U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Reducing Minority Overrepresentation in Juvenile Justice: Results of Community-Based Delinquency Prevention in Harrisburg

NCJ Number
177412
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 36 Issue: 1 Dated: February 1999 Pages: 87-110
Author(s)
W N Welsh; P H Jenkins; P W Harris
Date Published
1999
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This article evaluates several community-based delinquency prevention programs.
Abstract
To reduce minority overrepresentation in its juvenile justice system, Pennsylvania sponsored nine community-based delinquency prevention programs in Harrisburg and Philadelphia. The article describes results of a 3-year evaluation (1992-1995) of the Harrisburg programs, reporting 2-year follow-up data for the 1992-1993 cohort (N=191). The major objective was to reduce rates of arrest and rearrest for clients; programs also attempted to reduce major risk factors such as educational failure, dropout and truancy. Using quasi-experimental comparison groups based on program attendance (control, low, and high), the article examines program effects using logistic regression and multivariate analysis of variance. Programs reduced recidivism; over 1-year and 2-year follow-up periods, recidivism was lowest for the high-attendance group. Program effects on school outcomes, however, were generally weak. Tables, notes, references