Youth as Truth-Tellers and Rights-Holders
Legal and Institutional Reforms to Enable Youth Housing Security
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21830209 |
|---|---|
| Authors | N Nichols (0000-0001-6637-8186, Trent University), Jayne Malenfant (0000-0003-2183-8665, McGill University), Youth Action Research Revolution Youth Action Research Revolution |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 110-130 |
| Publication date | 2023-03-24 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Child Youth and Family Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1920-7298 • E-ISSN: 1920-7298 |
| Publisher | University of Victoria Libraries (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.18357/ijcyfs141202321288 |
| OpenAlex | W4361002145 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 10 |
In the first pan-Canadian study on youth homelessness, 57.8% of youth reported prior involvement with child protection services. Indeed, transitions from government institutions (e.g., child/youth protection, inpatient mental health treatment, the youth justice system) represent common pathways into homelessness for youth across North America. This article examines young people’s experiences navigating youth protection services to identify institutional, legislative, and policy processes that pose problems for youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness, as well as processes that show promise for the promotion of the interests, protection, and well-being of youth. Our participatory youth research team explored homeless youth’s histories of involvement with youth protection services, seeking to clarify the sociolegal mechanisms in and beyond the youth protection system that make young people vulnerable to homelessness. Youth and adult co-researchers interviewed 38 individual youth (aged 16–29) who completed 64 qualitative institutional history interviews. According to our analysis, young people identified the following sociolegal practices as implicated in their experiences of homelessness: the use of totalizing institutions, the criminalization of runaways, the abrupt cessation of service delivery at 18 years of age, a systemic failure to view youth as rights-holders, and an overly complex emancipation process
Child protection · Criminal justice · Criminalization · Criminology · Economic Justice · Mental health · Political science · Positive Youth Development · Psychiatry · Public relations · Sociology · Youth participation · Youth studies · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice
Participatory action research
Nothing about us without us
High prevalence of exposure to the child welfare system among street-involved youth in a Canadian setting
Aging Out of Foster Care
Transitions into and out of homelessness among street-involved youth in a Canadian setting
Risk in Action
The Government of Youth
Interventions for young people aging out of the child welfare system
Pathways to and From Homelessness and Associated Psychosocial Outcomes Among Adolescents Leaving the Foster Care System
Hard Lives, Mean Streets
| Citations per year | 1.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |