The purpose of this study is to identify the barriers to and facilitators of mental health services utilization among youth in the justice setting, and to explore ways to overcome these barriers and expand these facilitators. This qualitative study utilized focus groups as a means to extract themes among the perceptions of social workers on this topic. Results were transcribed to written form. Qualitative analysis procedures were followed to identify and label themes. A total of 473 statements are organized into 26 major themes with 18 sub‑themes. Suggestions for change under the agency/organizational category of domain three received the most overall discussion with 108 statements in all. The most discussed topics in the focus groups are quality of or improvements to services, which receives a total of 114 statements total, and punitive systems of care, which receives a total of 60 statements in all. Major suggestions for change made by participants include education and outreach for the public on mental health for juveniles, training on interventions and cultural competence for providers, and a shift from punitive to restorative for systems that justice youth interact with, to include schools, courts, probation, and law enforcement.

With the number of underprepared, at-risk students entering college, many institutions have developed initiatives to help support student success. Previous research has shown that peer mentoring has been used to support student success, but there is limited research on the mentoring experience from the peer mentors'€™ perspective. The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of peer mentors who mentor at-risk college students at a 4-year institution. Using a phenomenological design, 8 peer mentors were interviewed. This study was built on Lave and Wegner'€™s theory of situated learning and Zachary'€™s 4-phase mentoring model to help explain the meaning and value that the participants attributed to their experiences. Moustakas'€™s 7 step data analysis method was used. The results from this study suggested 5 themes that represent the peer mentors'€™ experiences: (a) being a role model, (b) learning experiences for the peer mentors, (c) establishing accountability, (d) effective mentor/mentee communication and relationship, and (e) clarifying the role as a mentee. The participants believed they strengthened their leadership and communication skills as a result of their mentoring experience; they also placed a strong emphasis on the challenges that occur during the mentoring relationship. The participants gained an understanding of how the skills they developed would be used in their academics and future professional careers. The positive social change implications for this study included: (a) aiding in the training of future peer mentors; (b) the improvement of future peer mentor programs; (c) improved support for at-risk students; and (d) gaining new insights for other researchers searching to promote successful mentorship programs for at-risk students.

Officials in the juvenile and public education systems are working to address the education gap for incarcerated juveniles and to implement turning point programs. The purpose of the phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of previously incarcerated young adults and their perceptions of graduation success and long-term juvenile incarceration. Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, Ryan and Deci's self-determination theory, Merton and Agnew's general strain theory, Homan's theory of exchange, and life course theory informed this study. Research questions were developed to understand the experiences and perceptions of young adults related to graduation success during or after juvenile incarceration. Convenience, purposive, and snowball sampling techniques were used to identify 10 young adults who experienced juvenile incarceration and completed high school with a high school diploma or GED. In-depth interviews were conducted to understand the participants' lived experiences and how they were able to overcome their challenges and succeed academically. A combination of a priori and open coding was used to support inductive analysis. Eight themes were identified: challenges of incarceration, support systems, overcoming patterns, turning points, juvenile justice staff, advice to other young offenders, experiences of incarceration, and graduation success. Recommendations include enhanced training for staff members in schools and facilities and conducting a follow-up study to assess the continued success of young adults in this study. Positive social change contributions include identifying ways incarcerated juveniles can be reengaged in schooling and continuing education to decrease recidivism and enhance productive citizenship.

At-risk youth come to school with a variety of challenges that sometimes lead to voluntary or involuntary disengagement from traditional high schools. Alternative education programs are an alternate placement for students who have disengaged from traditional high schools. Although researchers have shown that teacher and staff approaches to the overall educational experience of a student contribute to student success in alternative education programs, they have also highlighted that the lack of teacher-student relationships contributes to student disengagement. These findings may indicate that not all teachers are willing or able to connect with at-risk students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore what educators identified as the personal factors that support their motivation, interest, and eagerness to be an effective teacher in an alternative education setting in a Northeastern U.S. city. Self-determination theory was the theoretical foundation to study the relationship between the motivation of an educator and their effectiveness. Data included semistructured interviews and guided writing assignments with 4 educators from an effective alternative education program. Seven significant themes emerged that educators identified as personal factors that support motivation, interest, and eagerness to be an effective teacher in an alternative education setting: (a) understanding, (b) defining moment, (c) perspective and outlook, (d) personal and/or psychological goal attainment, (e) intrinsic motivation, (f) teacher beyond academics, and (g) internal fortitude. Implications for social change include information to help in recruitment of effective teachers for engaging at-risk students, thereby promoting their chances for academic and nonacademic success.

Researchers have associated parent involvement in primary schools with the improvement of grades, attendance, and the decrease of negative social behaviors. Consequently, parent involvement has improved in many primary schools. However, in secondary schools, parent participation continues to be deficient, particularly among Latino and African American communities due to language barriers, low incomes, and lack of social networks. Research is needed on how parent participation affects student achievement in secondary schools with underserved populations. Social capital theory provided the conceptual framework to help determine if parent involvement could create parent-school relationships that would lead to improved student academic and behavioral outcomes in a predominantly minority urban charter high school. The quasi-experimental observational study used program data and pre and post archived student records provided over a 2-year period from a convenience sample of 83 continuously enrolled students. Epstein's framework was used to categorize types of parent involvement, which constituted the independent variables. T tests and chi-squared analyses were used to test the association between the independent variables and dependent variables. The study found a limited association between GPA and ELA grades and certain types of parent participation activities for students overall, but not for English Language Learners. Attendance was not found to be affected significantly and data were lacking on suspensions and expulsions. The results of this study informs administrators who seek to increase parent involvement in order to improve student achievement and decrease the drop-out rate in high schools serving at risk students.

Evidence-based remediation options are limited for nursing students who fail their clinical competency evaluations. Scholarly literature provides a paucity of studies related to the use of simulation-based technology to remediate nursing students. The research question focused on the difference in the initial competency demonstration evaluation scores of associate degree nursing students compared to the reevaluation scores after remediation with simulation-based technology. Benner's novice to expert and Kolb's experiential learning theories were used to explain how nurses acquire and develop skills. The researcher used a quantitative one-group pretest posttest design to examine archival data from 149 nursing students from a South-Central United States community college who failed their initial competency evaluation and were remediated with simulation-based technology. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the precompetency scores to the after remediation scores and was found to have a statistically significant improvement in students' scores following simulation remediation. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted showing the competency evaluation questions were measuring the construct they were designed to measure. This study supports prior research findings by substantiating the positive benefits of simulation adding to the limited body of research related to simulation used for remediation. This study can make a positive impact on the nursing profession and the community by contributing to the body of knowledge for those who seek additional methods for students to achieve clinical success. Future studies are needed to validate these findings, which indicate that remediation with simulation-based technology can assist with student retention and promote student success.

Many at-risk students attending an alternative high school in a northwestern state were not graduating on-time even after a learner-centered blended learning model was implemented. The administration and teachers sought to understand why the change to a learner-centered program was only slightly increasing the graduation rate each year. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how the learner-centered instructional strategies used within a blended learning model were being implemented and supporting at-risk students. Weimer's learner-centered framework was used to ground the study and guide the research questions which examined teacher and student perspectives about the learner-centered instructional strategies that were being implemented. Interviews were conducted with 6 teachers from diverse disciplines who had taught at the study site for 3 or more years, 4 recent graduates, and 6 current students who were 18 years old or older. Classroom observations of the 6 teachers were conducted and archived student surveys from the previous 2 years were collected. All data were analyzed and coded to identify common themes and strategies regarding learner-centered instruction. The findings indicated the teachers needed professional development in how to implement learner-centered and blended learning strategies and how to help students take responsibility for their education. A yearlong professional development program focused on how to use learner-centered and blended instructional strategies was developed for teachers. Implementation of appropriate learner-centered and blended learning strategies might result in students completing their courses and increased graduation rates. As more students graduate, instead of dropping out, positive social change will occur in the community as they responsibly enter the work force.

Juvenile Detention Center Effects on Futures of At-Risk Youth by Jennifer L. Turner MS, Walden University, 2014 BS, University of Maryland University College, 2011 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Forensic Psychology Walden University August 2019 Many juvenile offenders return to the justice system after serving their incarceration sentences. Detaining youth has a negative impact on their mental health, education, employment, and ability to secede from a criminogenic life course. Identifying detention center effects on youths' futures can provide further insight on why the current approach does not successfully deter youth from secondary delinquency. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore future effects on incarcerated youth. A qualitative research design using a phenomenological paradigm was used to investigate study constructs. Labeling and social learning theories served as theoretical frameworks. Labeling theory was used to describe impact on youth after they receive a label of juvenile delinquent. Conceptualization on learned criminal behaviors in incarceration environments was made using social learning theory. Data was collected from personnel directly involved with juvenile incarceration, release, and rehabilitation. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. Coding software, bracketing, and concept mapping were implemented for data analysis. Detention centers attribute to a decrease in abilities required for youth to become functioning society members. Implications for social change include enhancing knowledge for professionals working to rehabilitate juveniles in effort to increases ability for future success. Participants specifically noted a lack of collaboration and understanding on how to implement evidenced-based practices into juvenile offender rehabilitation. Collaboration between the JJS, detention center staff, parents, and community programs is necessary to address this social problem.

Since its inception in 1993, nearly 90,000 high school dropouts have completed the National Guard Youth Challenge Program, a youth diversion program for unemployed high school dropouts. As of 2008, 27 states have partnered with the military to implement this residential program for at-risk youth. There is limited research on this new social welfare program despite its representing a dynamic military-state-welfare relationship. This study examines state-level conditions and looks to answer three research questions: 1) Under what conditions do states start a ChalleNGe program?; 2) What role do time-varying social and economic factors have in influencing states to initially adopt the program?; and 3) To what extent does the racial composition of program sites reflect the racial composition of its host state's young high school drop-outs? I examined state-level social and economic conditions using data from a variety of federal agencies and public opinion surveys. I examined social and economic circumstances that may have influenced state-level participation. Due to the nature of time-dependent variables and states' launching programs as various times since 1993, I used an event history analysis to predict the timing of initiation of a ChalleNGe program. The results of this research indicate that high unemployment rates and low high school graduation rates increase the likelihood that a state will create a ChalleNGe program. The results from this study provide insight into the creation and expansion of the ChalleNGe program as well as the changing role of military as a part of the welfare state.

This thesis reports a longitudinal study that investigated the factors affecting at-risk students' use of an online curriculum delivery mode for some Year 11 subjects. The study examined the skills and attitudes of the students during their online learning experience, and followed the teachers while they developed suitable teaching methods to be able to deliver their subject via online learning. Importantly, the students in the study were at risk of not completing subjects in the South Australian Certificate of Education (SALE) if some kind of curriculum intervention was not applied. Access to the school curriculum can be problematic for some young people for a variety of reasons, including a limited subject choice, an inability to attend programmed classes and exhibiting behaviour that is deemed to be inappropriate by school authorities. Students in this study were not able to study the subjects they wished because of timetable clashes, were not able to attend school regularly for personal reasons or had exhibited negative behaviour to their teachers and peers preventing them from attending certain classes. At the time of the study, all the students wished to complete their SALE, but limited access to the curriculum was likely to prevent this from occurring. The study used qualitative methods of data collection including interviews with students and teachers, analysis of students' work, electronic communications and other documents, and records of meetings. These were used to prepare case studies for each of the seven students involved. While the student sample was small, the varied personal experiences of the students in the study enabled the examination of many of the characteristics documented in the literature as those being associated with at-risk youth. / All the students involved in the study completed the NetLearning Project (NLP) unit(s) they had enrolled in, but each encountered different challenges. The case studies provided data that enabled identification of the characteristics students required to be successful online learners. Three clusters of factors relating to personal situations (reason for entry to the program, access to a home computer and continuity of schooling), skill factors (level of ICT and English literacy skills), and attitude to learning (willingness to persist and level of self-directedness) were identified as major contributors to students' ability to complete their units. The teacher case studies revealed that the characteristics required for teachers to operate effectively within the online learning environment include an ability to promote positive teacher-student relationships, a high level of ICT skills, good subject knowledge and curriculum understanding. In addition, teachers required initiative, persistence and collaborative skills. The findings of the study highlight the importance of attitudinal factors in determining the students and teachers success in the online environment and suggest that teacher-student relationships have a major impact on student learning outcomes, just as they do in the traditional classroom.