“Overlapping and intersecting challenges”: Parent and provider perspectives on youth adversity during community reentry after incarceration

Parents and health and service providers play key roles in supporting youth during reentry, defined as the six-month period following release from incarceration. During reentry, parents and providers help youth overcome various challenges, as well as address high medical and behavioral healthcare needs. We used thematic analysis to understand parent and provider perspectives on youth responses to adversity during reentry as it relates to youths’ health and wellbeing. In total, we examined 52 interviews conducted with 34 parents of youth undergoing reentry. Parents participated in longitudinal interviews, with the first interview occurring one month after youth release and follow-up interviews at three and six months post-release. We also examined 20 interviews done with providers who serve youth undergoing reentry. The sample of health and service providers included medical and behavioral health providers in community and correctional health settings, as well as leaders in education, juvenile justice, and correctional healthcare. Interviews were conducted in Los Angeles County between 2016 and 2018. In our analyses, we identified themes on the types of adversity youth experience during reentry, as well as youths’ health-related behavioral responses to the adversity. Parents and providers shared that: 1) youth face challenges tied to the reentry process; 2) youth return to ongoing challenges in their environments upon reentry; 3) youth engage in health-promoting behavioral responses to adversity; and 4) youth engage in health-detracting behavioral responses to adversity. Parent and provider perspectives suggest a need to expand systems of support to facilitate health-promoting responses to adversity during reentry in order to improve youths’ long-term health and reentry success.