After describing Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center as one of the country’s largest delinquent juvenile facilities, the authors describe the objectives, staff, and curriculum of Project BUILD (PB). Arguing that PB targets first-time juvenile offenders, the authors discuss the program’s three basic components including classroom sessions, after school tutoring and counseling, and aftercare services for released youth and their families. After evaluating PB from May 1993 through October 1999, the authors found that over 75 percent of PB participants were African-American, 7 percent were white, 17 percent were Hispanic, 4 percent were biracial or “other,” and less than 1 percent were Asian. Furthermore, the vast majority of program participants were in the 8th, 9th, or 10th grades, and the average number of new students enrolled per month ranged from 16 to 22. Focusing on curriculum and classroom activities, the authors found that students were overwhelmingly pleased to participate in PB, PB case managers facilitated students’ adjustments after they left Cook County Detention Center, teachers’ attitudes towards PB were exceedingly positive, and PB return rates from April 1993 to April 1996 varied from 30 to 36 percent. The authors conclude that PB program participants were less likely to return to Cook County’s Juvenile Detention Center than were non-program participants, and those who did return were more likely to stay out of the Center for longer periods of time. References