Journal of Applied Juvenile Justice Services

Volume 40, February 2026

Reentry Youth and Their Families: An Exploration of Their Perceptions of Family-based Interventions

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    a California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

    b Western Cape Department of Health, Cape Town, South Africa

    c University of California, Los Angeles

    d Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science

    e California State University, Northridge

    f San Francisco State University 



    *Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Susana A. López, Psychology and Child Development Department, California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, 1 Grand Avenue Psychology & Child Development Department, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. Email: Slopeza@calpoly.edu.


    Received October 2024; Accepted December 2025; Published February 2026


    https://doi.org/10.52935/26.121516.2

Highlights

  • Themes revealed several gaps in treatment for re-entry youth and their families.
  • Parents want family-based therapy but struggle when it's not culturally informed.
  • Youth desire to bridge the communication gap with guardians through therapy. 


Abstract

Youth reintegrating into society following incarceration, commonly referred to as reentry youth or youth who reenter, face major challenges to achieving successful, healthy developmental trajectories when transitioning back to their families and communities. Family-based interventions focusing on family strengths and psychoeducational skills help reduce risky behaviors and assist youth who reenter transition back into their families and healthy trajectories into adulthood. Research on family-based interventions for youth who reenter and barriers to treatment engagement however, is limited. The qualitative findings reported in this paper draw from a larger randomized control trial of a family-based intervention for youth who reenter and their families. Youth who reenter and their guardians were queried about their motivation to participate in family-based interventions and their desired content for these interventions. Analyses revealed themes reflecting these families’ needs and suggested strategies for researchers and practitioners to consider that may increase families’ participation when developing and implementing family-based interventions. These findings are essential for fostering engagement in these interventions, promoting treatment adherence, and ultimately improving outcomes of youth who reenter when transitioning back to their families and communities. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.


Keywords

Re-entry Youth, Family-based Interventions, Juvenile Justice, Formerly Incarcerated Youth

INTRODUCTION


Reentry, the process of reintegration following involvement in the justice system, is considered a critical and vulnerable period for youth transitioning from detention facilities back to their families (Bondoc et al., 2021; Barnert & Abrams, 2024). Though the juvenile justice system has seen an overall marked decline in juvenile arrests in the United States, recidivism rates do not seem to show the same downward trend (The Sentencing Project, 2023). Data shows that 50% to 80% of youth in the United States with a history of involvement in the juvenile justice system continue to have repeat contact with the juvenile or adult justice system within a few years of their initial release (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 2017). These youth, commonly referred to as youth who reenter, face challenges that existed before incarceration and may continue upon their release (Belkin, 2020). Reentry and integration back into their families is difficult for many of these youths, highlighting the need for a family intervention that provides support and addresses the unique challenges youth and their families face when reconnecting (Bondoc et al., 2021; Panuccio, 2021).


Youth delinquent behaviors have been linked to poor family functioning, including coercive parenting, strained parent-child relationships, inconsistent discipline, neglect, parental substance use, violence, sexual abuse, attachment disruption, and inadequate levels of warmth and affection (Jackson & Choi, 2018; Kozak et al., 2018; Bosk et al., 2021; Backman et al., 2021; Kobulsky et al., 2021). Many families often lack tools or knowledge about how to improve family functioning on their own. The optimization of family relationships and family involvement, however, has been shown to play an important part in increasing the likelihood that youth who reenter follow healthy trajectories upon release that include not only improved health outcomes and reduced risky behaviors, but also decreased delinquent behaviors (re-arrests, recidivism, and truancy) (Ruch & Yoder, 2018; Barnert et al., 2020; Dempsey et al., 2020). Thus, interventions that focus on improving family functioning by teaching psychoeducational skills such as family-based coping and communication to reduce family conflict and problems may facilitate a successful reentry process and help youth during this critical transition period (Aazami et al., 2023).



LITERATURE REVIEW
   

 

 

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