Education is a vital component of every young person’s development toward adulthood and often is the key protective factor against a variety of disadvantages. Why, then, does it become a secondary consideration when a youth becomes justice-involved, a time when it might be most crucial? In “Student-First” Approach: A Paradigm Shift for Professionals Working with Children and Young People Involved with the Juvenile Justice System, Leigh Mahoney and John “Mick” Moore offer a critical view of the many ways that decision-making on educational issues, from placement and transitions to disability and discipline, can positively impact outcomes for youth who are justice-involved. This brief offers professionals a general overview and a reflective framework through which to view their own opportunities to consider these children and young people as “students first.”
Click here to access this brief.