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INTERVENING WITH CONVICTED SERIOUS JUVENILE OFFENDERS

NCJ Number
39720
Author(s)
D MANN
Date Published
1976
Length
130 pages
Annotation
THIS REPORT IS THE RESULT OF A COMPREHENSIVE EFFORT TO IDENTIFY BEHAVIOR-CHANGING TREATMENTS CURRENTLY IN USE WITH SERIOUS JUVENILE OFFENDERS AND TO DETERMINE WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THEIR EFFECTIVENESS.
Abstract
CONDUCTED FOR THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION, IT IDENTIFIES THOSE PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS THAT APPEAR TO BE CORRELATED WITH SUCCESS, REGARDLESS OF THE SPECIFIC TREATMENT MODALITIES APPLIED, AND SUGGESTS RESEARCH STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING THE KNOWLEDGE BASE FOR FUTURE PROGRAM DECISIONS. THE TARGET GROUP FOR THIS STUDY WERE JUVENILES UNDER 18 CONVICTED OF NON-NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE, ARMED ROBBERY, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, FORCIBLE RAPE, AND ARSON. AFTER A SEARCH OF THE AVAILABLE RESEARCH AND PRACTICE LITERATURE, FOUR STUDY TEAMS EACH COVERED ONE OF THE FOLLOWING INTERVENTION TYPES: THOSE BASED ON CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY (BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION AND PSYCHOTHERAPY); THOSE BASED ON SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK (GROUP THERAPY AND GUIDED GROUP INTERACTION); THOSE BASED ON SCHOOLING; AND THOSE BASED ON CAREER EDUCATION (VOCATIONAL AND JOB SKILLS TRAINING). EACH TEAM PREPARED CASE ANALYSES OF ONE OR MORE PROGRAM SITES. RESEARCH FINDINGS REVEALED INADEQUATE DATA TO SUPPORT JUDGMENTS ABOUT THE RELATIVE EFFICACY OF THE VARIOUS TREATMENT MODALITIES; A LACK OF PROGRAMS CONCENTRATING SOLELY ON BEHAVIOR-CHANGING EFFORTS WITH THIS POPULATION; AND LIMITED SUCCESS WITH EACH OF THE FOUR TREATMENT MODALITIES. CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS INCLUDED CLIENT CHOICE ABOUT PROGRAM PARTICIPATION, STRATEGIES TO MAXIMIZE CLIENT INVOLVEMENT IN HIS OWN REHABILITATION, AVAILABILITY OF A WIDE RANGE OF TREATMENT TECHNIQUES, UTILIZATION OF A NUMBER OF STANDARD COMPONENTS OF LEARNING THEORY, AND THE ABILITY TO USE PROGRAM FAILURES AS A GUIDE TO NEW INITIATIVES. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE LIMITED SUCCESSES OF THE VARIOUS TREATMENT MODALITIES JUSTIFY CONTINUED SUPPORT -- IN CONJUNCTION WITH A STRATEGY FOR PROGRAM ASSESSMENT AND IMPROVEMENT AND WITH SUBSTANTIAL REFORMS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE SYSTEM. RECOMMENDED IS A PROGRAM OF PLANNED VARIATIONS THAT TAKES ADVANTAGE OF NATURALLY OCCURRING EXPERIMENTS INCLUDING THOSE FUNDED BY NON-FEDERAL SPONSORS, AND RELIES ON A DOCUMENTATION AND ANALYSIS PROCEDURE -- NOT SOLELY ON AN EVALUATION PROCEDURE. APPENDED MATERIALS INCLUDE NOTES ON ORGANIZATIONAL AND SYSTEM CHANGE, A DISCUSSION OF INTERVENTION PROGRAM COST ANALYSIS, A LIST OF STUDY DATA SOURCES AND SEARCH TERMS, AND A 100-ITEM BIBLIOGRAPHY. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)