alternatives--Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS), socioemotional learning, professional (teacher) development, and restorative practices--while actually improving the school environments and making schools safer for all students.

Adolescents becoming formally involved with a juvenile court because of school-related behavior and discipline problems is a phenomenon known as the school-to-prison pipeline. Adolescents with learning disabilities are disproportionately represented within this pipeline. A study was conducted to review the outcomes for a population of youthful offenders (n = 433) in two juvenile courts in the Midwest, and it was found that youthful offenders with learning disabilities, when compared with nondisabled youthful offenders, were more likely to be suspended from school, were adjudicated delinquent at younger ages, and were more frequently held in detention centers. These outcomes are all risk factors for ongoing delinquent behaviors and, for some, eventual adult criminal court involvement. It is recommended that the juvenile courts continue to shift toward a rehabilitative paradigm in working with this more vulnerable offender population, including increased use of social workers.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the historical construction and empirical support of two child and adolescent behaviorally based mental health disorders: oppositional defiant and conduct disorders. Method: The study utilized a historiography methodology to review, from 1880 to 2012, these disorders' inclusion in psychiatric nosology systems, related historical and medical system material, and published empirical literature. Results: Analysis found limited reliability support and almost no construct or criterion validity support for either early dynamic classification diagnoses or today's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder's" (DSM's) descriptive symptomology categories. Conclusion: This is cause for concern because of the high diagnostic prevalence rates for these child and adolescent disorders, diagnostic-driven practice within the field, and the inordinate influence of the DSM on the clinical social work profession.

Privatized service delivery within Medicaid has greatly increased over the past two decades. This public program-private sector collaboration is quite common today, with a majority of Medicaid recipients receiving services in this fashion; yet controversy remains. This article focuses on just one program within Medicaid, school-based services for children with special education disabilities--the Medicaid School Program. A survey of public school districts within a region of one Midwest state found some expected results: Most districts were enrolled in the Medicaid program and receiving reimbursements for services; annual revenues were moderate; and a majority of districts provided most of the available Medicaid services. However, it was also found that almost every school district contracted with an outside private company to perform most of the Medicaid administrative functions (eligibility, billing, compliance), and almost every district was extremely satisfied with this collaborative arrangement--benefiting both entities. Support for this type of partnership is discussed in the context of public schools' and the social work profession's current fiscal and political challenges.

With suicide being the third leading cause of death among young people, early identification of risk is critical, particularly for those involved with the juvenile courts. In this study of court-involved youth (N = 433) in two Midwest counties, logistic regression analysis identified some expected and unexpected findings of important demographic, educational, mental health, child welfare, and juvenile court-related variables that were linked to reported suicide attempts. Some of the expected suicide attempt risk factors for these youth included prior psychiatric hospitalization and related mental health services, residential placement, and diagnoses of depression and alcohol dependence. However, the most unexpected finding was that a court disposition to shelter care (group home) was related to a nearly tenfold increased risk in reported suicide attempt. These findings are of importance to families, mental health professionals, and juvenile court personnel to identify those youth who are most at risk and subsequently provide appropriate interventions to prevent such outcomes. (Contains 2 tables.)

Many victims of childhood maltreatment experience difficulties in school and with academic performance. This article reviews the evidence on the connection between childhood maltreatment and school performance and presents an evaluation of a unique program established by Children's Services in Lorain County, Ohio. Since 2001, the School Success Program, in collaboration with 18 Ohio public school districts, has provided individual tutoring and mentoring by certified teachers to 615 maltreated children and youths, working closely with the whole family in an in-home setting. Most children and youths in the program have progressed to their appropriate grade level while improving overall grade point averages from 1.74 to 2.56 in core academic subjects. Program participants have shown one-year improvements that are significant when compared with those of their nonmaltreated peers: Basic reading and comprehension skills improved 58 percent; math reasoning and comprehension skills improved 50 percent; basic writing skills improved 48 percent; and overall academic skills improved 51 percent. These improvements were seen across both gender and race, with almost equal gains made by minority and nonminority children and youths, but particularly by boys. Implications for school social work practice are set forth in light of these promising results.

In pursuit of their mission to augment the educational process, school social workers provide service to special education students and to youths at risk for juvenile delinquency. This paper builds on previous literature that has looked at the relationship between special education disabilities and youths offending behaviors and delinquency. In this report of a three-year, retrospective study that used a random sample of 430 delinquent youths from two Midwestern counties, this paper presents findings on the evaluation of the relationship between special education disability status and two juvenile court variables. This study found that adjudicated youths with special education disabilities, when compared to their nondisabled, delinquent peers, are at significantly greater risk for earlier juvenile court involvement and longer probation supervision than their nondisabled, delinquent peers.

The "new federalism" paradigm offers an explanation why the federal government has devolved much of its administration of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, formerly AFDC) and Medicaid (through managed care) programs. A review of child and family outcomes data resulting from these devolutionary changes in TANF and Medicaid indicates that these devolutionary changes generally appear to have decreased access to medical coverage, decreased well-being out-comes, decreased cognitive development, increased behavioral and emotional difficulties, and increased the incidence of poor health for children and families. If the "new federalism" paradigm is extended to the Head Start program by block granting it to the states, children and their families served by Head Start are in potential jeopardy of suffering similar fates. This strong possibility should make policy makers very cautious about devolving or block granting the Head Start program to the states. (Contains 2 tables and 23 footnotes.)

Family structure and maltreatment (abuse and neglect) have been identified as predictors of youth delinquency, although the relationship is not clear. This article furthers this research by studying a sample of maltreated children (n = 250) in one Midwest county, and through a multiple regression analysis of many risk factors, the study identified only one significant delinquency variable that made delinquency less likely--children who experience parental divorce. Some established risk factors were surprisingly found not to be predictive of later delinquency., minority race, one-parent families, youth substance abuse, recurrent maltreatment, and youth behind in academic grade level. Implications for the family studies and juvenile justice fields are set forth. KEYWORDS maltreatment, divorce, delinquency, family

LGBTQ youth, and in particular those of color, are significantly more at risk for experiencing trauma at home and in their community, having school difficulties including bullying and suspensions, and subsequently being involved with the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Research is limited in understanding the pathways these young people take toward youthful and young adult offending and incarceration. The national longitudinal Add Health study data were used to explain how trauma, sexual orientation (gay, bisexual), school experiences, gender, and race impacted juvenile and adult criminal activity and incarceration—looking at a trauma-delinquency-crime link. It was found that females were more likely to experience childhood trauma if they were a person of color, poor, or bisexual; and these traumatic childhood experiences were all direct predictors of adult criminal activity, as was being bisexual or gay. While males were more likely to experience childhood trauma if they were a person of color or poor, but not if they were bisexual or gay, and these traumatic experiences and being bisexual (though not gay) also predicted juvenile delinquency, adult criminal activity, and adult incarceration. Implications and discussion of these and other researcher's findings are set forth, as well as recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]