Rehabilitation for Gang-Affiliated, Male, African American Juvenile Delinquents

Rehabilitation for Gang-Affiliated, Male, African

American Juvenile Delinquents

Section 1: Foundation of the Study and Literature Review

Introduction

Juvenile delinquency poses a concern for communities (Bartollas & Schmalleger,

2014). There are differing opinions on how to best intervene with these youth. A large

representation of the juvenile delinquent population consists of gang-affiliated youth

(Takahashi & Evans, 2017). Pyrooz and Sweeten (2015) concluded that African

American males are overly represented within the gang population. These African

American, gang-affiliated youths receive little or no positive rehabilitation when

convicted of a crime. Rather, they are sent to juvenile detention facilities where they are

incarcerated with other delinquents. Youth of this demographic are at great risk for a

perpetuated criminal career (Dong & Krohn, 2016). Thus, it is prudent to discover what

social workers’ roles are in helping these youth rehabilitate to prevent ongoing criminal

careers.

The project was conducted using action research methodology. One focus group

of five social workers who work with this population were assembled for the study. The

outcome has the potential for social change implications by way of social workers

recognizing what their responsibilities are in the rehabilitation of gang-affiliated, African

American, male, juvenile delinquents.

This section contains an introduction, problem statement, purpose statement and

research question, nature of the doctoral project, significance of the study, theoretical

frameworks, literature review, and summary.

Problem Statement

Juvenile crime is prevalent in all communities (Tyler, 2015). Davis and Sorenson

(2010) reported that the rate of gang-affiliated, African American, male youths offending

and being incarcerated is significantly higher than their European American counterparts.

Juvenile crime is being addressed using a punitive approach of intervention as opposed to

a clinical, rehabilitative approach (Artello, Hayes, Muschert, & Spencer, 2015).

Therefore, there is a need to understand the role social workers play in the rehabilitation

of African American, male, juvenile delinquents with gang involvement. Nominal

research exists about how social workers can work together with the justice system to

rehabilitate these youngsters in a manner that will reduce the rate of recidivism. To

understand how social workers can be involved in the rehabilitation of these

gangaffiliated, African American, male, juvenile offenders, an awareness of what skills

must be developed with this population is essential. Gaps in the literature prevent social

workers from recognizing their roles and responsibilities in the rehabilitation of this

population.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP, 2016) reports

data on the vast amount of youth who are held in detention facilities in the United States.

Approximately 60,000 juvenile offenders are not living at home, with 40% of the juvenile

detention population being African American males (Brame, Bushway, Paternoster, &

Turner, 2014). These youths are being held in residential placement facilities such as

juvenile detention and corrections facilities (OJJDP, 2016). Of these placements, 80% of

the facilities hold a mix of both violent and nonviolent juvenile offenders, with

approximately 45% of facilities admittedly using confinement measures with the

youngsters (Hockenberry, Wachter, & Sladky, 2016). The OJJDP (n.d.) further asserted

that African American, adolescent males have greater involvement in criminal acts than

European American youth of the same age and gender. Despite these findings, there is

little research about how social workers can be involved in community-based

rehabilitation for gang-affiliated, African American, male, juvenile offenders as opposed

to incarceration to prevent recidivism.

Many youth who are incarcerated end up recidivating back to detention centers as

opposed to developing skills to becoming productive members of society (Lambie &

Randell, 2013). Many of the circumstances that lead to juvenile delinquency are social

(Palermo, 2013; Teasely, 2014; Tyler, 2015). Youth involved in gangs are at a

significantly higher risk of offending than those who are not gang- affiliated (Gilman,

Hill, Hawkins, Howell, & Kosterman, 2014). Further, Gilman et al. (2014) recognized

that a risk factor for joining gangs and engaging in criminal behavior is living in

communities that are highly populated by gangs. In this project, I sought to contribute to

social change by providing a basis for social workers to understand what their role is to

help these youth break the cycle of crime and to become productive members of society.

As a student intern at an out-of-district placement for youth, I encountered many gang-

affiliated, African American youth. Many of these youngsters had interactions with the

law and were cycling in and out of juvenile detention facilities. During meetings with

other social workers, teachers, and the psychologist working at the school, it became

apparent there was an overall frustration about the punitive approach to criminal behavior

with the aforementioned population. The team of professionals discussed the need for

these youngsters to be taught skills and strategies to help them resist criminal behavior.

Therefore, I recognized this need as a social work practice problem and chose to conduct

an action research project to understand how social workers view their role in the

rehabilitation of gang-affiliated, African American, male, juvenile offenders. The results

of the project could be beneficial for social workers to gain an understanding of how they

can work with this population to prevent reincarceration.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this action research study was to explore social workers’ roles in

the juvenile justice system and rehabilitation of African American, male, juvenile

offenders who have gang involvement. Prior to conducting the study, it was necessary for

me to understand what risk factors lead to gang involvement and delinquent behavior.

Further, it was imperative to recognize what skills these youth are lacking that lead to

gang involvement and delinquent behavior. When exploring social workers’ roles when

intervening with this youth population, skills acquisition must be considered. To discover

social workers' roles in the rehabilitation of gang-affiliated, African American, youth

offenders, I conducted a review of the existing literature, as well as a focus group.

Research Question

The research question informing the analysis for this project was the following:

How do social workers understand their role in the rehabilitation of gang-affiliated,

African American, juvenile offenders? I collected relevant data from existing literature,

as well as asked open-ended questions in one focus group consisting of five social

workers who all work with the above-mentioned juvenile population.

Researchers have identified the need to understand what factors contribute to

African American, male youth joining gangs. Once imbedded in a gang, the

criminological outcome of the youngster increases significantly (Pyrooz, Sweeten, &

Piquero, 2012). Living in a community with high gang involvement heightens the risk of

an African American, male youngster joining a gang (Gilman et al., 2014). Further

research into what role social workers play in the rehabilitation of gang-affiliated,

African American, male, juvenile offenders was necessary and will contribute to

professional social work practice. I hope to assist social workers in clarifying what their

roles are in conjunction with the juvenile justice system to rehabilitate African American,

male, juvenile offenders with gang affiliation. Additionally, they can use the knowledge

gained in this capstone to help remediate juvenile offenders of other races and gender.

Key Terms

Gang: A youth gang is a self-formed group of youngsters who engage in criminal

acts (Franzese, Covey, & Menard, 2016).

Juvenile delinquent: A young person who engages in acts that would be

considered criminal if done by an adult (Brezina & Agnew, 2015; Burfeind & Bartusch,

2015; Nisar, Ullah, Ali, & Alam, 2015).

Juvenile justice system: System of courts and institutions that handle cases

involving a juvenile defendant (Zimring, Langer, & Tanenhaus, 2015).

Juvenile recidivism: Measured by criminal acts, such as new law violations, both

misdemeanor and felony offenses. These criminal acts could result in rearrest,

reconviction, or return to juvenile detention facilities with or without a new sentence

(Looman & Abracen, 2010).

Incarceration: Confinement to prison or jail or where individuals are locked up

overnight (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2017).

Punitive: Intended as punishment or discipline (Brezina & Agnew, 2015).

Rehabilitative: Preparing an offender for a productive life (Gifis, 2016).

Recidivism: Reoffend (Doherty, 2015). The "repetition of criminal behavior."

(Langrehr, 2011, p. 23) and/or continued association with the legal system for a new

criminal offense, including a misdemeanor or higher offense.

Nature of the Project

Stakeholders have insight into the topic being studied based on their experiences.

Action research involves these stakeholders in the research process (Stringer, 2014). The

researcher assumes the role of colearner with participants who have experience with the

population being researched. Action research is practice-based research. Practice in

action research is understood as both action and research (McNiff & Whitehead, 2010).

Action research contributes to social and cultural change through the improvement of

practice as defined.

Action research contributes to social and cultural change by holding stakeholders

accountable for their actions and assuming responsibility for creating change (McNiff &

Whitehead, 2010). Social workers who work with the gang-affiliated, African American,

male, juvenile delinquent community were recruited for a focus group. Through the use

of action research for this project, social workers will be compelled to claim

responsibility and be held accountable for the intervention efficacy of gang-affiliated,

male, African American, juvenile delinquents.

Methodology

Using an action research approach to this project provides social workers who

work with the gang-affiliated, African American, juvenile delinquent population an

understanding of how to best use clinical services to intervene with this population.

Action researchers recognize the unique knowledge stakeholders contribute to the

research (Stringer, 2007). When exploring the role and responsibility of a social worker

in the rehabilitation of the gang-affiliated, African American, juvenile delinquent

population, social workers were selected to contribute in the focus group.

Data were obtained by asking questions to one focus group of five social workers

from different agencies. Participants were invited to join the group via e-mail. The group

met a total of one time to discuss how they viewed their role in the rehabilitation of

gangaffiliated, African American, male, youth offenders. Participants were required to

sign a consent form before the meeting of the group. I compiled a questionnaire

consisting of open-ended questions for participants to complete during the group time.

Responses were discussed. Open discussion on the topic was also allowed and

encouraged.

Action Research Terminology

Colearner: Stakeholders and researcher learning together (McNiff & Whitehead,

2010).

Data: The information that was collected.

Facilitator: The person who leads the focus group and the research (Stringer,

2014).

Participants: People who can speak for the interest of the stakeholders, or

stakeholders themselves (Stringer, 2014).

Stakeholders: The people who are most directly affected by the issues (McNiff &

Whitehead, 2010).

Significance of the Study

There is a disproportionate use of punitive measures in the juvenile justice system

between African American and European American juvenile offenders (Cochran &

Mears, 2014). Although there has been a decrease in the disproportionate number of

minority confinement (Davis & Sorenson, 2010), disparities still exist between the use of

punitive versus rehabilitative intervention methods between African American and

European American young offenders (Cochran & Mears, 2014). Through this project, I

sought to understand social workers’ viewpoint about their roles regarding service

delivery for African American, male, juvenile delinquents with gang affiliation. Further,

it is important to explore challenges associated with providing effective social work

interventions for this population.

In this action research study, I sought to clarify social workers' responsibilities in

providing rehabilitative interventions for gang-affiliated, African American youth who

have been incarcerated. The study will contribute to social work practice by helping

social workers understand their roles and responsibilities in the rehabilitation of this

youth population. Further, the study will contribute to policy and foster positive social

change by allowing stakeholders to recognize the importance of using rehabilitative

measures through the use of social work intervention when intervening with

gangaffiliated, African American, male youth who have been incarcerated, as opposed to

using purely punitive measures.

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

Many theories can be used to understand delinquent behavior. Siegel (2010) wrote

that social learning theory, developed by Bandura, can help to comprehend delinquent

behavior based on behavior modeling. The premise of social learning theory is that

behavior is learned. Although this theory can be used to guide the research, it is a general

theory of crime and is often used to understand a range of criminal behaviors (Akers &

Sellers, 2004). Alternatively, differential association theory (DAT) explains deviance as

coming via social associations. The social groups that a youngster associates with

provides a context for the behaviors the youth defines as either acceptable or

unacceptable (Akers & Sellers, 2004). When understanding delinquency within the

specific group of gangs, DAT was found to be the most appropriate theoretical

framework to follow.

DAT was first developed by Sutherland in 1939 and was then revised in 1947.

According to Sutherland’s theory, just as any behavior is learned, so is criminal behavior

(as cited in Burgess & Akers, 1966). Delinquency, as understood using a DAT

perspective, occurs because of the individual’s contact with other criminal behavior

patterns. A youngster who is continuously surrounded by persons who are engaging in

criminal acts will likely offend (Sutherland, Cressey, & Luckenbill, 1995). The crime rate

of a group is directly related to how organized the group is for, or against criminal

behavior. Street gangs in inner-city areas have reportedly high rates of delinquency

among youth of all ages because of culturally transmitted favorability toward criminal

behavior (Matsueda, 2001). Positive peer reactions toward an individual engaging in

criminal actions serve to reinforce the delinquent behavior (Klemp-North, 2007).

Alternatively, if the youngster is part of a group that is organized against criminal

behavior, he or she will be at reduced risk for delinquency (Agnew, 2001; Klemp-North,

2007; Matsueda, 2001).

DAT was useful for this capstone in understanding how the gang culture of

violence (Klemp-North, 2007) can perpetuate delinquency among gang-affiliated,

African American, male youth. Recognizing that peer influence affects the criminal

behavior of these youngsters can help social workers to recognize interventions that focus

on encouraging gang-affiliated, African American, male, youth offenders to interact with

positive peer influences who abstain from criminal activity. By using DAT as a

theoretical framework, social workers can better understand why youth who have been

incarcerated due to interacting with others who encourage criminal behavior have a

higher rate of recidivating back to prison both as juveniles and as adults (Aizer & Doyle,

2015).

Values and Ethics

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 2017) code of ethics

provides a guideline of values and ethics that must be upheld by social workers. First, the

code highlights the importance of social workers promoting social justice for clients.

Further, it is a social worker’s obligation to enhance the wellbeing of all people and

communities and meet the basic needs of individuals and groups. To understand how

social workers can promote social justice for gang-affiliated, African American, male

youth who have been incarcerated while meeting the needs and enhancing the wellbeing

of this group of people, several ethical considerations must be taken into consideration.

Social workers seek to challenge social injustice, particularly on behalf of

oppressed, marginalized, or vulnerable individuals and groups. Further, the social change

efforts of a social worker include issues related to discrimination, oppression, and cultural

and ethnic diversity. In addition to providing access to resources and information to

promote social justice, social workers also strive to promote social justice by ensuring

equality of opportunity for all people (NASW, 2017).

The project directly supports this ethical value of social justice. I sought to

generate knowledge on social workers' roles in the rehabilitation of gang-affiliated,

African American, juvenile offenders. By intervening in a therapeutic manner, the social

worker will be striving to create equal opportunity for the client, therefore upholding this

value of the NASW (2017) code of ethics.

The second ethical value of the NASW (2017) code of ethics being addressed is

dignity and worth of a person. It is the duty of a social worker to "respect the inherent

dignity and worth of a person" (NASW, 2017, p. #6). Part of this value is recognizing the

clients' capacity for change and helping foster this change. By broadening the knowledge

of the social workers' role in bringing about change for clients of this population, I am

directly supporting this value of the NASW code of ethics. Included in the value of

dignity and worth of a person is the need for social workers to recognize their dual

responsibility to both the client and society. By conducting this project and thereby

recognizing the role of social workers in intervening with the mentioned population,

society benefits as well. Living in communities that are riddled with crime due to gangs

increases the risk of a youngster joining a gang and offending (Gilman et al., 2014). By

intervening to reduce the rate of crime and recidivism, social workers are working on

behalf of both the client and communities to create safe neighborhoods.

Through this action research study, I sought to increase fellow social workers’

and my level of competence through education into how social workers can effectively

intervene with the mentioned population. The social work value of competence

encompasses the development and enhancement of the professional expertise of a social

worker (NASW, 2017). By understanding how social workers perceive their roles and

responsibilities in the rehabilitation of previously incarcerated, gang-affiliated, African

American, male, juvenile delinquents, I made recommendations for modification that

contribute to the knowledge base of the profession. Further, information uncovered

through the literature review and action research process will serve to enhance the

knowledge of those in the social work community. Social workers can use the knowledge

gleaned from this action research project in both advocacy and clinical social work

practice.

Literature Review

Information included in the literature review was synthesized from many different

research sources. Data and statistics were found on the Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention's website. Walden University's library was used to find

peerreviewed articles. EBSCO databases such as ProQuest and Psycharticles were used.

Further, I read through hundreds of web versions of social work articles to find

appropriate information. Keywords such as African American gang-affiliated juvenile

delinquents, juvenile justice system, rehabilitation methods, and recidivism were used

individually or conjunctively to yield search results. I also tried to limit my research to

information no older than 2013. When necessary, I did include more dated studies.

Juvenile Delinquent

A juvenile delinquent is a minor under the age of 18 who engages in criminal acts

that are punishable for breaking the law (Binder, Geis, & Bruce, 2001; Brezina & Agnew,

2015). Historically, any act that would be considered a crime if conducted by an adult

was thought to be a delinquent act if done by a minor. The exception is murder. For youth

who are 15 years old and older, voluntary manslaughter, kidnapping, rape, and

aggravated assault are no longer considered acts of delinquency and are punishable as an

adult (Binder et al., 2001). All other criminal acts conducted by a minor are classified as

acts of delinquency and are handled within the juvenile justice system, as opposed to

adult court.

According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2017),

approximately 920,600 minors under the age of 18 were arrested. These youngsters are at

risk for delinquency due to factors such as socioeconomic status, gang affiliation, and

poor parental involvement (Palermo, 2013). Knoll (2015) pointed out the disparity

between male and female juvenile offenders. Statistically, males are more than twice as

likely than their female counterparts to be arrested within a given period (Baglivio,

Jackowski, Greenwald, & Howell, 2014; Knoll, 2015; Sanchez & Lee, 2015).

Researchers attribute this discrepancy to the lack of self-control exhibited by male

offenders, compared to the impulse control of females (Barrett, Ju, Katsiyannis & Zhang,

2015; Shulman, Harden, Chein & Steinberg, 2015; Steketee, Junger, & Junger-Tas,

2013). According to Brezina and Agnew (2015), because a minor's brain is less

developed than that of an adult, juveniles are less capable of understanding the

consequences of their actions. Thus, the juvenile justice system handles matters about

youth, as opposed to the harsher implications of the adult court system (Brezina &

Agnew, 2015).

School-to-Prison Pipeline

In 2000, as many as 3 million school suspensions and 97,000 expulsions were

reported in the United States (NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, 2013).

There is a large amount of youth who are getting entangled in the school-to-prison

pipeline (Artello et al., 2015). Wilson (2014) defined the school-to-prison pipeline as the

relation between engagement of youth in crime and educational exclusion. With the rise

of school suspensions over the past several decades, as well as the heightened security

measures and placement of police officers in schools, in-school arrests have become more

commonplace (Kupchik & Alleyne, 2017). Previously, minor misbehaviors such as

insubordination and defiance of authority would have resulted in the student being sent to

the principal's office or sitting detention. Suspension is being used as a method for

addressing these trivial disobediences. Depriving youth of educational opportunities by

excluding them from school has been identified as a risk factor for juvenile justice

involvement, as well as a host of negative developmental outcomes (Gregory, Skiba,

Mediratta, 2017; Skiba, Arredondo, & Williams, 2014). Schiff (2013) asserted that many

youths who are suspended for nonviolent offenses are being referred from the school

system to juvenile justice agencies.

Minor misbehaviors that previously have been addressed in the school system are

now cause for arrest. Zero tolerance policies that call for a punishment and exclusionary

approach to discipline (Gonzalez, 2015; Skiba, 2014) limit the disciplinary options of

school staff (Schiff, 2013). In 2006, approximately 7% of school-aged children had been

suspended at least one time (Simmons-Reed & Cartledge, 2014). School expulsions

accounted for roughly 102, 077 students (Simmons-Reed & Cartledge, 2014).

Researchers noted the disproportionate rates that African American male students

experience zero-tolerance policies (Gonzalez, 2015; Heilbrun, Cornell, & Lovegrove,

2015; Morris & Perry, 2016; Skiba et al., 2014). African American male students are

three times more likely than their European American counterparts to experience zero

tolerance policies such as suspension and school expulsion. Although African American

males only comprised 15% of the students in the data collection, 35% of these youth had

been suspended at least once, 44% had been suspended more than once, and 36% had

been expelled (Simmons-Reed & Cartledge, 2014).

School enrollment is a suppressant to delinquency because of the structured

environment. School exclusion due to suspension and/or expulsion increases the number

of time youngsters spend unsupervised, which may lead to delinquent behavior

(Gonzalez, 2015; Kupchik & Alleyne, 2017; Monahan, VanDerhei, Bechtold, &

Cauffman, 2014; NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, 2013; Skiba et al.,

2014). The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (2013) reported that the

disruption in education by the youngster not being in school only serves to frustrate the

youth and perpetuate the continued bad behavior. Many of these adolescents turn to crime

at a young age. Once incarcerated for their crime(s), they often do not return to the school

system. Thus, the recidivism rate back to the juvenile justice system for juvenile

offenders is increased (Teasley, 2014). Therefore, zero tolerance policies can have direct

ramifications to gang involvement.

Gangs

Gangs are defined as a group of people whose behavioral norms run counter to the

behavioral norms of the larger society (Cloward & Ohlin, 2013). Gangs typically have

rigid internal structures with clearly identified leadership. A gang will claim control over

specific territories in the community. If a rival gang infringes on their territory, the gang

will usually respond with violence. The term "gang war" has been coined for when rival

gangs engage in violent disputes (Sanders, 2017).

Merrin, Hong, and Espelage (2015) found that youngsters who felt a sense of

belonging within the school system are more likely to desist from gang involvement.

Comparatively, youth who are suspended, expelled, or otherwise ostracized from

educational opportunities at school are at higher risk for joining gangs. Data collected

from 2007 through 2012 showed a marked increase in gangs and gang membership

amongst youth across the nation (Egley, Howell, & Harris, 2014). As of 2012, there were

a total of 30,700 gangs across the United States with a membership of approximately

850,000 members (Egley, Howell, & Harris, 2014). An estimated 30% of all law

enforcement responding agencies reported gang-related activity (Egley, Howell, &

Harris, 2014). Disproportionate amounts of serious offenses by juveniles have been done

by gang-affiliated youth (Chu, Daffern, Thomas, Ang, & Long, 2013). There is a positive

correlation between gang affiliation and delinquency. Many youngsters did not have high

rates of delinquent behavior before joining a gang. However, once joining the gang, their

delinquency rate increased.

Upon leaving the gang, the individual's delinquency rate was reduced as well.

Thus, juvenile delinquency is at its peak for those with active gang membership

(O’Brien, Daffern, Chu, & Thomas, 2013; Thornberry, Krohn, Lizotte, & Chard-

Wierschem, 1993). Many of these crimes are committed for no reason other than “the hell

of it” (Nisar et al., 2015, p. 4).

Juvenile Justice System

Until the 1800s, youth who were considered rowdy, unmanageable, or delinquent,

were either given a condoned whipping or were sent to adult prisons. These facilities

were rat infested, unsafe, and had deplorable conditions (Springer & Roberts, 2011).

During these times, youngsters aged 7 years and up were considered old enough to stand

trial for offenses ranging from theft, violence, vandalism, parental abuse, and neglect

(Bilchik, 1999; Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice, 2001).

Before the Progressive Era, there were no separate juvenile justice systems for

youth offenders. Delinquent youth were handled either in the adult criminal justice

system or houses of refuge (Amdur, Davidson, Mitchell, & Redner, 2013). Houses of

refuge were modeled after poor houses as alternatives to prisons. Youth were held in a

residential setting that was meant to remove them from the negative environments that

contributed to the behavior in the first place (Amdur et al., 2013). They functioned under

a model of strict education, hard work, and stringent discipline. The premise was that

rehabilitation would come through these strict guidelines as opposed to through love and

care. By the 1840s, approximately 25 houses of refuge were in existence around the

country (Springer & Roberts, 2011). Each house of refuge contained between 200 to

1,000 youth (Springer & Roberts, 2011). Houses of refuge became an institutional

warehouse for marginal youth with little efficacy in rehabilitation. Further, the houses

were wrought with overcrowding, staff abuse, and unsafe conditions that caused them to

become obsolete (Springer & Roberts, 2011). Reformers began to search for other

solutions of how to handle delinquent youth (Amdur et al., 2013).

Jane Addams and Julia Linthrop were advocates for legislation that resulted in the

first juvenile court to open in Cook County, IL in 1899 (Springer & Roberts, 2011;

Thompson & Morris, 2015). By 1925, every state other than Wyoming and Maine had a

functioning juvenile court (Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice, 2001). The focus of these

courts was rehabilitation, rather than punishment. Early juvenile justice systems

considered the youngster's underdeveloped moral, social, emotional, and intellectual

abilities and focused on treatment and rehabilitation as opposed to punishment

(Thompson & Morris, 2016).

Although the federal government began to take notice of juvenile justice in 1912

(OJJDP, n.d.), no official acts related to juvenile delinquency were passed by Congress

until 1960 (Olsen-Raymer, 1983). Since the original enactment of the Juvenile

Delinquency and Youth Control Act in 1961, it has been amended, renewed, and renamed

several different times (Olsen-Raymer, 1983). With the passage of the Juvenile Justice

and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA, 1974), the juvenile justice system maintained

almost full control over the handling of juvenile delinquency (Hawkins & Weis, 1985).

At this point, the justice system functioned both as preventative and as a control for

delinquency. Youth who were deemed to be predisposed toward delinquency were held

for status offenses such as truancy or noncriminal misbehavior. As the justice system was

subject to criticism, amendments were added to the JJDPA, which stated that the justice

system could only intervene once a delinquency has taken place as opposed to

preventatively (Hawkins & Weis, 1985).

The juvenile justice system has begun to reflect the adult justice system

(Thompson & Morris, 2016). Although mirroring the adult justice system has proven to

be beneficial to the preservation of rights for these young offenders, it has also brought

along a more punitive approach for dealing with juvenile lawbreakers. Since adopting

practices like the adult systems, the juvenile justice system has been incarcerating youth

at an increased rate (Thompson & Morris, 2016). According to Aizer and Doyle (2015),

over 130,000 juveniles are detained in the United States every year with 70,000

youngsters in detention facilities on any given day. Estimated data from over 35,000

young offenders link incarceration of juveniles to reduced school completion rates and

increased adult incarceration rates (Aizer & Doyle, 2015). A juvenile justice system that

focuses on incarceration and punishment can be disruptive to youth (Aizer & Doyle,

2015; Thompson & Morris, 2016).

Punishment

Researchers have indicated the dysmaturity of the adolescent frontal lobe and

prefrontal cortex. These portions of the brain are what affects planning and self-control in

youth. Comparative to adults, minors are more likely to be impulsive and disregard

longterm ramifications and consequences (Monahan, Steinberg, & Piquero, 2015). When

considering how to intervene with young offenders, these factors should be taken into

consideration. Interventions that focus on discipline and control have been found to be

ineffective (MacKenzie & Farrington, 2015). Punishment-based programs that use

bootcamp mentality and harsh discipline as a method of rehabilitation have shown poor

outcomes (Young, Greer, & Church, 2017). Nisar et al. (2015) examined the increased

“get-tough” attitude of the juvenile justice system, which results in more youngsters

being transferred to adult courts and prisons, as opposed to receiving rehabilitative

exposure.

In 2015, approximately 82,940 juvenile offenders between the ages of 12 and 18

were not living at home (Sickmund, Sladky, Kang, & Puzzanchera, 2017). These youths

were being held in residential placement facilities, such as juvenile detention facilities

and corrections facilities (Campaign for Youth Justice, 2016). On average, 21% of all

youth who are brought before the courts on juvenile offenses are imprisoned. Hoy et al.

(2016) discussed the correlation between youth being incarcerated and their further

entrenchment into street life and the juvenile justice system. Hoy et al. posited that

incarceration does little to rehabilitate the youth and increases their risk of behaviors that

lead to further imprisonment. Raphel (2014) argued that putting youngsters behind bars

for delinquent behavior can have negative effects on educational and productivity

outcomes for these youngsters that will only lead to continued offending.

Rehabilitation

Keeping juvenile offenders in the community, while administering intensive

intervention, can increase the youngster’s chances of successful rehabilitation (May,

Osmond, & Billick, 2014). The likelihood of a juvenile delinquent reoffending was 2.12

times greater for those who were sentenced to detention facilities, as opposed to those

who received in-home probation (Ryan, Abrams, & Huang, 2012). Alternatively,

interventions with a focus on skills training and restorative methods have been proven to

be effective in the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquent youth (MacKenzie & Farrington,

2015).

Rehabilitation groups serve to teach youth skills for managing their aggression

and have been attributed to a reduction in violent behavior. Interpersonal skills training

and conflict resolution techniques are complementary interventions used to change the

mental processes and interpersonal behavioral strategies that lead youngsters to engage in

deviant behaviors (OJJDP, 2011). The skills targeted through these interventions include

anger management techniques, conflict resolution skills, problem identification, and

social resistance training. While helping to decrease problem behaviors, these

interventions also promote cooperative behavior and can help youth form positive peer

alliances (OJJDP, 2011; Trupin, 2007).

Wong, Bouchard, Gravel, Bouchard, and Morselli (2016) examined which

strategies of restorative rehabilitation were most successful in the rehabilitation of

delinquent youth and the reduction of recidivism. Although the analysis proved that

restorative justice measures that serve to hold the offender accountable for his/her action

are more effective than punitive measures such as incarceration, there were limitations of

sample size and exclusion criteria. Furthermore, the literature lacked the support of

peerreviewed articles. Hence, the need for the proposed study as a tool for policy change.

Limited literature about rehabilitation options for African American, male,

juvenile delinquents with gang affiliation was available.

Disproportionate Minority Contact

Disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in the juvenile justice department is an

issue (Center for Children Law and Policy, 2010) because, according to the Leadership

Conference on Civil and Human Rights (2016), minority youth are at greater risk for

incarceration, and African American male youth are often connected to gangs and drugs.

Also, the juvenile justice system has racially skewed outcomes, often incriminating a

youth of color of a crime that a European American adolescent may merely receive a

warning (The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, 2016). In addition to

African American youth receiving excess punitive responses to crime compared to

European American youth, African American, male, juvenile delinquents have a

decreased likelihood of receiving rehabilitative interventions (Cochran & Mears, 2014;

Fader, Kurlychek, & Morgan, 2014).

In Baltimore, Maryland, 18 European American youth were arrested for drugs,

while 86 African American youth were detained for the same crime. The ratio of violent

crimes committed by youth of color versus White youth is 3:2, with the ratio of

incarceration being 4:1 (The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, 2016).

Race plays a large role in decisions within the juvenile justice system. Researchers

theorize that specific court jurisdictions attribute higher levels of culpability and lower

potential for reform and rehabilitation of African American youth than for European

American offenders of the same crimes (Fader et al., 2014). With some social workers

identifying alternatives to incarceration for African American male juvenile offenders

with gang affiliation and advocating for change, these youngsters will be given the same

opportunities as their European American counterparts.

Summary

Juvenile crime and delinquency is a social issue that places an emotional toll on

the greater society (Pardini, 2016). There are many risk factors to youth becoming

delinquent. Through the extensive literature review, I gave insight into the history, scope,

and intricacies of the problem.

For this research project, I chose to focus on African American, male

gangaffiliated juvenile delinquent population. According to Omboto, Ondiek, Odera, and

Ayugi (2013), the issues that caused these youngsters to be incarcerated are often not

properly addressed behind bars. Thus, I researched how social workers perceive their

roles and responsibilities in rehabilitating these youth. This section of the capstone

discussed the issue of African American male juvenile delinquents who have gang

affiliation, how delinquency could be understood through DAT, and implications of the

study to the social work community, juvenile justice system, and this delinquent youth

population. While conducting the literature review, the main gap is the lack of therapeutic

involvement for African American male juvenile delinquents with gang affiliation

because the justice system uses a primarily punitive approach when intervening with this

population. Thus, these youngsters are not given the opportunity to gain new skills, foster

positive peer interactions, and learn how to resist future recidivism.

The next section describes a plan to conduct a focus group of social workers who

work with African American juvenile delinquent males with gang affiliation. I sought to

determine how social workers view their role and responsibilities toward this population.

Further, through my research, I hope to contribute to social work clinical practice by

providing a framework for best practice when working with this vulnerable population.

Section 2: Research Design and Data Collection

The purpose of my project was to understand the role and responsibility of social

workers in the rehabilitation of African American, gang-affiliated, juvenile delinquents.

Through this research, I hope to inform social workers about the importance of their role

when intervening with this population. Social workers may face micro, mezzo, and macro

challenges when working with African American youth who have gang affiliation and

juvenile justice involvement. In this section, I will discuss the research design for the

project, the methodology for data collection and analysis, who the participants were, how

the participants were recruited, and ethical procedures to ensure the protection of all

participants. Groves et al. (2009) explained that the purpose of delineating the methods is

to allow others to replicate the procedures within the study and concur with the

conclusion.

Research Design

Juvenile delinquency is prevalent in communities around the world (Shoemaker,

2017). Being involved in a gang is a predictor of an individual offending (Dong & Krohn,

2016). Pyrooz and Sweeten (2015) indicated that youth gang membership is

disproportionately African American. Thus, it is imperative to discover how social

workers perceive their role in the rehabilitation of African American, gang-affiliated,

juvenile delinquents to circumvent continued criminal careers.

Qualitative researchers recognize the importance of each participant's contribution

to the research process (Roller, 2015). Brydon-Miller, Greenwood, and Maguire (2003)

explained that action research could be used for social justice goals through

empowerment. When targeting an issue, the researcher can empower the participant

group to advocate for the issue on a broader spectrum. Because I sought to examine social

workers’ understanding of the issue and how they can help the problem, input from

professionals who already intervene with this population was invaluable. Further, I

attempted to empower participants to advocate for change on the micro, mezzo, and

macro levels.

Operational Definitions

Babbie (2016) explained that operationally defining each variable will help to

maintain the intended definition of these key factors as opposed to leaving it up to the

interpretation of the reader.

Delinquency: According to Babbie (2016), delinquency is an individual under the

age of 18 being convicted of a crime.

Gang affiliation: Belonging to a group of youngsters who create an atmosphere of

fear or intimidation as well as engage in criminal activity.

Interpersonal skills: How people relate and interact with one another (Barakat,

2007).

Juvenile justice system: The court and institutional system by which young

offenders are handled (Zimring, Langer, & Tanenhaus, 2015).

Policy: Actions to accomplish a goal such as the government’s choice to either

change or maintain a status quo (Howlett & Cashore, 2014).

Previous incarceration: Being convicted of a crime and sentenced to prison time.

Recidivism: The reconviction to a detention facility (Looman & Abracen, 2010).

Operational definitions were used to understand the main constructs and concepts

of the study. I formulated questions that were asked to the focus group. The questions and

answers were understood and measured based on the operational definitions given.

Otherwise, a study may be contradictory or misunderstood because a different definition

was used to understand the focus group questions and answers. By operationally defining

the main concepts, the study was based on these definitions (Babbie, 2015).

Methodology

Data were collected from social workers who either work or have worked with the

African American, juvenile delinquents with gang affiliation. The information was

gathered using a focus group. In a comparison done between different data collection

methods, focus groups were identified as yielding greater disclosures that would be

beneficial to the study (Guest, Namey, Taylor, Eley, & McKenna, 2017).

Questions were asked to ascertain what values and skills are most lacking in

African American, juvenile delinquents with gang affiliation. Additionally, they helped

guide the research in identifying rehabilitation methods for African American,

gangaffiliated, juvenile delinquents as an alternative to punitive approaches. Further, the

outcome of the focus group will help to provide a framework for social workers about

their role in this rehabilitation process. This includes systemic issues and barriers that

hinder the ability to fulfill social work roles. All relevant information was gathered for

the accuracy of the project.

Participants

Five licensed clinical social workers (LCSW) or licensed social workers (LSW)

who are known to work with African American, male, gang-affiliated, juvenile

delinquents were selected to participate in the study using nonprobability sampling.

Ritchie, Lewis, Elam, Tennant, and Rahim (2013) recommend using nonprobability

sampling for qualitative analysis to deliberately select participants with features that will

be pertinent to the topic. I sought to understand how social workers view their roles and

abilities in helping African American, male, gang-affiliated, juvenile delinquents.

Homogeneous samples that are designed to give an in-depth view of a specific issue were

used when recruiting participants for the study.

Participants were recruited via e-mail. I reached out to social workers who I am

familiar with who work with this population. Two of the participants were identified

through my knowledge of them working with the population. Three participants were

identified through the snowball method. The sample size included both male and female

participants. Participant were all European American, and their ages spanned from

30years-old to over 60-years-old.

Although I already know some of the prospective participants, I did not have any

personal or professional relationship with any of them. Bias was not an issue. Creswell

(2013) suggested only asking open-ended questions to limit bias in action research. By

using open-ended questions, the researcher is not limiting the answers based on bias. If

the researcher were to ask closed-ended questions, the respondent must choose from the

choices being offered as opposed to the answer that he/she feels answers the question

best. By asking open-ended questions, the researcher’s personal feelings will not

influence the participants’ responses (Creswell, 2013). Further, by obtaining informed

consent, the participants were aware of the process and goal of the research.

Instruments

The construct of the questions asked during the focus group were open-ended.

Open-ended questions allow the respondent to answer freely, in their own words. Further,

using open-ended questions gives the respondent the opportunity to insert their opinion

into what is being asked (Zull, 2016). At the beginning of the group, a questionnaire

asking about the personal demographics of each participant was dispersed. Upon

completion, a guided list of open-ended questions was asked to the group. This allowed

the group of social workers to share their thoughts and opinions about how to best

provide rehabilitation to African American, male, juvenile delinquents with gang

affiliation. Questions included, “in your role as a social worker, how do you think social

workers can better serve this population?” and “what impact do you think the current

system of incarceration and punishment has on this population”?

Data Collection Procedures

The focus group met for 2 hours during which time questions were asked. Stewart

and Shamdasani (2014) provided a recommended trajectory of how the focus group

session should proceed. The session began by the moderator welcoming participants after

which an overview of the topic was given. I then gave basic ground rules for the group,

such as reminding members about confidentiality, respect for other participants, and

truthfulness. Participants were reminded that there are no wrong answers to any of the

questions and they should speak freely. This introduction was followed by the

demographic questions and the focus group questions. The focus group discussion was

audio recorded and later transcribed into text.

Before the focus group convening, informed consent was obtained from each

participant. Informed consent requires the researcher to provide a detailed understanding

of the research activities and process to the potential participant. By signing the consent

form, the participant authorizes the researcher to engage him/her in the research as well

as use the outcomes as delineated in the informed consent form (Grady, 2015).

Data Analysis

Researchers conducting qualitative research frequently use content analysis to

analyze data by summarizing the information into categories based on interpretation (Elo

et al., 2014; Zhang & Wildemuth, 2009). The analysis began in the early stages of the

data collection. The focus group transcript was converted into written text as suggested

by Zhang and Wildemuth (2009). I recorded the focus group session and transcribed the

recording into text. At the beginning of the focus group session, I asked each member to

state their name together with a sentence of their choosing. This helped me in identifying

their voices when transcribing the recording.

After collecting the data and transcribing the recording, themes were identified to

categorize the information. By repeatedly reading through the transcript, themes began to

emerge. I used hand coding to categorize the themes identified from the transcript of the

focus group. I tallied up themes that the group agreed on as well as areas where there

were differing opinions. Once all the data were collected, coded, and analyzed,

conclusions were drawn.

When conducting research, it is essential to ensure the data are rigorous. Roget,

Roget, and Roget's Thesaurus (1999) wrote that the word "rigor" is synonymic to the

words "precise, accurate, exact, scientific, and unerring." Bias and assumptions of the

researcher can hinder the rigor of a project. Having active participants within the project

allows the assumptions and biases of the researcher to be challenged by the other

participants, therefore, maintaining reliability and rigor within the project (Padgett,

2017).

Ethical Procedures

The institutional review board (IRB) approval number was 10-01-18-0655486 and

will expire on September 28, 2019. Fowler (2013) discussed the importance of ethically

responsible research. While conducting research, it is my duty and responsibility to

uphold the ethics delineated in the NASW (2017) code of ethics. Furthermore, if the

research was considered unethical, the results can be challenged in addition to possible

professional and legal ramifications. There are several safeguards that help to be sure that

ethical research is being conducted. Informed consent and ensuring the rights of the

participants were taken into consideration.

Participants of an action research study must be given a consent form to sign

before participation. Therefore, participants for this study were given one. The consent

form included a definition of the study, the role of the participant, the fact that the study

is voluntary and noncompensatory, and the guidelines for confidentiality. Possible ways

to ensure confidentiality was to assign pseudonyms to everyone. During the focus groups,

aliases were used to refer to the participants. The master key identifying each participants'

pseudonym is kept in a locked safe together with the recording and transcript of the focus

group session. I am the only person with access to the safe. The data will be held for a

minimum of 5 years after which they will be destroyed.

Before conducting the research project, application and approval of the IRB of the

university occurred. When filling out the application for IRB approval, all procedures

were included. All procedures that were outlined to the IRB to ensure ethical, procedural

practice within the research study were followed.

Summary

In this section of the capstone, I delineated a plan for collecting the data through

focus groups. I described a plan for recruiting potential candidates and how contact was

made. I included strategies for data collection and analysis of the information. Ethical

concerns were addressed, including a proposal about how to properly store information

for a minimum of 5 years. Upon completion of the project, this section was updated to

include more information about participants, data collection, and data analysis. In the

following section, I plan to present the findings of the study.

Section 3: Presentation of the Findings

The purpose of this action research study was to understand how social workers

perceive their role in the rehabilitation of African American, male, juvenile delinquents

who have gang affiliation. I identified the need for the study after having worked in a

school with many African American, male, juvenile delinquents who have gang

affiliation. Social workers may not know the role they play with this population. The

purpose of action research is to collaborate with participants to study a system and

cooperate to identify areas of positive change within that system (O’Brien, 2001). Thus, I

used a focus group to help identify areas of possible change within the social work

profession to better serve the African American, male, gang-affiliated, juvenile

delinquent population.

The focus group that was assembled consisted of five social workers. Licensure of

participants included LCSW, LSW, and licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselors

(LCADC). Participants all either work or have worked with African American, juvenile

delinquents with gang affiliation. There was one research question that guided the study:

RQ: How do social workers perceive their role in the rehabilitation of African

American, male, juvenile delinquents who have gang affiliation?

The focus group session was audio recorded and then transcribed into text. Hand

coding was used to code and categorize the information. Emerging themes were noted

and finessed to yield final themes relevant to the research question. In this section, I will

discuss the methods I used to analyze the data, the demographics of the focus group

participants, and the findings of the study. I will also discuss limitations to the study and

how I addressed them.

Data Analysis Techniques

Upon gaining IRB approval, it took 10 days to recruit participants and conduct the

focus group. During recruitment, eight potential participants expressed interest in joining

the group. Of the eight who responded, five individuals were ultimately part of the focus

group. One focus group was conducted as enough information for this project was

gathered during that time. Participants consisted of a mix of social work professionals

who held either an LSW or LCSW. In addition to clinical licensure, one participant also

held an LCADC. Participants were also required to have worked with the juvenile

delinquent population for a minimum of 3 years. The focus group session lasted for 1

hour and 20 minutes with no breaks.

At the onset of the meeting, group members were asked to sign a consent form

after which a demographic questionnaire was distributed to each group member. The

questionnaire helped me gain knowledge into my sample population. Included in the

focus group were four females and one male spanning a wide age range.

Transcription of the focus group session was done manually and began the day

after the focus group met. A foot pedal was used to aid in the transcription process. It

took 1 1/2 weeks to transcribe and review the transcription to ensure accuracy. After

transcribing, I immediately began sorting, filtering, coding, and categorizing the data.

This process took 2 weeks and 5 days. I transferred the text into an Excel file with each

sentence occupying a row in Excel. I then divided the text into separate Excel documents

based on the questions asked during the focus group. Each question was placed on a

different page in red font. I placed the response each participant gave for the question on

the respective page. At this point, I continued filtering the information using

recommendations for qualitative data analysis for focus groups from the University of

North Dakota (Educational Foundations and Research, University of North Dakota,

2016). I went through each page and asked myself if the participant answered the

question that was asked. If yes, I left the comment under the appropriate question. If not,

I wondered if the comment answered another question that was asked. If yes, I placed

that comment on the page of that question. If not, I placed it on a separate page titled

“extra information." Upon completion of filtering all tof he data using this method, I

perused the information in the document labeled extra information. I left the data that

were relevant to the research topic and deleted all unnecessary, nonrelevant information.

After the data were sorted and filtered, I began the coding process. The entirety of the

data analysis was done using a lens of DAT. I read through all the filtered data by focus

group question and noticed words that seemed relevant to the topic. I documented these

words in separate Excel tabs by question. Additionally, I categorized these words based

on broader categories. Upon completion, all these codes were transferred to one Excel

sheet and categories to another Excel tab. There were 175 original and duplicate codes

and 78 original and duplicate categories noted. I further filtered the data by eliminating

duplicates and collapsing categories to yield 24 categories. These categories were further

filtered to ascertain five categories that related to the research question, five categories

that related to the theoretical framework, and five categories that were other findings. I

then recategorized the groupings for the categories related to the theoretical framework

and other findings to fit within subthemes of the categories related to the research

question. This process helped to uncover themes about this research project. During

the process of data collection and data analysis, it is important for a qualitative researcher

to be mindful of establishing rigor of the inquiry. Anney (2014) suggested using a

reflexive journal and peer debriefing as credibility strategies in qualitative research. A

reflexive journal is used to reflect on, interpret, and plan data collection. Further, the

reflective journal should include the researcher’s perceptions during the process (Anney,

2014). I wrote in a reflexive journal and constantly reviewed it to be sure that only

information from the participants was included in the data analysis and that my thoughts

and feelings were excluded.

Another way to ensure credibility in qualitative research is through peer

debriefing. Peer debriefing provides the researcher with scholarly guidance during the

research process (Anney, 2014). Feedback helps the researcher to improve the quality of

the research. I received regular weekly or biweekly academic guidance from my

chairperson using video conferencing. During that time, we spoke about my research

process, data collection, data analysis, the direction of the research inquiry, and my

thoughts and feelings throughout the process. Peer debriefing helped me to expand my

categorical analysis and broaden the depth of my research.

A limitation that I found within the study was that all participants were European

American. Although each member brought insight and experience into the group session,

having a racially diverse sample group could have added to the understanding of the

challenges that minority groups face. The focus group did discuss cultural competence at

length and the need for social workers to be competent regardless of race, ethnicity, or

gender. I addressed this concern in my reflexivity journal, and because of the rich data

that were yielded from the focus group session, this limitation did not cause concerns

about the findings.

Findings

While working in an out of district placement, I came in contact with many youth

who had been involved with the law. Many of these juveniles were gang-affiliated. There

was a lack of services to this population of youth, and specifically African American

males. I wondered if the reason for lack of rehabilitative methods for these youth was

because social workers did not understand their roles when working with this population.

The need to understand how social workers perceive their roles in the rehabilitation of

African American, male, juvenile delinquents with gang-affiliation became apparent.

Findings from the study were enlightening as to how social workers understand their role

in the intervention with this juvenile delinquent population that includes potential barriers

to treatment, as well as unexpected findings. In the coming section, I will provide an in-

depth discussion of the findings.

Sample Characteristics

Sample characteristics of the group present for the focus group included four

females and one male with ages varying between 25 and 70-years-old. All participants

held a MSW and either an LSW or LCSW. Additionally, one participant had an LCADC.

All participants either worked, or have worked, with the juvenile delinquent population

for a minimum of 3 years in various settings. Participants brought knowledge based on

their experience working in settings such as intensive outpatient (IOP), drug and alcohol

rehab, detention facility, private practice, outpatient facilities, schools, and court

mandated therapy. All participants participated actively in the focus group discussion.

Themes

Of the 78 initial categories that were later filtered down to 24 categories during

the data analysis process, five reigning themes about the research question emerged.

These themes were being culturally competent, giving voice to youth, fostering

community, building on strengths, and increasing positive social support. Each category

has supporting themes. When discussing the findings, pseudonyms will be used to

maintain the confidentiality of participants.

Cultural Competence

Social workers understand their role in their rehabilitation of male, African

American, juvenile delinquents who have gang-affiliation as requiring cultural

competence. Included in the category cultural competence are the themes of recognizing

the challenges associated with engagement, incarceration, and racism.

Recognizing the challenges with engagement. A theme that was discussed

within the group session was challenges related to engagement. Daisy stated, “I mean the

first obstacle to any of this is engaging them.” Joy understood these issues by saying “it’s

important to talk about being a white male or female and looking at how that impacts

your attempts to do outreach and what responsibility we have to understand better that

culture.” Joy pointed out that “we are all white women,” generalizing the social work

population. Joy suggested speaking to an African American coworker to better

understand how to work with the population. She stated:

I don’t know if any of you work with Black social workers. Try to have a

conversation. Ya know try and have an honest conversation. It’s really hard. But

it’s really important. And I think there are so many things we don’t know. That

we should know. And that we need to know.

She further discussed how social workers should strive to be “constantly sensitized to the

environmental realities of the suffering.” Ella shared a story relating to her work

experience:

What comes to light for me is I remember when I worked as an intern in Jersey

Shore’s outpatient addiction unit and I actually had an African American male

who was mandated by court to be there in our IOP group and I remember he

looked at me and he said what would a white girl, how would you be able to

understand an African American male such as myself that’s coming here. What

do you even know about these things? How can you even be of service to me?

Ella reflected:

I remember that question and I remember thinking about it, I totally hear what he

is saying. I was still in college and still trying to build my knowledge and

competency in other areas, and it took time to build that trust.

Daisy validated this comment by saying “people trust people in their own communities,”

to which the group murmured sounds of agreement.

The group discussed additional challenges with reaching this population and

brainstorming ways to reconcile this issue. Daisy offered, “Social media. That's really a

way to reach these adolescents. Because you may not find them in school, you may not

find them where they're supposed to be, but you'll always find them on social media.”

The group agreed. She elaborated on this idea by saying,

Well, going back to the whole beginning of the discussion where they're joining

gangs for a sense of community and family. Creating that sense in a social media

platform and bringing in, like you were saying, some major role models for them

that will entice them to join these communities and giving that them that

community on social media.

The group discussed other ways of engagement such as using celebrities for outreach and

normalizing help-seeking. “It’s still such a stigma but, like with the Me Too movement,

just make it about being in therapy,” said Daisy.

Racism. It is vital to note that much of what was discussed within the focus group

session was not exclusive to the African American community. Social workers should be

competent and realize that these challenges may span across youth from various racial

and ethnic backgrounds. The differentiation of African American youth is reflective of

the racism prevalent in the nation. Daisy affirmed this by saying:

I feel like everything that we're talking about is not specific to the Black

community. It’s specific to any delinquent teenager that has a difficult

environment. Be that family. Be that lifestyle. Whatever it is. Um but I do feel

that the Black community may have it harder just due to the fact of racism and

stigma in the country. But it’s really not specific to them.

Joy elaborated by saying:

As such its incumbent on us that with any population we work with to be

constantly sensitized to the environmental realities of the suffering of whether

you are talking about LGBT, whether you are talking about black, whether you

are talking about Asian. I mean this is a crazy world. I don’t think we can afford

to not remember that. I don’t think it can resonate as truth when you are talking to

someone who is different if you don’t have that in your system; in your operating

system.

When researching this population, it is important to note the characteristics that

contribute to the high-risk nature of these youth. Joy shed light on this by saying

“particularly you know because we are talking about African Americans you are talking

about a whole system in this country of like serious racism that puts African American

youth at incredibly high risk, particularly males.”

When discussing programs and resources to help with this population, Katherine

shared:

There are definitely some programs out there but again I’m sure that the resources

are limited for them and as Joy was saying because of the racism in this country it

is probably even more limited for an African American population than others

would be.

She also pointed out that fear can be a potential barrier for treatment as well by saying, “I

think because of racism in this country reaching out for help if you are an African

American person or whatever race it is there’s probably some fear involved.” When

discussing policies, Joy pointed out that:

Decriminalization and legalization of marijuana is a really important change that

will certainly allow any number of people A: not to be picked up and B: to be

released for low-level marijuana charges. That will affect the African American

population significantly.

The discussion continued to discuss disproportionate minority contact within the

justice system. Joy added:

I'm really not sure what the population is of drug court. Somehow, I have a sense

but nothing to back it up, that it's really skewed for white opiate users as opposed

to heroin users or other kinds of drugs that are more frequently used by Black

juveniles or Black men.

Resounding agreement was heard from other group members. Katherine elaborated on

this point related to policies by saying:

I think it needs to start with everyone being treated fairly in the system. If that

were to happen then maybe some level of trust would be gained. So that's not

necessarily a policy because those policies are necessarily in place already. I

mean we're all created equal and have certain rights and all that but it doesn't

work like that in this country, and I think that's a huge part of the problem. So

again, if people really followed and abide by you know the bill of rights then trust

I think would happen more readily.

Challenges associated with incarceration. As social workers, it is important to

recognize the challenges associated with incarceration, and the nature of youth wanting to

fit in. This desire to fit in can lead to joining gang involvement while incarcerated. Daisy

shared:

I can think of two instances where I worked with people were incarcerated for

drug offenses, who joined gang affiliation while they were in prison for safety

measures. And came out, they got the tattoos on their neck and so now they

became gang-affiliated, and before incarceration, they weren't.

Daisy further went on to state about incarceration, “so that kind of had a negative effect.”

Katherine elaborated:

I think for youth who are incarcerated for those status offenses, lot of times they

are probably being introduced to a culture that they didn’t know about. And they

want to fit in, and they gravitate towards that kind of lifestyle. I stopped

reviewing here due to time constraints. Please go through the rest of your section

and look for the patterns I pointed out to you. I will now look at Section 4.

Giving Voice to Youth

Social workers understand the need to help this juvenile delinquent population

gain a voice. Social workers can help youth feel safe using their voice by fostering the

formation of trusting relationships and offering opportunities to help these youth feel

success.

Interpersonal relationships. Social workers can help youth form and maintain

positive interpersonal relationships. A theme that was largely discussed during the focus

group session was interpersonal skills. Christian recognized that many of these youth

communicate using urban slang. He realized that this characteristic might pose an

interpersonal barrier. He said:

I'm just thinking of the gang population. There tends to be urban slang in those

types of environments. So, for example, I worked with one individual and just the

way he speaks, I have had to in the sessions tell him no cursing to just to try to

almost like condition him to be a better speaker because when he comes in, he

still sounds unprofessional and is cursing a lot.

Christian was further concerned that there may be traits and interpersonal skills that

hinder these youth from eventually attaining an honest job. He stated that when working

with this population perhaps social workers should focus on “…interpersonal skills just

like basic like speech and like professionalism and professional skills would be just like

helpful because…maybe in these communities you’re not getting those skills.” Helping

these youth to speak in a more refined manner may help them communicate with, and

better relate to members both in and out of their communities.

Daisy offered an idea to preempt the issue of stigma and lack of interpersonal

skills by intervening with the youth at a young age. She proposed having some sort of

program that can utilize social workers to have positive interactions with the youth and

encourage them to gain positive interpersonal skills. Daisy offered a suggestion to social

workers:

Incorporate different artistic and talented skills like singing, dancing, art or all

different kinds of things like that and have each student have to take say two

extra-curricular activities per semester, and they can choose and through that

instead of it being something academic it’s more something therapeutic and we’re

actually reaching them before anything happens.

Daisy further asserted that this could help reduce the stigma of working with a social

worker. Daisy also discussed how this sort of program could be beneficial to the youth in

other ways. She stated, "at the same time you’re building on their strengths. And at the

same time, you’re giving them that choice of what do you want to do." Christian

recognized that for the gang-affiliated juvenile delinquent population, school-based

programs would likely not be effective. He suggested bringing an athlete into the

community:

I would imagine that if let’s just say like Lebron James. If he goes into a

community and he brings certain people in to just maybe do any task or

something. I feel like those are positive interactions that can make a ton of change

even like interpersonally.

He discussed perhaps social workers could recruit different athletes to work with youth

within an organizational structure to help them interpersonally. Group members agreed

that these youth admire athletes and may be receptive to connecting with them as a

gateway to learning interpersonal skills.

Facilitate skill building. Social workers can also facilitate skill building to help

these youth feel successful, heard, and safe. Daisy shared the importance of helping youth

feel successful in school by saying, “well making them feel successful in school is so

important. So important to their development, because that’s someplace that should be a

safe place for them.” Perhaps if the youth felt safe and secure in school, the need to seek

out that feeling of security elsewhere may not arise. Daisy also pointed out the

importance of schools providing positive role models for the youth. She said about the

school system, “someplace that the adults there should be a role model for them. So,

giving them a voice in the school of being able to say I need to feel successful.” She

further created the link between academic success and overall school performance: There

are child study teams that are studying all about the developmental needs and all of the

different needs that they have, but how about looking more at their success rate

academically and helping them feel successful that they are going to want to learn and

want to stay in school.

Joy chimed in saying “they call it the school to prison pipeline so with that in mind well it

certainly explains a lot of what we are seeing.” If for some reason youth are not feeling

successful in school, they may not feel safe and motivated to remain in school.

Joy pointed out that the teachers who are educating in the urban schools may not

have the experience necessary to deal with youth from these environments. “In schools,

they send the novice teachers into the most needy schools. And because everybody wants

to get out and when they have some seniority that's what they do. So that the youngest

teachers burn out quickly.” Having a constant turnover rate of teachers may contribute to

a general feeling of lack of safety and security for the youth.

Ella contributed to the conversation with another perspective:

I was just thinking of self-respect. The mindset for many is very victimized versus

that I could really make it, that I could really do. I've heard this several times from

African American clients that I work with like, hello, do you even know my

background? You know who my grandma was, my grandpa was? Like why

would

I be successful? I had a brother that OD'd. I had a dad that's a drug addict. I'm just

like thinking of random people that I know. I'm not generalizing the population.

That there’s like a mindset of lack of abundance.

Group members agreed. Daisy said, “a feeling of despair,” referring to the feeling that

youth of this population may have that they cannot be successful or have a voice because

of their backgrounds.

Fostering Community

In this category, social workers can help enhance environments to foster a sense

of community and positivity. Additionally, participants discussed the impact of the

environment on gang behavior.

Environmental influence on gang behavior. It is important to recognize the

environments that youth come from and its influence on gang behavior. Joy brought

across the powerful point:

Gangs are just families. And Adolescents need guidance from somewhere, and if

they are not kind of getting it in a home environment or if they are not getting

cared for in school, I think they are going to look for alternative families and

direction.

If we view gangs in the way that they are just families, and youth need the familial

structure, perhaps social workers can help these youth gain that sense of family in a

positive way.

Christian created the link between gang-affiliation and drug involvement:

Because I have the addiction background, it’s like immediately when I am

thinking adolescents, I am going the addiction route and then I just created the

link when we are talking gang affiliations, the extraneous variable with gangs is

drugs. So, it’s like addressing the drug culture of adolescents.

Other group members agreed with the point that gangs and urban communities, in

general, tend to have an influx of drug involvement. Christian further asserted: When

you think about it, in those African American populations like if you are looking at it, a

lot of the urban areas tend to encompass a lot of that population and in those urban areas

there can be a lack of resources which makes that family dynamic and selling drugs and

making money more desirable because the environment isn’t validating the things that

they need.

Environmental factors may be largely contributing to the gang and drug behavior of these

youth. Christian drove home the point by continuing:

Where is the largest percentage of the gang populations? In those urban areas.

Right? And those urban areas are the areas that tend to have the most recidivism

and arrests, and the large majority of the population in those areas are African

Americans. So, it’s almost that's where I’m just going back to the environmental

components. If you drop anyone in a place where there’s a lot of um anger and

not a lot of jobs and not a lot of resources. That person’s going to struggle.

Christian further went on to discuss the difficulty of getting out of the ghetto. He stated,

“the only way to make money and provide for your family is like selling drugs or doing

something illegal.” Christian suggested, “start outside and then build inside." By putting

resources into those communities and creating more opportunities, it will "eventually

affect human behavior."

Improving environmental conditions. Many of the environments these youth

are growing up in yield negative peer influences and gangs. Because youth are

impressionable, social workers have a role in improving environmental conditions to

promote positivity and community. Christian shared how this was implemented in an

urban area of Philadelphia. “What they did to the communities, those same type of

communities that are talking about here is they implemented programs on the

environmental aspect.” Christian shared about a program that he interned at that targeted

the concept on intervening through an environmental approach:

For example, the mural arts program in Philadelphia. Where they had the

community go to impoverished areas and buildings that were dilapidated and everything

and they painted on it, and they planted trees, and they made the environment more

welcoming and just kind of built the community around that. This program served to

bring light, positivity, and beautification to an otherwise dilapidated area. Christian

further went on to discuss the impact of the esthetics of the environment on human

behavior:

I'm thinking a lot that the environment dictates a lot of human behavior, so it's

almost like if we are able to almost change their environment to make that sense

of community and belonging, then it could have effects on just interpersonally

and everything.

He continued, deriving inspiration from his time in Philadelphia:

Yeah because what happened in Philadelphia that was huge, and some of the

murals in Philadelphia are absolutely gorgeous, and they are all over the place,

and it's the same goal in mind is just to try to make the community brighter and

more welcoming because it helps bring positivity.

Joy added, “that is a wonderful program. They also have prisoners coming out and

working in the gardens in Philadelphia.” This sparked a conversation amongst group

members about the benefits of having beautification programs to help create more

positive environments.

Katherine brought up a great point about using these beautification programs to

engage with community members:

I think that the idea that the people are building up their own communities and

creating a new sense of community with each other doing this positive thing is a

therapeutic tactic or technique, however you want to call it, and maybe by

engaging by programs you are opening up lines of communication to get people

more apt to get into treatment or get or get into therapy to try to make some

lifestyle changes.

The issue of funding and resources for a neighborhood beautification remained. Christian

presented a possible funding source:

Don't hold me to the number but I know that drug court as an alternative saves the

state a decent amount of money because you are not incarcerating the individual.

So, what happens if a policy could be all the money that's saved by not

incarcerating these individuals, that money could be filtered back into those

environments and then implement those type of programs, so it's almost like use

the benefits of drug court financially and filter it back into the communities.

Group members murmured their approval of this idea. Ella contributed by saying “And

I’m gonna add to that is that I love the art idea.” She pointed out that, “it’s a very artsy

culture. Whether it’s music, dance, it’s very much part of their culture.” She suggested

using some of the funding to incorporate the arts as a way to reach and intervene with this

youth population. “I love that idea of putting the money back and then using it in such a

type of a way.”

Building on Strengths

Social workers can use their unique perspectives to build on the strengths of youth who

are gang-affiliated.

By building on the youth’s strengths, the social worker can help boost the

individual's self-esteem. A recurring theme that was discussed during the focus group

session was self-esteem and strengths. It was unanimously agreed upon that social

workers should seek to uncover these youths’ strengths and help them to succeed in

utilizing these strengths. By doing so, this will help boost the youth's self-esteem as well.

Ella shared, "when I work with adolescents, we try to figure out what their strengths are

and what they're good at.” She elaborated by saying:

If there's a young man or girl that walks in and they tell me they love to dance, so

we implement that in whatever we do we add dance. Or if they love singing, we

add singing. And if they love movement, we’ll try to do some yoga poses

together.

Ella shared that in addition to helping with their self-esteem, engaging them using their

strengths, “makes them want to participate.”

Increasing Positive Social Support

Participants recognized the need to be a role model, and also foster a positive

support system for the youth.

Role model. Social workers can serve as a positive role model for the youth as

well as facilitate the inclusion of positive role models into the youth's life. The

importance of youth having a positive role model in their life was discussed often. The

lack of familial structure within these communities is a glaring issue. Joy conceptualized

the gang affiliation as, “gangs are just families.” If these youth are not receiving the

stability from a family unit, they will seek it out elsewhere. Joy affirmed this by saying:

Adolescents need guidance from somewhere and if they are not kind of getting it in a

home environment or if they are not getting cared for in school, I think they are going to

look for alternative families and direction.

Gangs are providing this “alternative family” to the youth. Daisy stated that gangs give

these youth, “a sense of community and belonging.” And while Ella shared that, “it

becomes their support system,” Daisy pointed out about this negative support system that

social workers should “combat it with a positive support system.”

Support system. Social workers can engage family and positive community

members into assuming the role of a positive support system for these youth. Because

youth are impressionable, having these role models and this support system is essential

for their growth. Daisy suggested enlisting the police force to help create this positive

support system for these youth. She shared, “there are in certain cities where they have

these youth after-school programs where they can come and kind of practice being junior

police.” The group discussed the benefits to have law enforcement do outreach in

communities. Daisy suggested facilitating a youth program within law enforcement

where the youth “can see the action and adrenaline rush they are seeking in a positive

way, and they can find family that way.” Perhaps by seeing that they can gain that sense

of community, family, and success in a positive way would be beneficial to these youth.

When discussing this concept of law enforcement and gang-affiliated youth interfacing in

this constructive way, Daisy powerfully stated, “a police force is the largest gang you can

join.”

Unexpected Findings

Data collection yielded many themes both expected and unexpected. Of the

unexpected findings, everything that was discussed can be used to reflect delinquent

youth of any race or gender. This is helpful to note as information garnered from this

research study can be beneficial to social workers interacting with African American

youth as well as youth of other racial backgrounds. Another unexpected finding was the

workforce issues that affect helpers of the population. For example, the idea that novice

police officers and teachers were sent into the urban communities due to the quick

burnout rate. Additionally, the low salaries of social workers which prevent them from

working in these areas instead seeking employment in areas that offer larger salaries.

Though the issue of engagement was not an unexpected finding, the solutions presented

and discussed were unexpected. Using social media, celebrities, and the arts to engage

these youth were all points that were not previously considered.

Summary

Findings of the study were consistent with understanding how social workers

understand their role in their rehabilitation of African American juvenile delinquents with

gang-affiliation. Social workers understand their role as being culturally competent which

includes recognizing challenges with engagement, and incarceration. Also, it is important

to mention that cultural competence included recognizing that the challenges discussed

may not be unique to the African American population. The differentiation of this

population reflects the racism in this country.

Findings also supported the fact that social workers understand their role as giving

voice to youth. By facilitating relationship building, interpersonal skills building, and

helping these youth to feel safe, and successful, social workers can help empower these

youth to use their voice for good. Some practical suggestions to accomplish this included

helping these youth gain professional skills, and incorporating social work driven

programs into the education system. It was also concluded that social workers understand

their responsibility for this population as enhancing the environments and environmental

conditions to foster a sense of community. Before being able to accomplish this, it is

important for social workers to recognize the impact the environment has on youth and

gang behavior.

Another important point noted by the focus group is the importance of social

workers to take responsibility for focusing on and building on the strengths of these

youth. Utilizing the ingrained strengths of the youth can help build self-esteem,

positivity, and trust.

Increasing positive social support was the final finding of the focus group. Social

workers understand their role in the rehabilitation of African American juvenile

delinquents with gang-affiliation as fostering positive social support. By either being a

positive role model for the youth or facilitating the building of these interactions and

relationships, social workers understand the importance of these positive social supports.

Strategies related to each of these findings were discussed in depth in the preceding

section. These findings and strategies will help social workers intervene more effectively

with African American juvenile delinquents who have gang-affiliation. In Section 4, I

will discuss how the findings of the study relate to professional practice and can

contribute to social change.

Section 4: Application to Professional Practice and Implications for Social Change

The purpose of the study was to understand social workers' roles in the

rehabilitation of African American, juvenile delinquents who have gang affiliation. The

study was qualitative and was conducted using action research. I used a focus group to

gather the data. Using focus groups as a means for data collection is unique because

information is generated by the interaction of group members (Finch, Lewis, & Turley,

2014). As participants share information and listen to others, they reflect on what is being

said to refine their viewpoints. The conversation can move to a deeper and more profound

level (Finch et al., 2014). Participants were included in the focus group based on their

experiences having worked with the population. Although the group was assembled using

nonprobability sampling, it was heterogenous based on the diverse ages and gender of

participants.

The study was conducted to better understand how social workers view their roles

and responsibilities in the rehabilitation of African American, juvenile delinquents who

have gang affiliation. By better understanding this population, recommendations can be

made on best practice when intervening with this youth population.

Findings of the study included social workers being culturally competent, helping

to give youth a voice, working to foster community, building on the strengths of the

youth, and increasing positive social support. Within these categories, the participants

shared practical solutions on how to accomplish this. Participants shared integral

information on the importance of being competent when working with this, and other,

populations. They enlightened me on the struggles that these youth face, the lack of

opportunities their neighborhoods present, the untapped strengths that they have, and the

importance of bringing positivity into the neighborhoods and these youths' lives to

counteract the negativity they face daily. These findings can inform social work practice

by providing an understanding of social workers’ perceptions regarding challenges these

youth face, the importance of having social workers involved in these communities, and

suggestions for how to engage and connect with them.

Findings can contribute to social work knowledge by enlightening social workers

as to their roles and responsibilities in the rehabilitation of African American, juvenile

delinquents with gang affiliation. In addition to noting the importance of social workers

taking a role and responsibility in the rehabilitation of this youth offender population, the

study contributes to social work knowledge by discussing challenges and suggestions

related to engagement and intervening with this population. Increasing awareness about

the role social workers can play with this population may provide social workers with

more clarity about what they can do to help these youth.

Social ecology can often limit a person’s ability to access resources. Service

provisions were linked to a reduction in risk outcomes (Li, Liebenberg, & Ungar, 2015).

Further, it is important to realize the role DAT plays on the behavior of these youth.

Growing up in crime ridden environments and associating with peers who are involved in

criminal activity can negatively affect the youth. By recognizing this correlative link,

social workers may notice the importance of providing services to members of this

population to positively impact their lives. In this project, I sought to help social workers

understand the vitality of their work with this population. Also, suggestions for

engagement and improving social conditions were made.

Application for Professional Ethics in Social Work Practice

The NASW (2017) code of ethics values of service, social justice, importance of

human relationships, and competence all relate to the social work practice problem. The

NASW (2017) described the value of service as “social workers' primary goal is to help

people in need and to address social problems” (p. #6). Included in this, is volunteering

some of their time pro bono. Most of these youth are living in urban areas and struggle

financially (Lloyd-Jones & Rakodi, 2014). One of the group members pointed out the

lack of financial opportunities for members of these communities. By volunteering some

of their time to work with this population, social workers are upholding the integral social

work value of service.

The ethical principles of social justice and competence guide clinical social work

practice when intervening with this population because of the racism that these youth

face. It is essential for social workers to gain cultural competence and seek to understand

the challenges of this minority population. Further, because of racism, African American,

male youth are treated differently within the juvenile justice system (Cochran & Mears,

2014; Fader et al., 2014). Social workers should strive to uphold the NASW (2017) code

of ethics values of competence and social justice by educating themselves, advocating,

and fostering social change for members of this population.

The theoretical framework of DAT that was used to guide this research project

directly correlated to the code of ethics’ value of importance of human relationships.

DAT discusses the importance of social associations and relationships (Akers & Seller,

2004). Deviance can come from negative peer influences. Social workers intervening

with this population should recognize the importance of fostering positive human

relationships as outlined in the NASW (2017) code of ethics. Social workers recognize

the importance of these interpersonal relationships as a vehicle for change (NASW,

2017). Social workers should seek to promote these interpersonal relationships, provide

positive support, and help individuals gain the skills to maintain these constructive

relationships. By promoting and fostering these relationships, social workers will be

helping these youth enhance their wellbeing.

By understanding the values and principles delineated in the NASW (2017) code

of ethics as they relate to working with gang-affiliated, African American, male, juvenile

delinquents, social workers can gain clarity into their responsibilities with the

rehabilitation of this population.

Recommendations for Social Work Practice

Several action steps were discussed during the focus group session on practice,

research, and policy levels. The first action step would be to advocate for policy change.

Approximately $3,597 dollars are saved per participant by using drug court (Carey &

Finigan, 2004). Taking those savings and using them for programs in urban communities

can help positively change these environments. The money can be used for community

beautification programs and cost-free, strengths-based programs to help the youth feel

successful. The environment can impact the trajectory of a youth’s life (Lloyd-Jones &

Rakodi, 2014). Thus, using those funds to promote positivity in these environments can

make an impact on this population on a much broader scale.

Another action step that was discussed was advocating to keep more senior staff

in urban communities. Group members were concerned about the high turnover rate of

police officers, teachers, and social workers in urban communities. The constant change

in helping adults can lend itself to instability in the youths' lives. Perhaps by giving these

helping professionals more support, education, and incentives they would stay in these

communities for a longer time and help create meaningful relationships with the youth.

Creating a connection with these youth can be a challenge for many social workers. The

group discussed an action step related to engagement and connecting. Social workers who

work with this population should turn to the arts to find inspiration in therapy. It was

recommended that social workers become creative by incorporating inspired activities

into practice. Social workers should try to find out what the client excels at or has an

interest in and connect with the youth in that way. Using music, dance, yoga, and other

forms of creative arts can help to connect and intervene with the youth. Using DAT to

understand the negative behavior of these youth can help social workers to recognize the

importance of connecting and being a positive influence in the youth’s life. Creating

programs that support positivity, interpersonal connection, and growth may outweigh the

negative influences as understood by DAT and help these youth resist a life of crime.

As a practitioner, these findings will impact my work by using what I learned

through the research project in practice. I will use the arts to connect with clients. I will

seek out pro bono work to help beautify urban neighborhoods. I hope to advocate for

policies to use funds saved from drug court in the urban communities. I will also seek to

become more competent and recognize the challenges these youth face because of racism.

Also, I hope to be able to educate other social workers and future social workers on the

importance of intervening with and advocating for members of this population.

The findings of this study may be transferred to social workers who intervene

with juveniles of any race and gender. As was pointed out during the focus group, what

was discussed is not exclusive to African American male youth; the point that must be

considered when dealing with African American males is racism. Because of racism, the

challenges are exacerbated. However, the findings and recommendations may be

applicable to the overall juvenile population. Thus, this study will be useful to the broader

field of social work practice.

Knowledge, recommendations, and intervention suggestions can be useful for

social workers working with juveniles of any race and gender. However, a limitation of

the transferability of the findings is the narrow scope of engagement and policies. It is

unknown if the challenges of engagement are the same for juveniles of other

demographics. Further, policies about putting the money saved from drug court back into

urban communities are also specific to those run-down neighborhoods. Readers must

discern individually as to the appropriateness of the findings for their population.

Recommendations for further research into engagement of juveniles of other races

and genders can help to address the limitations of this study. Additionally, more research

into how social workers can help youth resist joining gangs would be beneficial to this

population as well as contributing to social work knowledge. Another recommendation

would be to focus on different intervention strategies when intervening with this youth

population. Although there is much research on the issue of racism within the juvenile

justice system, there is still a need for research on practical solutions when working with

this population. Although many of the findings are consistent with DAT, resiliency

theory can also have a role in understanding the behavior of these youth and how to best

intervene with this population. Supplementary research could address how resiliency

theory can be used to understand the findings of this study. Understanding how social

workers can assist these youth to develop resilience skills through interventions

suggested by participants could provide additional data.

Disseminating the findings of action research is a step toward fostering change

(Wilson, Petticrew, Calnan, & Nazareth, 2010). Findings can be disseminated by being

published in social work journals or online resources. Another way to disseminate

findings is by posting on social media platforms. Because my project has implications for

the juvenile justice system, I can disseminate the information by mailing the findings to

local congressmen and women and the governor.

Implications for Social Change

Findings from the research have a potential impact for positive social change on

micro, mezzo, macro, practice, and policy levels. On the micro level, social workers who

work with African American, juvenile delinquents with gang affiliation can use creative

strategies in their practice to gain rapport with their clients. Using the tools learned from

this project such as yoga, movement, art, dance, music, and other creative exercises,

social workers can connect and gain trust with clients.

On the mezzo level, social workers can be used in the educational system to

facilitate extracurricular activities. Social workers can integrate team building exercises,

skills training, and interpersonal relationship building into the recreational activities to

teach youth these integral skills.

This research project can be used to advocate for policies on a federal level.

Policies that put additional resources into urban communities, rehabilitation instead of

incarceration, and a fair juvenile justice system for youth regardless of racial background

can impact this population on the macro level. During the Obama administration,

movement toward a rehabilitative direction was encouraged. Examples of this positive

direction are policies such as the Youth Opportunity AmeriCorps grants that provided

funding to involve at-risk and formerly incarcerated youth in national service projects,

and the liaison between the Department of Labor and the Department of Defense’s

National Guard Youth Challenge program providing court-involved youth with

workexperience, mentors, and vocational skills to help with successful entry into the

workforce (The White House: Office of the Press Secretary, 2015). Advocating for

increased funding for these programs can help to expand opportunities for justiceinvolved

youth.

As one of the participants said, “we must start on the outside and work our way

in.” It is important to affect change on the macro level by creating and supporting policies

that benefit this population.

Summary

Many people are affected by gang violence and juvenile delinquency.

Communities live in fear of juvenile crime, and parents worry about their children joining

gangs. The juvenile justice system of punishment creates career criminals out of these

youth. When speaking to colleagues, it was apparent that many social workers were

unaware of their role when it comes to African American, male, juvenile delinquents with

gang affiliation. Several of these social workers understood that the justice system was

handling these youth as they see fit. However, the justice system may not be addressing

some foundational issues that can be causing the youth to join a gang and become

delinquent.

The purpose of this research was to understand how social workers perceive their

role in the rehabilitation of this population. Through the research, it became clear that

there are many ways for social workers to help these youth. Many of these youth are just

seeking to be accepted, to have a support network, or to be loved. Often, these youth do

not have positive role models to teach them right from wrong. It is important for social

workers to recognize that this population needs them to advocate for them, to create

change, to be a positive support network, and to care.

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