NCJ Number
243963
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 30 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2013 Pages: 784-810
Date Published
October 2013
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This ethnographic study examines the daily practices of direct care workers within a large juvenile aftercare organization.
Abstract
Despite a growing literature on best practices, the details of how aftercare workers help young people transition into the community after incarceration remain unexplored. This ethnographic study examines the daily practices of direct care workers within a large juvenile aftercare organization, focusing on the dilemmas that they face as street level bureaucrats. Although aftercare workers face tremendous organizational constraints, they do not always exhibit the bureaucratic responses that some scholars describe. Using care work and public administration theory as a lens, the authors explore how juvenile aftercare workers draw upon intrinsic motivation to provide meaningful services for returning youth. Abstract published by arrangement with Taylor and Francis.