Youth Perspectives on the Pilot of SNAP Youth Justice (SNAP YJ), a Canadian, Innovative Intervention for Justice - Involved Youth

Background/Purpose:

Violent youth crime is increasing, with resulting individual and societal costs (i.e., health, justice, social, academic, employment) associated with youth delinquency. These high costs associated with youth offending warrant continued research and development of intervention programs for the highest risk justice-involved youth. Research is showing the importance of developing programs focused on self-control as key to reducing delinquency and improving the health and welfare of youth, with a continued role for social workers in building this evidence-base aligned with the profession’s values.

A Canadian child and youth mental health center along with Justice Canada and the Ontario provincial government initiated a joint innovative response to programming targeting youth at risk of or engaged in the justice system, the SNAP YJ program. This systemic, cognitive behavioral intervention is designed to increase emotion regulation, self-control and problem solving to reduce further contact with the law and/or gang membership.  This presentation will report on the exploratory, qualitative strand of a mixed methods evaluation examining the impact of this program on youth for the purposes of understanding experiences of programming, and developing/enhancing programming through the inclusion of the youth perspective. The following research question is answered:   What knowledge, skills or experiences do youth take away from this program and why? 

Methods:

Initially, youth were randomly selected for participation, ensuring inclusion of at least 1 youth from each of the 4 program sites (n=10). For the second round of interviews, youth were purposefully selected (n=7).  Data collection and analysis were inter-related:  the semi-structured interview guide modified to explore concepts prior to the second round of interviews. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was utilized, including initial coding, multiple rounds of coder comparisons, and constant comparison within and across interviews. Codes were collated into candidate themes and employed to review the data set for patterns. Themes were defined and refined, with data extract examples used to highlight results. Memos and an audit trail were used to document the research process, serving to increase dependability and reduce coder bias, enhancing trustworthiness.

Results:

Youth participants all shared evidence of acquired skill and knowledge connected to the program goals. Themes of learning related to self-control - thinking and consequences; self-understanding, perception, and awareness; and prosocial skills and behaviours were identified. Participants spoke to these gains, ranging from clear use of language, provision of personal examples demonstrating use of skills in their lives, to a stated rejection or dislike of the program while at the same time using program language and referencing use of skills.

Conclusion/Implications: 

The SNAP YJ program has demonstrated evidence of associated learning as presented by youth participants:  the knowledge and skills required for emotion-regulation, and problem-solving - mechanisms needed for prosocial skills and behaviours avoiding recidivism.  Through interviews with program participants, the prominent themes as identified through the youth voice have implications for program practice and development. Presenters will discuss how information from participants who demonstrated limited evidence of the program’s knowledge and skills will inform future development including implementation considerations.