Professor takes juvenile justice expertise global with Youth Rights Project

KOKOMO, Ind. - An Indiana University Kokomo sociology professor is using her expertise in juvenile justice to protect the legal rights of youth and their families in Mexico and Brazil, with plans to expand to Costa Rica and Norway in the future.

Niki Weller, professor of sociology, established and advanced the Youth Rights Project in Mexico City as associate director of the Global Consortium on Juvenile Delinquency and Prevention.

She said the consortium offers assistance from investigators and practitioners to leaders and staff at juvenile correctional facilities to ensure that they can provide the best possible services to the youth.

"We all have the same goal, to help these kids get through the system, get back to their communities, and hopefully not offend again," she said. "Our goal is to identify what the laws are for juveniles in these systems, and that they are able to access education, mental health care services, and their families. We ensure the facilities' staffs know what the laws are and that they have what they need to abide by them, and when they don't, offer ways to fill in the gap."

The consortium works with facilities in the countries its members come from. They've been part of the HOPE Mentoring Program in Indiana, which pairs college mentors with incarcerated youth to provide positive role models and prepare them to transition successfully back into their communities.

"Our goal is to ensure that when they return, they have the skills and support they need so they don't become adult offenders," Weller said.

During a sabbatical leave and summer fellowship, she went with the Consortium to Mexico for a research summit at the University of Mexico, returning three additional times to meet with leaders and staff at a specialized juvenile detention center. The center will now provide workshops, mentoring, and training programs to better meet the needs of its youth.

With the success of the program in Mexico, in November, Weller and colleagues will begin establishing the Youth Rights Project in Brazil, starting with a research summit at the University of Sao Paulo, and visits with juvenile correctional facilities, judges, prosecuting staff, and others.

She said researchers in Brazil have noted that juveniles are often lost in the system, so when they return home, their school doesn't know how they've progressed in their education.

"They get funneled into these systems and people forget about them, and that's not right," she said.

Her work in juvenile justice began when Theresa Ochoa, an IU School of Education professor who is also executive director of the HOPE Mentoring program, invited her to get involved with the program at the Logansport Juvenile Correctional Facility.

The consortium members apply what they've learned locally to help more young people.

"Seeing the problems that were plaguing the youth in Indiana, with the lack of support in the system, and what happens when they go home, we realized it's not just a local problem. It's a global problem," Weller said. "A global solution will be more effective than just trying to deal with it from a local perspective."

She noted that the consortium's goal isn't to come in and correct what the facilities are doing - they aim to offer resources to help them do their job more effectively.

"We're here to help, we're here to support them," she said. "Everyone's goal is to help these kids, to ensure they don't turn into adult offenders, and keep them out of the criminal justice system. We can work together to figure out how to do that.

"It can be an uphill battle," she said. "Our goal is to create programs that are self-sufficient at those facilities, so the staff and personnel have the skills and tools they need to keep helping the youth progress."

Weller received an IU Kokomo Grant-in-Aid of Research and a grant from the IU Office of the Vice President for International Affairs to support her work. She also intends to apply for another fellowship for summer 2025 to advance the project in Brazil and further the mission of improving juvenile justice practices and youth rights globally.

Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo.

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