Showing one's card: Negotiating disclosure through game play in juvenile probation

Abstract

Communication between probation officers and juvenile offenders is essential, clarifying the nature and cause of possible disorders and providing insight into the chances of recidivism and/or recovery. Forensic social work, however, is complicated as it is both oriented toward collecting information for the court (forensic aims) and aimed at helping the juvenile's improvement (social work aims). This paper examines two unique cases of probation officer-juvenile interaction that utilize a board game intended to foster disclosure. As any disclosure may be used against the juvenile in court, the juvenile must be compliant enough without disclosing too much. Using a combination of frame analysis and discourse analyses of delicacy, we describe how the game is used to encourage disclosure as well as how the game allows juveniles to appear compliant ultimately without disclosing much personal information.