| The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative inquiry of juveniles waived to the adult status. All of the participants were professionals from various divisions of the Juvenile Justice System. This was the first iteration of an ongoing action research project using qualitative inquiry to look and think about the juvenile offender waiver process to the adult status.;Two methods were used to collect the data. The first method consisted of preexisting data. The second method was a qualitative inquiry, which consisted of face-to-face semi-structured interviews. This action research study is designed according to Stringer's (1996) three-dimensional model which includes (a) look, (b) think, and (c) act. In the "look" portion of this qualitative research inquiry, I conducted the inquiry with the professionals of the Juvenile Justice System. I took a close look at the process which juvenile offenders go through when they are waived to the adult status in court. According to Stringer (1996), action research is an integrating process of theory with practice. Action research "implies a more democratic, empowering, humanizing approach to inquiry" (p. 9).;From the qualitative inquiry, 10 dominant themes emerged from the study: (a) advantages of assigning consultants to parents, (b) advantages of having a handbook, (c) assessment and history, (d) cultural awareness and society, (d) informing parents of waiver process, (e) joint decision process, (f) medium for providing information, (g) professionals' perception of waiver process, (h) professionals' perceptions of families, and (i) trust, support, guidance, and the juvenile justice system.;From the results of this study, the problem that seems to stand out from the findings was the need to educate the parent. Education appears to be the key factor that is needed to make a difference in the lives of both the juvenile and the parent. |
