What is Criminalization

The school-prison nexus is comprised of all systems and services that reduce access to education and increase involvement with the justice system, particularly for clients of color. All professionals who come into contact with these services are in an ideal position to disrupt this system and address social inequities; however, they may overtly or covertly also be contributing to the nexus through inequitable practices. Consequently, this chapter will firstly explore how the school-prison nexus contributes to incarceration, including an exploration of how the systems in which counselors and other helping professionals are integral to this nexus through racist practices. The chapter then moves on to suggest ways in which helping professionals can work to disrupt this nexus in their work. These strategies to disrupt the school-prison nexus focus on how examining professional bias and applying a systems-based approach to practice can assist in achieving the social change necessary to end the criminalization of youth of color and address the impacts of incarceration before it happens.