NCJ Number
238698
Date Published
September 2011
Length
56 pages
Annotation
This 2010 Minnesota Student Survey - which is administered every 3 years to 6th, 9th, and 12th graders in public schools - addresses a variety of issues that include youth attitudes, behaviors, and health, as well as a range of protective factors.
Abstract
The protective factors include connectedness to school, family, and community. Risk factors addressed in the survey include drug and alcohol use, violence, and victimization. Twenty-four residential juvenile correctional facilities with onsite education programs also participated in the survey. The current report compared responses from 584 youth in correctional facilities with a same-sized sample of youth who completed the questionnaire in mainstream schools. Respondents were matched on gender, age, race, and Hispanic ethnicity. A secondary objective of this survey was to show now the survey findings support the need for best practices across youth-serving disciplines. The survey respondents in correctional facilities and mainstream public schools indicated some common protective factors as well as risk factors. The strengths and needs of Minnesota's youth, as indicated by survey responses, crosses many professional disciplines, including health, public health, human services, education, and juvenile justice. The most effective interventions were indicated to be the participation of and collaboration with families, schools, communities, community-based providers, and government-based services. Youth-serving agencies at all levels must act collectively to implement best practices in supporting youth involved in the justice system and their families. Extensive figures, 109 references, and appended characteristics of participating facilities and model programs and best practices