Grant helps justice-involved youth using their lived experiences

Congratulations to Dr. Daniella Bendo, Assistant Professor of Childhood and Youth Studies, on receiving a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Development Grant for “Exploring the lived experiences of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the criminal justice system.”

The results of the research will give professionals and organizations a better understanding of the lived experiences of youth with IDD in the criminal justice system and how these youth interpret their rights. The project will also evaluate whether the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) offers justice-involved young people with IDD appropriate protections consistent with the YCJA’s legislative directives.  

“We want to hear (youth with IDD’s) own viewpoints about what their lived experiences are in the youth justice system. Given that limited literature exists on this area of focus, we decided to frame the grant around this important objective as a way to understand and hear young people's stories, viewpoints, and experiences,” says Dr. Bendo.

Dr. Bendo was the applicant on the grant. Her co-applicants included Brenda Morrison of Simon Fraser University, Christine Goodwin-De Faria of Trent University, Dale Spencer of Carleton University, Nathan Innocente of the University of Toronto and Voula Marinos of Brock University.

The grant brought together academics from universities including King’s, Trent, Simon Fraser, Carleton, Brock, Toronto, and York with the Ontario Court of Justice and Justice for Children and Youth. Dr. Bendo says months were spent planning and conceptualizing the project with team members and community partners. She notes that having partners on the project from across Canada also required a lot of coordination.

Because the main area of interest is on child and youth rights, Dr. Bendo’s background in childhood and youth studies helped to shape the scope of the project. “The rights-based focus framed the theoretical framework of the project, as well as the key objectives and methodological approach of the grant,” she explains.