Karen M. Kolivoski
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About Karen
Kolivoski is the Deputy Director for Research at the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and a Distinguished Fellow of Juvenile Justice at Child Trends in the Youth Development department. Previously, she was an Associate Professor in the Communities, Administration, and Policy Practice concentration at the School of Social Work at Howard University and the Lead Data Consultant for the Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM) at CJJR. Her research aims to advance social justice through structural changes that affect the lives of children and youth.
Contributions
Publications
Utilizes a historical perspective to examine the treatment of crossover youth, from slavery to present-day in the United States, especially highlighting the experiences of African American youth. Incorporates a human rights and social justice perspective.
Investigates trajectory group experiences on each of three child welfare placement types, and cross-tabulate each with justice system trajectory groups to examine sub-groups.
Examines the prison behavior of youth who are transferred to the adult system. Shows that juveniles committed to prisons at younger ages accumulate more misconducts than those committed at older ages. Indicates that African American youth, youth with mental health issues, youth with more extensive prior histories in the juvenile system, and youth committed for property and weapons offenses accumulated more prison misconducts.
Indicates that youth with more negative perceptions of caseworkers view the legal system as less legitimate and exhibit lower overall legal socialization and that legal socialization is significantly related to delinquency.
Describes the Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM) and how addressing out-of-home placements is a key part to improving the outcomes of dually involved/multi-system youth.