Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #19 - Excellence in Juvenile Justice Policy and Practice | Article 12 (ACJ19-A012)

This paper describes psychologically-informed youth-responsive strategies that have been pioneered by clinical psychologists at the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department to support young persons through their desistance journey, beginning while in custody and extending with effective throughcare in the community. The treatment approach we have developed is developmentallyinformed, desistance-based and purposefully integrated to provide a smooth and supported transition from prison to the community. The approach is built around the three key stages of desistance: (1) promoting abstinence from crime through participation in the P.R.E.P. program2, emphasizing family involvement and targeting interventions that both address criminogenic needs and utilize new technology to enhance motivation; (2) fostering non-offending identities through character strength interventions and narrative co-construction; and (3) facilitating social reintegration with narrative therapy and community connections. Though still in its early stage of development and therefore with limited evaluation data, initial positive responses received from both youth and family members suggests that this psychologically-informed and theoretically anchored approach warrants further development.

 

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