Nebraska Educational Planning for Systems-Involved Youth Conference

For youth with and without disabilities, such as brain injury, involvement with the juvenile justice system can be very punitive and traumatic and rarely involves meaningful “rehabilitation.” The experience is often a cycle, and youth with disabilities, such as brain injury, are impacted more significantly at every level compared to their nondisabled peers, becoming more prevalent at each stage of the system.
Preliminary data from a local project BIA-NE is doing indicates up to 75% of justice-involved youth potentially have had a lifetime history of brain injury, and the symptoms they are experiencing are statistically significantly higher than those not indicating a lifetime history of brain injury.
Youth with brain injury may be more vulnerable to involvement in the juvenile justice system when poorly developed reasoning ability, inappropriate affect, and inattention are misinterpreted by professionals as hostility, lack of cooperation, and other inappropriate responses. Youth with brain injury may behave in ways that are perceived to be outside of acceptable norms.
Police officers, attorneys, judges, corrections staff, and probation officers are typically unaware of characteristics associated with youths' disabilities (Keilitz & Dunivant, 1986). Youth with a brain injury benefit from support and preventative services to minimize their vulnerability vs. punitive consequences. Early identification of brain injury can lower the odds of incarceration and assist youth, their families, and their communities in developing more productive relationships and experiences. In addition to prevention, community-based services in lieu of incarceration can provide appropriate sanctions for youth while avoiding the negative outcomes associated with imprisonment.
Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will gain tips for identifying brain injury among justice-involved youth.
2. Participants will identify alternative responses in meeting the unique needs of justice-involved youth with brain injury.

Implicit bias refers to subconscious attitudes and stereotypes that influence our actions, even if we consciously reject prejudice. In the education sector, implicit bias has been linked to racial disparities in school disciplinary actions, and other outcomes. System-involved youth face similar disadvantages and may face multiple obstacles if they hold multiple identities. These disparities have a significant influence in K-12 educational outcomes from attendance to high school graduation rates. Research has found that teachers’ and administrators' implicit biases may impact student outcomes, emphasizing the importance of addressing these biases in educational settings. While more research is needed to draw firm conclusions, this presentation will get us started on understanding and addressing implicit bias and how it can contribute to more equitable learning environments for all youth.