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

跨界青年是参与儿童福利和少年司法系统的独特儿童群体。跨界青年经历社会和经济劣势的可能性不成比例，双重制度参与可能从根本上塑造他们的青春期和向成年的过渡。这个项目调查了少年法庭机构如何对跨界青少年进行定性和回应，跨界青少年如何体验到他们“依赖”和“犯罪”的双重身份，以及跨界青少年在法庭上的经历如何影响他们在青春期的幸福。除了调查国家机构和美国不平等之间的关系，该项目还将展示该州如何区分受害者和罪犯，以及它如何与受影响的家庭互动。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。该项目将结合纵向访谈和民族志观察来检查少年法院机构如何回应跨界青少年，以及跨界青少年如何体验法院程序。数据将来自一年中对35至40名跨界青年的反复采访，以及对少年法庭的人种学观察，以及对抚养法庭和犯罪法庭关键决策者的访谈。对跨界年轻人的纵向跟踪将使他们深入了解年轻人如何体验法庭程序，而法庭观察将提供一个独特的机会，观察法庭演员与年轻人之间的互动，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。调查结果将为有关青少年司法和法律的社会学理论以及儿童社会学和成人过渡提供参考。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.