Thesis
Washington Education Advocates: Brokering services for at-risk youth while navigating between the educational and juvenile justice institutions
Washington State University
Master of Public Affairs (MPA), Washington State University
05/2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000004084
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/125093
Abstract
Washington has a history of being number one in the nation for incarcerating youth for status offenses. State and federal policies like the Guns Free School Act of 1994 and the Becca Bill of 1995 increased police and court involvement in public schools which had a positive correlation to youth incarceration rates. Youth that are incarcerated are more likely to drop out of school and recidivate. However, youth that receive are more likely to graduate, receive a GED or gain employment. In Washington, youth that are currently or have been incarcerated may receive support and transition services through the Educational Service District (ESD) Education Advocate Program. Educational Service Districts provide services to school districts based on location, demographics and school needs. This means services provided, even within the same program, will be different for every ESD. Education Advocates (EAs) broker services for youth while navigating between both the public education and juvenile justice institutions. Education Advocates are in a unique position that allows them to address barriers related to the youth, their clients, but also institutional barriers as well. An exploratory approach was used to gain knowledge on how Education Advocates respond to organizational constraints, large caseloads and inadequate resources, as they support client needs while navigating between the education and juvenile justice institutions. Semi-structured interviews were done both by telephone and in person. Lipsky's Street Level Bureaucrats framework was used as a foundation for questions and a thematic coding scheme. It was found that further research should be undertaken to consider a formal articulation of ESD as an institution. The goal would be to resolve barriers for EAs including role variations, lack of managerial support and confusion over program requirements. Having clearly articulated ESD structures in place would keep the EA program consistent across institutions.
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Details
- Title
- Washington Education Advocates
- Creators
- Jan Yochim
- Contributors
- Paul Thiers (Advisor) - Washington State University, Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, School of
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Public Affairs (MPA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Identifiers
- 99900890788201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis