<p>As rates of incarceration have risen, so has interest in the children of incarcerated individuals. This quantitative study examines the relationship between parental incarceration and adult children&rsquo;s resiliency and psychological well-being. It compares demographic characteristics and parental incarceration status according to two scales: the Brief Resilience Scale and the Flourishing Scale. Of the 38 individuals over the age of 18 who completed the survey, 12 reported having a parent who has been incarcerated. Of these 12, 83.3% (<i>n</i> = 10) were not present while their parent was being detained, and 58.3% (<i>n</i> = 7) had contact with their parent during their incarceration. The study found no significant difference between the resiliency of those who have had a parent incarcerated (<i>M</i> = 18.58, <i> SD</i> = 1.62) and those who have not (<i>M</i> = 17.96, <i> SD</i> = 2.32). There was also no significant difference in the overall psychological well-being of those who have had a parent incarcerated (<i> M</i> = 46.50, <i>SD</i> = 8.31) and those who have not (<i> M</i> = 48.58, <i>SD</i> = 5.47) in their overall psychological well-being. </p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to design a 3-year pilot program, identify funding sources, and write a grant proposal to fund an extended services reentry program, Helping Hands to New Beginnings (HH2NB), in Los Angeles, California. A review of literature revealed that the City of Los Angeles does not have sufficient reintegration programs to compensate for the influx of parolees. The proposed program would provide male parolees with reintegration services that target their criminogenic needs over a 3-year period. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration was selected as the most appropriate funder to support this program. The identified host agency is the Weingart Center that provides homeless individuals with the skills necessary to rehabilitate and re-stabilize their lives, secure employment, and find long-term housing. The actual submission or funding of this grant was not a requirement for the successful completion of the project.</p>

<p> The juvenile justice system provides a multicultural arena for mental health professionals who are interested in working in forensic social work. This curriculum aims to demystify cultural competence and highlights the importance of adapting multicultural perspectives and theoretical approaches to increase knowledge, awareness, empathy and respect for the diverse cultures of juvenile offenders. This curriculum is intended to train professionals on how to facilitate cross-cultural communication within the juvenile justice system, and establish a multicultural environment in the workplace. Most importantly, it will explore the nature of the juvenile justice system, analyze cultural competence models and integrate both domains to enhance the assessment and treatment of young offenders.</p>

<p> The purpose of the descriptive, quantitative study was to examine recidivism rates of mentally ill incarcerated individuals. With data provided by the Florida Department of Corrections, the current study sought to describe recidivism rates of mentally ill offenders who, within three years of release, returned to prison. The use of descriptive statistics provided information through means, modes, and frequencies, which led to incorporating logistic regression to provide further details concerning recidivism. The sample consisted initially of more than 120,000 offenders released, and narrowed to more than 20,000 released with a mental health diagnosis in the studied time frame, 2005 to 2008. The study consisted of 11 categorical and individual diagnoses while incorporating analyses of demographics, crimes committed, educational level, past incarcerations, and other variables in relation to mental health diagnoses. The results identified those with a mental health diagnosis were more apt to return to prison within the three-year time frame than those with no diagnosis. Specifically, those with a Schizophrenia diagnosis had a higher recidivism rate than the other diagnoses studied. Other variables found positive for recidivism were age, gender, and prior prison arrest record.</p>

<p> Los asesinatos de j&oacute;venes varones en Puerto Rico son alarmantes y aunque existe temor por la alta criminalidad, esta coexiste con la indiferencia e insensibilidad ante la mayor&iacute;a de las v&iacute;ctimas. El discurso oficialista, acogido por la poblaci&oacute;n en general, categoriza a las v&iacute;ctimas del crimen, entre v&iacute;ctimas &ldquo;culpables&rdquo; y v&iacute;ctimas ''inocentes'', de acuerdo al grupo social de procedencia de las v&iacute;ctimas. Vemos, como unos asesinatos de personas consideradas de bien, atraen la atenci&oacute;n de la mayor&iacute;a de la gente hacia el problema de la criminalidad. Asesinatos que por lo general son resueltos y convictos sus victimarios en un tiempo relativamente r&aacute;pido, mientras otros que ocurren en mayor proporci&oacute;n, no parecen indignar a la mayor&iacute;a de las personas. Esto constituye un ejemplo de este manejo diferenciado en el que <i>unos muertos valen m&aacute;s que otros.</i> El presente trabajo de investigaci&oacute;n pretende provocar una reflexi&oacute;n cr&iacute;tica en torno a los discursos valorativos respecto de los asesinatos en el pa&iacute;s y su cobertura en la prensa, a partir de la forma en que diferentes sectores valoran unos asesinatos sobre otros, de acuerdo con el nivel socioecon&oacute;mico de procedencia de las v&iacute;ctimas. Para esto, utilic&eacute; como estudio de caso del asesinato de la joven Nicole Mu&ntilde;iz Mart&iacute;nez, ocurrido en el mes de agosto de 2003. Esto fue comparado con las experiencias de cinco familiares de varones asesinados y se complement&oacute; con un an&aacute;lisis de contenido de las noticias sobre asesinatos un mes antes y despu&eacute;s del asesinato de Nicole Mu&ntilde;iz. Finalmente, el an&aacute;lisis se realiz&oacute; a partir de la teor&iacute;a de la complejidad. </p>