An Organizational Process Approach for Identifying Side Effects of Juvenile Justice System Reforms

Historically, the juvenile justice system (JJS) was designed to protect youth through nonpunitive, rehabilitative measures, distinguishing it from the retributive adult criminal justice system. Societal shifts, however, have led to a focus on punishment, yielding unforeseen side effects, including the school-to-prison pipeline, net widening, and difficulties in addressing youth gun violence. Considering this issue, the chapter proposes one promising solution through the lens of organizational theory. Specifically, a process theory approach can advance the current understanding and detection of unanticipated side effects for juveniles who encounter the justice system to better identify, minimize, and eliminate the persistence of side effects. The chapter is structured in the following manner: (1) the history of the juvenile justice system is detailed, (2) three notable side effects in JJS research are presented to underline the pattern of reactive approaches to reform and the need for alternative methods, (3) process theory is defined and applied to the identification of side effects in the JJS, and (4) recommendations for implementing this process theory approach and avenues for future empirical assessment are provided.