Mi Hermana's Keeper: Promising Practices for Latina Youth in Prevention Programs

Location

Navarro

Focused Area

Juvenile Justice

Relevance to Focused Area

Southwest Key currently operates 5 Family Keys Programs in Texas (Austin, Laredo, San Antonio) and New York (Buffalo, Goshen). This diversion program, which has been recognized as a best practice by OJJDP, helps youth who have been charged with status offenses but not yet involved in the juvenile justice system. They receive academic support to stay in school while a Southwest Key case manager wraps services around their entire family. Our community-based participatory-action research study on the Family Keys programs across Texas concluded with an evidenced based approach for better serving Latina youth who are at-risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system. Mi Hermana's Keeper Toolkit is a practical and tangible guide that can be used to inform services and approaches supporting Latina youth that face challenges integrating into traditional school settings.

Primary Strand

Family & Community

Relevance to Primary Strand

Mi Hermana's Toolkit is a practical resource guide for serving Latina youth and their families in community-based prevention programs.

Brief Program Description

This workshop will introduce a toolkit offering evidence-based recommendations and action steps for administering culturally-specific services to Latinas who are at risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system. Mi Hermana's Toolkit is designed for educators, service providers, researchers, key stakeholders and anyone who is invested in the lives of Latina youth.

Summary

A keen ear to the voices of system-involved Latina youth is critical for providing effective service and care. Despite their demographic prominence, research on Latina youth is limited, with a clear lack of culturally-specific service both in and outside the juvenile justice system.

In this workshop, we will share the findings of a rigorous qualitative participatory action research study that examines the needs of Latina youth involved in Family Keys, an OJJDP designated best practice prevention and intervention program. Through this research, we deliver key recommendations for providing community-based services to Latinas.

MHK Toolkit provides a practical application for providing community-based services among at-risk and systems-involved Latina youth. For example, values such as familismo, personalismo, respeto, and espiritualismo are critical components of services provided to Latina youth and their families. This recommendation, along with eight other program and system level recommendations and corresponding action steps are presented.

This workshop is designed for anyone who is committed to the success of Latina youth. Whether an educator, service provider, program administrator, researcher, policy analyst or other key stakeholder, there is an urgency to reflect on the voices represented in (MHK) Toolkit and modify services and program practices accordingly. Attendees will leave with a copy of the toolkit as a reference guide for improving their own approach when working with Latina youth.

Evidence

The toolkit reports on qualitative data collected from Latina youth, their caregivers, and key stakeholders to better understand the lived experiences of at-risk and systems-involved Latina youth (ages 10-17) in order to make recommendations for providing community-based services.

Research Steps included:

  • Interview questions were developed with participants, including Latina youth.
  • Approval was obtained from IntegReview Institutional Review Board (IRB).
  • Data was collected at three Southwest Key Family Keys program sites working with Latina youth in Austin, Laredo, and San Antonio, TX.
  • Nine focus groups and 11 supplemental interviews were conducted with formerly served Latina clients, their caregivers, and key community stakeholders. Data was collected from 22 Latina youth, 18 caregivers, and 42 stakeholders.
  • Participants were asked about the experiences of Latina youth, their involvement in various systems, the decision-making and external factors surrounding their behavior, and how to improve services for Latina youth.
  • Audio-recorded qualitative data was transcribed verbatim, translated to English where necessary, and analyzed using MAXQDA software.
  • The data was analyzed and grouped into categories of information (codes) and then grouped into broader perspectives (themes).
  • The accuracy of themes was checked and recommendations created with Southwest Key staff, stakeholders, and Latina youth participating in a follow-up focus group.
  • Recommendations were developed from the themes to support community-based programs serving Latina youth.

Format

Individual Presentation

Biographical Sketch

DeAna Swan is a Research and Evaluation Specialist at Southwest Key Programs. In her role, she contributes to activities supporting evidence-based practice research and leads the development of qualitative data collection instruments. DeAna earned her BS from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and her MSEd from the University of Pennsylvania. She is also in her final year of doctoral coursework at The University of Texas at Austin. She is passionate about social justice and an avid Wisconsin Badger fan.

Start Date

10-26-2017 3:30 PM

End Date

10-26-2017 4:45 PM

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Oct 26th, 3:30 PM Oct 26th, 4:45 PM

Mi Hermana's Keeper: Promising Practices for Latina Youth in Prevention Programs

Navarro

This workshop will introduce a toolkit offering evidence-based recommendations and action steps for administering culturally-specific services to Latinas who are at risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system. Mi Hermana's Toolkit is designed for educators, service providers, researchers, key stakeholders and anyone who is invested in the lives of Latina youth.