Decreasing Recidivism among Juveniles with Brain Injury Re-Entering the Community using Resource Facilitation

This symposium will describe a research study that uses Resource Facilitation to decreasing recidivism among juveniles with brain Injury as they re-enter the community after residential placement. Brain injury is often undiagnosed and not considered within most juvenile justice contexts. In this study, juveniles are screened for a lifetime history of TBI at five residential treatment program sites throughout Florida. Those screening positive for TBI receive a battery of neurocognitive assessments to establish the presence of significant cognitive impairment. Youth with brain injury and cognitive impairment returning to project catchment areas throughout Florida are then provided with Resource Facilitation, a brain injury-specific care management intervention with demonstrated recidivism reduction results for adult offenders, and promising results for juveniles. Preliminary data will be presented comparing the prevalence of lifetime events that resulted in brain injury and neurocognitive impairments with pilot data and previous research.