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Habitual Juvenile Offenders: Guidelines for Social Services

NCJ Number
119867
Date Published
Unknown
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This brochure explains the conceptual basis for the role of social service agencies in the Serious Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program (SHOCAP), a program to help jurisdictions identify and appropriately respond to the serious habitual juvenile offender.
Abstract
SHOCAP is based on the premises and principles of the integrated Criminal Apprehension Program (ICAP). SHOCAP can increase the quality and relevance of information provided to juvenile justice and criminal justice authorities and enables them to focus additional attention on juveniles who repeatedly commit serious crimes. Particular emphasis is placed on providing relevant and complete case information to permit more informed sentencing. SHOCAP expands the interagency model established in 1983 to include information sharing for use in planning, managing, and delivering services more effectively. Social service agencies have several issues to consider in this effort, such as identifying and establishing special service and placement opportunities for serious habitual offenders; the use of information as a tool for planning and delivering comprehensive services through a case management approach; the involvement of law enforcement in child neglect, abuse, and other problem case areas; and the importance of information in obtaining civil commitments for designated habituals.