Justice-Involved Youth

Including a peer support workbook with exercises, this book demonstrates the therapeutic value of art practice, both inside and outside institutions, as a more humane approach for children and adolescents affected by mass incarceration. The author discusses how a trauma-informed approach can heal marginalized and ignored citizens and refutes the notion that severe punishment for repeat offenders is essential or effective.

Author Carol Cross has decades of experience incorporating therapeutic expressive arts in her professional practice, with a focus on peer-led programs. She advocates a trauma-informed approach using a peer-driven creative process, showing how such programs can intervene in the cycle of violence and contribute to a practice of community preventive care for youth deemed to be at risk. The workbook is built on the research and resources Cross has used within care plans with clinical teams and youth forensics. The user is shown how to build on these teachings and implement or modify the content to suit individual needs. Contributions from persons involved in the judicial system and such intervention programs vet the topics in the workbook as resonating with group participants.

This user-friendly book will benefit anyone working with justice-involved children and adolescents, including those working in and around the criminal legal system as well as in programs outside of carceral institutions organized by individuals, groups, or non-profit organizations.