Session: Implementing and Evaluating Evidence-Based Practices within Juvenile Justice Settings: Lessons Learned and New Findings (Society for Prevention Research 27th Annual Meeting)

SESSION INTRODUCTION: The goal of this symposium session is to present a series of novel hybrid studies that evaluate both youth and implementation outcomes in the context of providing evidence-based practices in juvenile justice settings. New findings and lessons learned will be presented. This symposium brings together, for the first time, three research teams who are actively pursuing methods for increasing juvenile-justice involved youth’s access to evidence-based practices.

During the first paper presentation, “Implementing Systematic Mental Health Screening in Juvenile Detention: Lessons Learned and Preliminary Outcomes” a community-partnered approach to developing systematic screening procedures with behavioral health staff in juvenile detention will be discussed. The presenter will comment on the experience of developing this partnership and protocol, as well as findings from ongoing data collection related to implementation and youth outcomes.

During the second paper presentation, “Gender Responsive Substance Use Intervention for Justice-Involved Girls: Lessons Learned from the VOICES Real-World Efficacy Trial” RCT trial data, as well as organizational and system-level challenges that have impacted the ongoing trial will be presented. Findings highlight the challenges inherent in rigorous efficacy studies conducted in juvenile justice settings.

During the third paper presentation, “Mechanisms of Change at the Client and Organizational Level for Selective Prevention Programs Embedded within Juvenile Courts: Results from a Female-Specific Study” the associations between hypothesized mechanisms of change and adolescent female substance use, aggression, and risk behaviors among prevention programs in six juvenile courts will be presented. The presenter will also discuss the organizational factors affecting program feasibility from the perspective of court staff to inform intervention tailoring efforts.

At the conclusion of the presentations, the discussant will make summary statements and moderate a discussion between presenters and the symposium attendees. It is expected that SPR Annual Meeting participants will be interested in learning about efforts to implement and evaluate evidence-based programs in juvenile justice settings.