Programs eligible for funding under JAIBG Purpose Area 11 fall into two general categories: (1) programs that target juvenile offenders already involved with the juvenile justice and/ or law enforcement systems and (2) programs that involve the collaborative efforts of schools, communities, and law enforcement to reduce school violence. In practice, programs may involve efforts both to intervene directly with delinquent and high-risk youth and to build preventive student accountability measures into a school’s curriculum, policies, and procedures. All JAIBG initiatives place increased student accountability at the center of their programmatic efforts.

Currently, there are few programs that fulfill all the goals outlined in Purpose Area 11 and fewer still that have been evaluated sufficiently to determine their effectiveness.⁴ This section describes several programs that best exemplify JAIBG principles.

School-based probation, juvenile diversion, and alternative education programs are three types of programs that have successfully implemented accountability principles to intervene with delinquent and high-risk juveniles. Pennsylvania’s school-based probation program, the Handgun Intervention Program (HIP), and the Positive Adolescent Choices Training (PACT) program are good examples of this accountability-based intervention approach. Each of these programs is directed toward high-risk and/or delinquent youth and is designed to hold these juveniles accountable for their delinquent behavior.

School-based probation. School-based probation programs contribute to the overall school environment by bringing additional attention to students already experiencing difficulty with the law. These interventions are based on a supervision model in which the offices of probation officers are located in the schools. School-based probation programs are under way in a number of locations, including the cities of Phoenix, AZ; and Bakersfield and Sacramento, CA; and the States of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania initiative has been evaluated and found to have many positive features (Griffin, 1999).

Pennsylvania’s school-based probation program is one of the most extensive in the Nation. Begun in 1990 and supported by the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, this accountability-based program has been implemented in approximately 300 schools, where about 150 probation officers have served more than 16,000 juveniles (Griffin, 1999). Officers in these Pennsylvania schools have smaller caseloads and more contact with clients than probation officers located in more traditional settings (Metzger, 1997). School-based probation officers have the opportunity to see how their clients interact with their peers, and the students know that their school conduct will be closely monitored. Students are held accountable for their actions on a daily basis, and certain conditions of probation, such as attending school regularly and following school rules, are enforced directly.

The Handgun Intervention Program. HIP in Detroit, MI, was developed by Judge Willie Lipscomb, Jr., as a court-based educational diversion program for defendants charged with carrying a concealed weapon. The defendants are required to attend at least one 4-hour session as a condition of their bond. HIP targets African American males (ages 12–28, including middle and high school students) who are first- or second-time offenders and who currently have no other serious charges pending. The goal of the program is to prevent these defendants from committing gun violence or from becoming homicide victims. The program stresses the importance of consequences, choices, responsibility, and nonviolence.

HIP is coordinated by the probation office and staffed by volunteers from the court and community. Volunteers include clergy, police officers, probation officers, ex-offenders, doctors, lawyers, and victims. Judge Lipscomb and the volunteers implement the 4-hour gun education class, which is held on Saturday mornings. The program has five components:

• Program leaders present images of gun-murder victims to remind the offenders that they have much in common with victims and to appeal to their sense of humanity

• Program leaders distribute information about guns and gun-related violence and lead a discussion of these topics.

• Volunteer youth present information about avoiding and neutralizing violent street conflicts.

• Participants discuss their responsibilities and heritage as African American men (this segment includes a presentation about historic figures and civil rights leaders).

• Program leaders encourage participants to take an optional vow of nonviolence.

The program has recently been expanded and is now being offered to middle and high school students in the Detroit metropolitan area to reach high-risk youth before they become defendants. More than 5,000 young men have participated in the program since its inception in 1993, and the program continues to grow.

HIP has been noted as a promising program (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1999). A preliminary evaluation conducted by The Urban Institute for the National Institute of Justice found statistically significant movements in HIP participants’ attitudes toward handguns and handgun violence over the short term, although these attitude changes did not necessarily produce significant behavioral changes (Roth, 1998a, 1998b). The final evaluation is expected to be available early in 2001.

Positive Adolescent Choices Training. The PACT program is designed to reduce the chances that at-risk adolescents will become victims or perpetrators of violence. It addresses the problem of expressive violence, which involves loss of control among family, friends, and acquaintances and represents the greatest threat to adolescents. Although developed especially for sensitivity to the needs of African American youth, the techniques used in the program are applicable to, and frequently used with, multiethnic groups.

PACT primarily targets high-risk youth between the ages of 12 and 16 who are selected by teachers on the basis of skill deficiencies in relating to peers, behavior problems (particularly aggression), and/or a history of violence, victimization, or exposure to violence. PACT helps adolescents learn how to adopt more appropriate and socially effective ways of interacting with others, how to recognize and control angry emotions that can interfere with verbal resolutions to conflict, and how to understand and avoid the risk of violence. Training takes place in small groups of no more than 10, targeting skills that include giving constructive criticism (expressing criticism or displeasure calmly), receiving negative feedback (reacting appropriately to the criticism and anger of others), and negotiating (identifying problems and potential solutions and learning to compromise). The curriculum features one or two lessons each week for 19 weeks. Students who received instruction reduced antisocial and violent behaviors by 38 percent (U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education, 1999).

Approaches that successfully focus on preventing school violence and misconduct include school resource officers (SRO’s) and peer mediation. Such approaches are being used effectively to implement JAIBG principles.

School resource officers. SRO’s (law enforcement officers who are well prepared to deal with weapons and violent behavior) are employed in a large number of schools throughout the country to maintain order and discipline. They are trained to counsel students on law-related problems and support services, teach classes on the law, and serve as role models for students. SRO’s have been most successful in settings where their role is clearly defined and well understood by students, teachers, and staff and where they have received extensive training. In their most expansive role, they serve as referral agents to other groups such as law enforcement, social services, and tutoring services. SRO’s have been employed in innovative ways in Arlington, TX; Montgomery, AL; and Phoenix, AZ.

Peer mediation programs. Peer mediation programs succeed because students are able to connect with their peers in ways that adults cannot. The self-empowering aspects of the mediation process appeal to youth and foster self-esteem and self-discipline. When students generate their own solutions to problems, they feel as though they are in control of their lives and are committed to the plans of action they have created to address their problems.

In one example of a successful peer mediation program, students in grades 6–12 were selected, based on nominations by faculty, staff, and students, to serve as neutral mediators to assist other students in resolving conflict situations. Selected students received peer mediation training (approximately 12–15 hours over 2 days), which included activities related to understanding the origins of conflict, responding to conflict, developing effective communication skills, and understanding the mediator’s roles and the mediation process (U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education, 1999). In addition, subsequent biweekly meetings incorporating more advanced activities addressed bias awareness, social and cultural diversity, advanced communication, anger management, caucusing, negotiating, and group problem solving. Program materials included a program guide, a student manual, and an optional training video. The program also included training workshops and activities for staff, students, parents, and communities. An evaluation of the program included students of mixed ethnicity in an urban setting who exhibited a 19-percent reduction in antisocial and violent behaviors. More information on peer mediation can be obtained from the National Center for Conflict Resolution Education (contact information is listed under Programs in the ”For Further Information” section).