The Voluntary Sector Role in Youth and Young Adult Justice Services: A Comparative Case Study of Finland and England/Wales
| Author | Laura S. Abrams,Timo Harrikari,Lisa Moreno |
| DOI | 10.1177/1473225419886932 |
| Published date | 01 December 2019 |
| Date | 01 December 2019 |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1473225419886932
Youth Justice
2019, Vol. 19(3) 278 –298
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/1473225419886932
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The Voluntary Sector Role in Youth
and Young Adult Justice Services: A
Comparative Case Study of Finland
and England/Wales
Laura S. Abrams , Lisa Moreno
and Timo Harrikari
Abstract
This comparative case study investigates the voluntary sector interface with criminal justice systems for
youth and young adults in England/Wales and Finland. Methods included document review and stakeholder
interviews. Across cases, key differences were found in the training of corrections and probation officers,
funding sources and structures, and use of actuarial models and evidence. The organization of these
relationships was also different for youth and young adult services, particularly in England/Wales where clear
lines are drawn between age groups. The results contribute to an understanding of how system-level factors
can drive relationships between the voluntary and criminal justice sectors.
Keywords
case study, reintegration, voluntary sector, youth justice
Introduction
The voluntary sector interface with juvenile and criminal justice systems has a long and com-
plicated history. The voluntary sector includes the work of volunteers, but also refers to paid
and contracted non-governmental (or non-profit) services within prisons as well as in proba-
tion, parole, and aftercare service settings (Abrams et al., 2016). The penal voluntary sector
has a history of adapting to political, cultural, and economic shifts that affect funding as well
as the types of services offered inside prisons and in probation and parole settings. These
services continue to be integral to the field of offender management and rehabilitation around
the globe (Ellis et al., 2018; Hucklesby and Corcoran, 2016; Ransley and Mazerolle, 2017).
Scholarship on the interface between the voluntary sector and the government-run criminal
justice sector has recently taken a deeper, more critical look at roles and boundaries,
Corresponding author:
Laura S. Abrams, Department of Social Welfare, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, 3250 Public Affairs Building, Box
951656, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656, USA.
Email: abrams@luskin.ucla.edu
886932YJJ0010.1177/1473225419886932Youth JusticeAbrams et al.
research-article2019
Original Article
Abrams et al. 279
ideologies, insider/outsider negotiations, and the degree to which the voluntary sector is
becoming subsumed within the goals and discourses of a neoliberal criminal justice enterprise
or alternatively, can remain a more independent entity (Abrams et al., 2016; Helminen and
Mills, 2019; Hucklesby and Corcoran, 2016; Miller, 2014; Tomczak, 2016). Yet with few
exceptions (Salole, 2016), this body of literature has not focused specifically on youth or
young adult populations and has not examined multiple countries or systems simultaneously.
This exploratory comparative case study of England/Wales and Finland investigates the
voluntary sector interface with state-governed youth and young adult criminal justice insti-
tutions and settings (i.e. prisons, detention centers, probation, parole, and aftercare settings).
Services geared toward youth (i.e. those under age 18) and young adults (i.e. 18–24) are
included in this article to align with discursive, operation, and shifting definitions of what is
considered ‘youth justice’ in various contexts and systems around the globe (Abrams et al.,
2018). Two primary questions drive this study: In these two cases, how are the boundaries
between the ‘youth’ and ‘young adult’ justice sector organized? and What macro factors
influence how these systems operate together? These questions are significant in that align-
ment between the voluntary and criminal justice sectors has implications for how services
are delivered for youth and young adults involved in prison and probation/parole services.
Background and Significance
This study examines youth and young adult justice systems in England/Wales and Finland
as case studies; however, in this section, we consider the broader literature on the volun-
tary sector role in criminal justice systems. A body of research has found that the presence
of voluntary sector services in prisons is quite beneficial for incarcerated individuals as
well as the voluntary sector staff and volunteers who are able to cross the seemingly
impenetrable barrier of prison walls. Voluntary sector, prison-based programming offers
incarcerated individuals the opportunity to take a break from solitude and hostile prison
environments to spend time in spaces that facilitate pro-social relationships. These sup-
ports may ultimately improve the prison experience and the environment itself (Duwe and
Johnson, 2016; Tomczak and Albertson, 2016; Wilson, 2007).
In addition, participation in voluntary sector programs can lead to positive recognition
and accomplishment in institutional settings where negativity and stigma is normative
(Hughes, 2016). Non-profit sector staff and volunteers bring a piece of the outside world
into the correctional facilities they serve, helping those who are imprisoned feel less iso-
lated and disconnected, which is a common experience of institutionalization. The con-
nections between incarcerated people and voluntary sector service providers (who are
distinct from correctional staff) help those behind bars to prepare for post-prison adjust-
ment, form pro-social relationships, and may even counter the negative effects of trauma
and institutionalization (Tomczak and Albertson, 2016).
Barriers to voluntary sector par ticipation in criminal justice systems
Despite the numerous benefits associated with voluntary sector programs, institutional
barriers often make it difficult for voluntary sector providers to enter correctional
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