John J. Wilson, Acting Administrator FACT SHEET # 4 August 1993. SERIOUS, VIOLENT, AND CHRONIC JUVENILE OFFENDERS: A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY by John J. Wilson & James C. Howell, Ph.D. INTRODUCTION Serious and violent juvenile crime has increased dramatically over the past few years, straining America's juvenile justice system. Violent offenses adjudicated in juvenile courts have risen 31% since 1986. Juvenile detention and correctional populations have grown significantly, as has the number of juveniles waived or transferred to the adult criminal justice system. Evidence continues to mount that a small proportion of juvenile offenders account for most serious and violent juvenile crimes. Unfortunately, the already stressed juvenile justice system lacks adequate fiscal and programmatic resources to identify and intervene effectively with serious, violent, and chronic offenders. The Department of Justice and its Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) have called for an unprecedented national commitment of public and private resources to reverse the trends in juvenile violence, juvenile victimization, and family disintegration in our Nation. PRINCIPLES Building on a strong foundation of basic research and capitalizing on promising approaches in delinquency prevention, intervention, and treatment, OJJDP has developed a comprehensive strategy for serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders. Key principles for preventing and reducing at-risk behavior and delinquency include: * Strengthen families in their role of providing guidance and discipline and instilling sound values as their children's first and primary teachers. * Support core social institutions, including schools, churches, and other community-based organizations, to alleviate risk factors and help children develop to their maximum potential. * Promote prevention strategies that reduce the impact of risk factors and enhance the influence of protective factors in the lives of youth at greatest risk of delinquency. * Intervene with youth immediately when delinquent behavior first occurs. * Establish a broad spectrum of graduated sanctions that provides accountability and a continuum of services to respond appropriately to the needs of each juvenile offender. * Identify and control the small segment of serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders. Implementation of this comprehensive strategy will require all sectors of the community to take part in determining local needs and in planning and implementing programs to meet those needs. DELINQUENCY PREVENTION Prevention is the most cost-effective means of dealing with delinquency. The prevention component of OJJDP's comprehensive strategy is based on a risk-focused approach. It recognizes that protective buffer programs must be established to counter major risk factors, such as 1) delinquent peer groups, 2) poor school performance, 3) high-crime neighborhoods, 4) weak family attachments, 5) lack of consistent discipline, and 6) physical or sexual abuse. OJJDP's risk-focused approach to delinquency prevention intervenes according to the child's chronological and developmental stage, beginning with prenatal care. It calls on communities to systematically assess their delinquency problem, to identify local risk factors, and to implement programs to counteract them. One proven prevention strategy available to guide communities through this critical process is called "Communities that Care". GRADUATED SANCTIONS An effective model for the treatment and rehabilitation of delinquent offenders must combine accountability and sanctions with increasingly intensive treatment and rehabilitation. The objective of graduated sanctions is to stop the juvenile's further slide into criminality by stimulating law-abiding behavior as early as possible. To fit the offense, graduated sanctions should encompass a broad range of nonresidential and residential alternatives. At each level in the continuum, the family must be integrally involved in treatment and rehabilitative efforts. INTERVENTION The intervention component comprises a range of options that include immediate interventions (for first-time offenders involved in misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies) and intermediate sanctions (for offenders who are first time serious or violent offenders, or repeat offenders who fail to respond to immediate intervention). Community policing shows considerable promise as a means of early intervention. The juvenile court plays an important role in the provision of treatment and sanctions, with probation being the court's principal vehicle for the delivery of treatment services and community supervision. Continuous case management is crucial to ensuring timely treatment. A continuum of community-based care should be provided to meet the multiple service needs of each juvenile offender. The intervention component calls for extensive use of non-residential community-based programs, including referral to prevention programs for most first time offenders. Intermediate sanctions use both nonresidential and residential placements, including intensive supervision programs for more serious and violent offenders. SECURE CORRECTIONS The criminal behavior of some serious, violent and chronic offenders mandates the use of secure corrections to hold them accountable for their delinquent acts, while providing a structured treatment environment. As large congregate care facilities, such as training schools, have proven to be generally ineffective, greater use of smaller, community-based facilities offers the best hope for successful treatment of juveniles requiring a structured setting. Training schools, camps, and ranches should be used exclusively for juveniles who require enhanced security to protect the public and for those who have failed to respond to appropriate community-based sanctions and treatment. Intensive aftercare programs are critical to the success of juveniles once they return to their neighborhoods and communities. EXPECTED BENEFITS The anticipated benefits of adopting this comprehensive strategy include: 1) increased prevention of delinquency with fewer young people entering the juvenile justice system, 2) enhanced responsiveness from the juvenile justice system, 3) greater accountability on the part of youth, 4) decreased costs of juvenile corrections, 5) a more responsible juvenile justice system, 6) better program effectiveness, and 7) less crime as fewer serious, violent, and chronic delinquents become adult criminals. NEXT STEPS Implementing this comprehensive strategy for serious, violent and chronic juveniles is a major program priority for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. By September 1993 OJJDP will select a grantee to identify a variety of effective prevention and intervention program models and to provide interested jurisdictions with a blueprint for assessing their present juvenile justice system and for planning new programs that respond to community needs. OJJDP anticipates that funds will be available in Fiscal Year 1994 to award competitive grants to a limited number of jurisdictions to carry out the assessment, planning, and implementation process. Training and technical assistance will be provided to participating communities. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION This fact sheet is based on a detailed exposition of the strategy and supporting research, statistics, and program evaluation information entitled, "A Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent and Chronic Juvenile Offenders", written by John J. Wilson, and James C. Howell, Ph.D. It can be obtained by calling the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse toll free at (800) 638-8736. This fact sheet was prepared by John J. Wilson, Acting Administrator, OJJDP; James C. Howell, Ph.D., Director of Research, OJJDP; and Jonathan Budd, Program Manager, OJJDP. FS-9304