Doctoral Dissertation Research: Experiences of Youth at the Intersection of the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems.

跨界青少年是涉及儿童福利和少年司法系统的一个独特的儿童群体。跨界青年更有可能经历社会和经济上的不利条件，双重体系的参与可能从根本上影响他们的青春期和向成年期的过渡。这个项目调查了少年法庭机构如何描述和回应跨界青年，跨界青年如何经历他们作为“依赖”和“犯罪”的双重身份，以及跨界青年在法庭上的经历如何影响他们在青春期的幸福。除了调查美国国家机构与不平等之间的关系外，该项目还将展示国家如何区分受害者和罪犯，以及如何与受此影响的家庭互动。调查结果将为影响儿童福利和少年司法系统运作的国家政策提供信息。本项目将结合纵向访谈和民族志观察来研究少年法庭机构如何回应跨界青年以及跨界青年如何体验法庭过程。数据将来自于在一年的时间里对35到40名跨界青少年的反复访谈，以及在少年法庭的人种学观察，以及对依赖法庭和犯罪法庭的关键决策者的访谈。对跨界青年的纵向跟踪调查将使我们深入了解年轻人如何经历法庭程序，法庭观察将提供一个独特的机会来观察法庭演员和年轻人之间的互动，并将法庭上发生的事情与个人在采访中描述他们的法庭经历进行比较。调查结果将为有关少年司法和法律的社会学理论以及童年和向成年过渡的社会学提供信息。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Crossover youth are a unique population of children involved in both the child welfare and the juvenile justice systems. Crossover youth are disproportionately likely to experience social and economic disadvantage, and the dual system involvement may fundamentally shape their adolescence and transition to adulthood. This project investigates how juvenile court institutions characterize and respond to crossover youth, how crossover youth experience their dual status as “dependent” and “delinquent,” and how crossover youths’ experiences in court influence their well-being as they proceed through adolescence. In addition to investigating the relationship between state institutions and inequality in the United States, the project will show how the state distinguishes between victims and offenders and how it interacts with the families so affected. Findings will inform state policies affecting the operation of both child welfare and juvenile justice systems.This project will combine longitudinal interviews and ethnographic observation to examine how juvenile court institutions respond to crossover youth and how crossover youth experience the court process themselves. Data will be drawn from repeated interviews with 35 to 40 crossover youth over the course of a year, as well as ethnographic observation in juvenile court and interviews with key decision makers in both dependency and delinquency courts. Longitudinal follow-ups with crossover youth will grant insight into how young people experience the court process, and court observation will provide a unique opportunity to observe interactions between court actors and youth and compare what happens in court to how individuals describe their court experiences in interviews. Findings will inform sociological theories regarding juvenile justice and the law, as well as the sociology of childhood and transition to adulthood.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.