‘Have your Game Plan’: Sport Program Implementation in Juvenile Justice

Sport has the potential to play a valuable role within justice systems where the influences of institutionalized inequities are witnessed on a concentrated scale. Despite potential benefits, there has been found to be limited and varied access to sport programming across youth justice systems, and gaps exist in our understanding of how programs are implemented, including the factors that affect implementation in secure settings. Utilizing a theoretical framework from implementation sciences, this study identified important characteristics of implementation among a sample of exemplar sport programs in juvenile facilities. Findings highlight the value of using an ecological approach to understanding sport program implementation in a unique and non-traditional setting, such as the correctional system. Further, our findings reveal promising practices for the implementation of sport in juvenile justice to promote positive youth development and wellbeing and have implications for efforts to address inequitable access to sport and its related benefits among youth who are incarcerated.