Haitian and Haitian American experiences of racism and socioethnic discrimination in Miami-Dade county: At-risk and court-involved youth.

We examine how juvenile justice-involved youth of Haitian descent in Miami-Dade County cope with structural racism and its impact on their mental health. Drawing on longitudinal ethnography, psychosocial assessment data, and a family-based clinical intervention funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, this article explores youth narratives of discrimination prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We use critical race theory and theory of practice to understand youths' perceptions as racialized bodies and stigmatized selves, highlighting the experiences and perspectives of a particular black immigrant group, ethnic beings caught up in the everyday practices of racialization, sociocultural marginalization, and racism. We frame these experiences as a variation of the complex continuum of structural racism and racial domination in the US. These experiences have caused anger, fear, anxiety, chronic anticipatory distress, and hopelessness among youth of Haitian descent. We conclude with some recommendations for therapeutic support that encourages youth to process their experiences, promotes their development of a positive self-concept, and provides them with mind-body techniques to attenuate the physical impacts of discriminatory events. The clinical trial registration number for this study intervention is NCT03876171.

Remote delivery of a therapeutic intervention to court-mandated youths of Haitian descent during COVID-19.

The threat generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered sudden institutional changes in an effort to reduce viral spread. Restrictions on group gatherings and in-person engagement have increased the demand for remote service delivery. These restrictions have also affected the delivery of court-mandated interventions. However, much of the literature has focused on populations that voluntarily seek out face-to-face medical care or mental health services, whereas insufficient attention has been paid to telehealth engagement of court-mandated populations. This article draws on data gathered on an NIH/NIDA-funded study intervention implemented with juvenile justice-involved youths of Haitian heritage in Miami-Dade County, Florida, during the COVID-19 public health crisis. We explore the process of obtaining consent, technological access issues, managing privacy, and other challenges associated with remote delivery of family-based therapy to juvenile justice-involved youth. Our aim is to provide some insights for consideration by therapists, healthcare workers, advocates, researchers, and policymakers tasked with finding alternative and safer ways to engage nontraditional populations in health services. The clinical trial registration number is NCT03876171.

Juvenile justice-involved Haitian families' experiences of structural racism and socioethnic discrimination.

Objective: This article examines how Haitian families with youth interfacing with the juvenile justice system cope with structural racism and socioethnic discrimination (RSD). Background: Haitian families' experiences of discrimination based on their histories, immigrant status, and positionality illustrates the need for more scientific scrutiny of the experiences of RSD among Black immigrant groups. This National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded study details the narratives of and responses to RSD experienced by Haitian families interfacing with the juvenile justice system. Method: Data are drawn from psychosocial assessment tools, therapeutic sessions, and ethnographic interviews conducted with Haitian families participating in a family-based therapeutic intervention. Using critical race theory, we foreground the voices of those negatively impacted and use Bourdieu's theory of practice to examine the intersectionality of race and ethnicity in this population's experiences of RSD. Results: The different experiences of and responses to RSD among youth and caregivers of Haitian descent are both a variation of the complex continuum of structural racism in the United States and unique to their immigrant experience of marginalization and cultural invalidation by public institutions, community members, and peers. Conclusion: Professionals working with this population must be sensitive to the ways these experiences impact young people's identity development processes, their health, and well-being. Haitian caregivers should be encouraged to protect their children by engaging in racial and socioethnic socialization that validates their RSD experiences. Implications: Understanding the intergenerational experiences of RSD among Black, immigrant groups and encouraging family dialogue and adolescent support will strengthen family cohesion during this period of racial reckoning.