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What Works, Wisconsin: What Science Tells Us About Cost-Effective Programs for Juvenile Delinquency Prevention This report reviews primary prevention, secondary prevention and juvenile offender programs in place in Wisconsin. Within each category the report highlights one or two evidence-based programs, including cost-benefit information whenever it is available. The report also discusses the practices and approaches that appear to increase program effectiveness within each category. The report concludes with a set of 10 recommendations that strongly support the use of evidence-based programs and practices. See especially, Appendix A, a chart of program details. 70 page pdf file. Three page Executive Summary up front. ++++++++++ The Importance of Family Dinners
CASA Columbia (The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University) has just released a new survey that finds that teenagers who eat with their families at least five times a week are more likely to get better grades in school and much less likely to have substance abuse problems. The survey found that teens having family dinners regularly are: 42% less likely to drink alcohol,
59% less likely to smoke cigarettes, and
66% less likely to try marijuana.
The survey also found that frequent family dinners were associated with better school performance, with teens 40% more likely to get A’s and B’s. The survey is available for download at the CASA website at no charge (22 pages). Hardcopy - $5.
++++++++++
High/Scope Perry Preschool Project Members at the Age of 40
The Perry Preschool project examines the lives of 123 African Americans born in poverty and at high risk of failing in school. From 1962-1967, at ages 3 and 4, the subjects were randomly divided into a program group who received a high-quality preschool program based on the High/Scopes’ participatory learning approach. A comparison group received no preschool program. The Perry Preschool project From 1962-1967, based on the High/Scopes’ participatory learning approach. A comparison group received no preschool program. At age 40, 97% of the study’s participants still living were interviewed. The study found that the 40 year old adults who had the preschool program Had higher earnings Were more likely to hold a job Had committed fewer crimes, and Were more likely to have graduated from high school than adults who did not have the preschool.
++++++++++ Circle of Security: Early Intervention Program for Parents and Children Every once in a while I get a pleasant surprise. This web site is one of them. Psychotherapists at the Spokane, Washington Marycliff Institute and the University of Virginia spent most of the 1990s intensely studying emerging data on the importance of early childhood. By the mid-nineties they were applying their new understandings to experimental classes for young mothers and fathers in Spokane. The result is the Circle of Security Program, an early intervention program designed to alter the developmental pathway of parents and their young children. The Circle of Security program has been designated an exemplary practice by National Head Start, has won a Washington State early childhood development governor’s award, and is being promoted as a model for early childhood education in the UK. A series of seminars on the Circle of Security are being conducted in Arizona (Phoenix and Tucson), Oregon, Nevada (Las Vegas and Reno), and Washington in June, 2005. These are reasonably priced, one-day seminars and will earn participants continuing education credits. There is a Baby Bonding video to watch and a 7 page pdf file, Changing the World, One Baby at a Time on the site home page. ++++++++++ National Resource Center for Community Based Child Abuse Prevention Fact Sheets This web page provides numerous fact sheets that are available for download. Here’s a sample of what’s on this page: Male participation in Early Childhood, Circle of Parents, Fatherhood Programs Self-assessment Tool, Benefits of Planned and Crisis Respite Care, Family Support and Child Protection. ++++++++++ Friends – National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention The Friends organization supports state efforts to create and support a statewide network of community-based, family-centered, prevention-focused family resource and support programs. Samples of the web site offerings: Fact Sheet - Citizen Review Panels for child protective services in Kentucky Learning Tools – Native Americans and Child Welfare and Seven Core Learnings on Fatherhood. ++++++++++ Weed and Seed InSites Web Pages The Office of Justice programs Community Capacity Development Office has a number of pages on its InSites web pages of interest to readers. InSites was a hard copy publication. It is now available electronically Here are two: American Indian/Alaska Native Page – Information about programs, publications, training, projects, research on Native American issues. See link to Tribal Justice Today, a newsletter for tribal justice systems and to the American Indian and Alaska Native Affairs Web Site. Prevention Page – On this page look at “What Works in Delinquency Prevention.” ++++++++++ Justice Assistance Grant Program The program will allow states and local governments to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime and to improve the criminal justice system. JAG will replace the Byrne Formula and LLEBG programs with a single funding mechanism that will simplify the administration process for grantees. Information at this BJA site includes JAG purpose areas and a section titled “Why You’d Want JAG.” ++++++++++ Nurse-Family Partnership Success The Nurse-Family Partnership is a highly refined approach to home visiting, a long established service strategy of nursing. It has been found to be consistently effective in a series of scientifically controlled studies over a 20 year period by Dr. David Olds and his colleagues. The program provides intensive visitation by nurses during a woman’s pregnancy and the first two years after birth. Nurse-Family Partnership program studies found that women in the program: - Had fewer subsequent pregnancies and births,
- Longer intervals between births of first and second children,
- Longer relationships with partners,
- Fewer months of using welfare and food stamps.
In Olds most recent research results, children whose mothers were in the program demonstrated higher intellectual functioning and vocabulary scores and had fewer behavior problems, among other positive results. In its recent publication, Benefits and Costs of prevention and Early Intervention Programs for Youth*, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) identified the Nurse Family Partnership as an outstanding Child Welfare/Home Visitation Program. A cost/benefit analysis of the program found that, minus costs, it provided a benefit to tax payers of over $17,000 per person. The program presently serves 50,000 women in 260 counties in 22 states. (Source: NPR interview with Dr. Olds on Morning Edition, December 8, 2004) *See chart on page 6 of the report. ++++++++++ Youth Accountability Boards aka Juvenile Conference Committees, Community Justice Committees, and a variety of other names, Youth Accountability Boards are a proven diversion program for low-level first time juvenile offenders. This report from the Center for Court Innovation in New York City describes how these programs help prosecutors better address low level juvenile crime and restore the public’s faith in the justice system. YABs are my personal best diversion program because they actively engage members of the community with the juvenile and his or her family, eliminate misperceptions about kids who get in trouble, and create a base of support for juvenile justice in the community. 18 page pdf file. ++++++++++ Reducing Gun Violence: The St. Louis Consent-to-Search Program This report evaluates an innovative police program that used community-based sources to identify homes where juveniles might be harboring guns. Police then sought parental permission to search for and confiscate illegal guns. It was a success in its first year, but experienced serious implementation problems thereafter. This report describes both the program’s successes and its problems. 28 page pdf file. ++++++++++ McGruff Strategies Center Online forum and resource center is a platform for communities to tell their crime prevention story. It houses the Strategies Database, an online collection of program ideas and innovative practices developed to help community members prevent crime. ++++++++++ OJJDP Model Programs Guide The Guide profiles more than 175 prevention and intervention programs and helps communities identify those that best suit their needs. The Guide can be searched by program category, target population, risk and protective factors, effectiveness rating, and other parameters. ++++++++++ Toward Safe and Orderly Schools – The National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools This NIJ Research in Brief reports on research that finds that nearly all U.S. public schools are using a variety of delinquency prevention programs and disciplinary practices. Although many programs were judged potentially effective, nearly half failed to meet the study’s criteria for quality. A school’s organizational capacity – staff morale and stability and a history of implementing programs predicted the extent of program use and student participation. 15 page pdf file. ++++++++++ The Rural Studio Builds Beautiful Homes for the Rural Poor With Recycled Materials This one is just for the pure pleasure of it. An architect with vision established the Rural Studio to build homes for the poor in rural Alabama, whom he felt especially needed them. The houses are built by students and are constructed from recycled materials and scrap. They include a house that looks like a butterfly, a chapel with a glass roof made from car windows, and a home built with stucco-covered 80-pound hay bales. Each house costs roughly $30,000. These two web sites will give you a look at the completed homes and community projects done by the Rural Studio: ++++++++++ Call for Increased Funding for Pre-Kindergarten Classes Fight Crime: Invest in Kids released the results of a poll today (Aug. 11) of kindergarten teachers that finds that children who have not had access to pre-kindergarten programs are substantially less prepared to succeed in school than those who did. Eighty-six percent of the teachers said poorly prepared students in the classroom negatively affect the progress of all children, even the best prepared. At the same site, law enforcement leaders in Maine, Ohio, Tennessee and Oregon report that high quality pre-kindergarten works to prepare kids to success in school and keeps them from becoming criminals. ++++++++++ Martial Arts Programs for Adolescents +++++++++ Supporting High-Risk Youth with Paid Mentors and Counselors This new brief from Public/Private Ventures proposes the creation of a paid mentor-counselor for high-risk youth. The mentor would be committed to staying with this group of young people over considerable periods of time, up to 12 years. The longevity of this connection appears to be a key to the early evidence of success that programs of this kind are experiencing. Paid mentor-counselors represent a middle ground between volunteers and professionals. The position requires special personal qualities: a sincere interest in working with young people, flexibility, patience, understanding, and resiliency, and a positive role model. Many are former teachers. Approximately 20 page pdf file. ++++++++++ Make a Difference: Talk to Your Child about Alcohol A guide for parents and guardians of youths ages 10 to 14 about the number one drug of choice in the country. Teens use alcohol more frequently and heavily than all other illicit drugs combined. As a result: - Alcohol-related traffic accidents are a major cause of death and disability among teens.
- Teens who use alcohol are more likely to become sexually active at earlier ages.
- Young people who drink are more likely than others to be victims of violent crime, including rape, aggravated assault, and robbery.
- Teens who drink are more likely to have problems with school work and school conduct.
- An individual who begins drinking as a young teen is four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than someone who waits until adulthood to use alcohol.
++++++++++ Evaluating G.R.E.A.T: A School-based Gang Prevention Program The G.R.E.A.T. program is aimed at middle school students and seeks to reduce their involvement in gangs and delinquent behavior. It teaches them the consequences of gang involvement and helps them develop positive relations with law enforcement. The program is taught through a 9-hour curriculum by uniformed law enforcement officers. G.R.E.A.T. has achieved modest positive results. The program did achieve more favorable attitudes from students toward the police and greater awareness of the consequences of gang involvement. The program objective to reduce gang membership and delinquent behavior was not met. ++++++++++ Benefits and Costs of Prevention and Early Intervention Programs for Youth The Washington State Institute for Public Policy has just published a new cost/benefit analysis of the state’s programs for youth. The report finds that some prevention and early intervention programs for youth give taxpayers a good return on the dollar. The report recommendations to the state include the following: - Invest in research-proven “blue chip” prevention and early intervention programs.
- Avoid spending money on programs where there is little evidence of program effectiveness.
- Keep abreast of the latest research-based findings from around the United States to determine where there are opportunities to use taxpayer dollars wisely. The ability to distinguish a successful from an unsuccessful program requires specialized knowledge.
- Consider a strategy to encourage local government investment in research-proven programs.
Pages 6 and 7 of the report will give you a Summary of Benefits and Costs in 2003 dollars. I think you’ll find the results on these two pages interesting. For example, effective programs for juvenile offenders have the highest net benefit. Such programs yield from $1,900 to $31,200 per youth. ++++++++++ The Harlem Children’s Zone The Harlem Children’s Zone Project is a multi-year comprehensive community building initiative of the Harlem Children’s Zone. The HCZ Project’s mission is to create significant, positive opportunities and outcomes for all children living in a 24-block area by helping parents, residents, teachers and other key stakeholders create a safe learning environment for youth. One of the HCZ’s tenets is that children from troubled communities are far more likely to grow to healthy, satisfying adulthood if a critical mass of the adults around them are effective and engaged in the community. This article describes the project in detail. ++++++++++ A Place to Grow: Evaluation of the New York City Beacon Schools Beacons are community centers located in public school buildings and offering a range of activities and services to participants of all ages, before and after school, in the evenings, and on weekends. Findings in this evaluation indicate that the majority of young people were taking advantage of the activities offered at the Beacon and believed they were developing new competencies because of their participation at the center. The link above is to the summary report, a 14 page pdf file. ++++++++++ The Most Important Influence on Neighborhood Crime Prevention Dr. Felton Earls has for 10 years run one of the largest, longest and most expensive studies in the history of criminology. He and his colleagues argue that the most important influence on a neighborhood’s crime rate is neighbors’ willingness to act, when needed, for one another’s benefit, and particularly for the benefit of one another’s children. They present compelling evidence to back up their argument. ++++++++++ Parenting Wisely Parenting Wisely is an interactive CD-Rom program designed for parents of adolescents and pre-adolescents (ages 8-18). It teaches parents and their children important skills for combating risk factors for substance use and abuse. It has been designated as a model program by SAMHSA and an Exemplary II Program by OJJDP and was featured on BBC. Don Gordon, who created Parenting Wisely and is a Brevity subscriber, has received permission from the BBC to distribute a free 12 minute video about the program and will send you a copy of the BBC broadcast. Call Family Works, Inc. at 740-593-9505 and ask for the free video of Parenting Wisely. You will also find information about Parenting Wisely on the two links below: ++++++++++ Parents and the Law This innovative new curriculum from Street Law is designed to help young parents strengthen their families and prevent child abuse and neglect. Each of the lessons teaches students about practical laws, access to community services, and life skills. 23 lessons come in two three-ring binders with complete lesson plans which can be used by both teachers and non-teachers. ++++++++++ Ten Suggestions This list of ten suggestions to keep children off drugs and out of court has been revised periodically over the past ten years. Judge Jim Payne of Indianapolis came up with the original list, but it is in essence a group effort among a number of judges, including Judge Mike Town, who sent it to me. The Ten Suggestions have appeared in newspapers and church bulletins, have been handed out to jurors, to litigants, at meetings of all sorts, and can be found on refrigerators in households across the country. I made it into a pdf file. Feel free to copy and distribute at will. ++++++++++ Surveying Communities: A Resource for Community Justice Planners This new product from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) shares the experiences of people who have conducted successful community surveys. Community surveys pinpoint a community’s strength and weaknesses; what local residents want from the criminal justice system; and what neighborhoods identify as their priorities. This monograph will give planners a head start on how to craft and conduct a survey. Its author was responsible for the administration of an annual community survey in Red Hook, Brooklyn , New York . She is now studying the rise of problem-solving courts in the United States . Includes a sample survey. 30 page pdf file. ++++++++++ Peer Leadership: Helping Youth Become Change Agents in Their Schools and Communities Partners Against Hate addresses hate crime and violence. PAH publications are intended to assist all segments of the community as they work with youth to address hate violence and to create safe environments for children. Their latest publication is a resource for empowering youth to become role models in confronting bias-motivated harassment. It includes information, resources, guidelines, and has a “how to” section for creating peer leadership programs. If you would like a hard copy of this manual send me an email with your mailing address and I’ll send it to you when it comes in. It is also downloadable on the internet. ++++++++++ Good News – How Two Inner City Kids Succeeded The Syracuse Post-Standard reports on two young people from the city’s roughest neighborhoods who beat the odds. I was struck by one particular paragraph in which Ann Mastens, a University of Michigan professor who has studied resiliency for more than 20 years, is quoted. In the article she says, “Resiliency doesn’t depend on special or rare qualities. It comes from everyday magic of ordinary human resources in the minds and bodies of children, their families and relationships, and their community. The kids who make it have a lot going for them. They have adults who are looking out for them and ordinary abilities to problem-solve. Some kids are lucky in most cases, but it’s not very mysterious and unusual.” ++++++++++ One Year of Child Abuse and Neglect Produces 35,000 Future Violent Criminals, 250 Murderers A report released Monday by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids shows that one year of child abuse and neglect turns at least 35,000 of its victims into violent criminals and 250 murderers. The report also presented new research showing that most child abuse and neglect among high-risk families can be prevented and profiled effective prevention programs. The report, New Hope for Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect, says that official figures mask the real toll of child abuse and neglect: - While 900,000 cases are verified each year, the best estimate of the real number of children abused or neglected each is closer to 2.7 million.
- Deaths from abuse and neglect likely exceed 2,000 a year instead of the 1,300 officially reported.
- Forty percent of those killed die before their first birthday.
The report includes specific recommendations on how to prevent abuse and neglect. It calls on state and federal governments to: - Offer coaching in parenting skills to all at-risk parents
- Offer quality pre-kindergarten programs with parent-training for at-risk children.
- Ensure that pregnant women who are addicted have access to drug and alcohol treatment programs.
- Provide mental health services for depressed or mentally ill parents.
Both the full report (35 page pdf file) and the press release can be read/downloaded from the Fight Crime home page (www.fightcrime.org). Look at the upper left corner of the page and click on the links. ++++++++++ Healthy Families America Healthy Families America provides supportive home visiting services designed to strengthen families. What started as a pilot project with 25 site has grown into a nationwide effort defined by three overarching goals: - Promoting positive parents,
- Improving child health and development, and
- Preventing child abuse and neglect.
Fact Sheet Report on Self-Sufficiency Fact Sheet on Healthy Child Development Fact Sheet on Healthy Brain Development Prenatal and Early Childhood Nurse Home Visitation - OJJDP Bulletin on the Prenatal and Early Childhood Nurse Home Visitation Program. ++++++++++ The 8% Solution Revisited – Evaluating the Early Intervention Program. The Orange County, California Juvenile Probation Department has published its evaluation of the succession of the 8% Early Intervention Program. The evaluation shows a demonstrable success in reducing chronic repeat offending by high-risk youth after 18 months in the early intervention program. As compared to a control group, the 8% group had: - Fewer youth with two or more court petitions filed alleging new crimes committed or probation violations (55% to 70%).
- A lower average number of days spent in custody for offense or probation violations (155 days vs. 221 days).
To learn more about the 8% Solution click here and scroll to the bottom of the page. For more details click on the links below: Intervention Program Evaluation Program Overview and Youth & Family Resource Centers Program Assessment and Service Plan Forms. ++++++++++ Measuring the Quality of Mentor-Youth Relationships This is a tool for evaluating the effectiveness of mentoring programs. It includes a 20-question survey to give youth in the program, a guide to scoring the survey, and scoring sheets. Technical Assistance Packet #8 from the National Mentoring Center and the last in a series of eight packets. This link will take you to a page with all eight downloadable packets. ++++++++++ From America’s Front Line Against Crime: A School and Youth Violence Prevention Plan – Four Steps to Dramatically Reduce School and Youth Violence Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is an organization of police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, crime survivors and leaders of police officer organizations with a membership of more than 1,800 nationally. It advocates anti-crime programs like day care, after-school programs, Head Start, prevention and intervention programs that turn kids away from criminal acts and toward positive behavior. At their site you will find this four page document that sets out the Fight Crime: Invest in Kids position. It can be a powerful statement in behalf of local initiatives for juvenile crime prevention and support for prevention and intervention programming. Read and download the statement at the Fight Crime: Invest in Kids website. ++++++++++ Best Practices of Youth Violence Prevention: A Sourcebook for Community Action The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published this 215 page publication. Best Practices is the first of its kind to look at the effectiveness of specific violence prevention practices in four key areas: - parents and families;
- home visiting;
- social and conflict resolution skills;
- and mentoring.
The programs in this volume are drawn from the real-world experiences of professionals and advocates who have successfully worked to prevent violence among children and adolescents. Available free from the NCIPC. Call 1-888-252-7751 or use the online order form. You may also download this publication in pdf format, but be aware just how many pages it has. ++++++++++ SourceBook of Drug and Violence Prevention Programs for Children and Adolescents You can either browse through the 38 programs in this book or buy the book itself for $13.50 plus S/H (click for the downloadable order form for the hard copy). It is published by the Violence Institute of New Jersey at UMDNJ. The programs include some you will be familiar with (MST, FFT) and others less familiar, but interesting to read about. In addition to the program descriptions themselves, which you can read in the “Browse Programs” section of the site, you can also look at two useful summary tables: Overview of Prevention Programs Effectiveness Summary Table Other publications from the Institute of interest to readers: ++++++++++ And another publication on the same subject: Teen Risk-Taking: Promising Prevention Programs and Approaches The Urban Institute published this guidebook and program compendium which “explores some of the issues associated with finding, choosing and starting effective prevention programs for at-risk preteens and teens.” In the guidebook to promising programs and approaches: - An update on Adolescent Risk-Taking – what is known about the level and characteristics of risk-taking today.
- The Common Elements of Successful Prevention Programs – summarized and with an explanation of the criteria used to select the 51 progrmas profiled in the guidebook.
- Moving from Research to Practice – challenges in replicating promising intervention programs with suggestions to help.
- A Prevention Readiness Questionnaire – identification of factors necessary to create favorable conditions for successful programs.
- Profiles of 51 Prevention Programs – plus unique features, evaluation results, general contact information. 21 programs also have curriculum training, and contact information included.
Completely downloadable pdf file. The report is 104 pages long. Suggest you print it in small chunks to avoid giving your printer hysterics. ++++++++++ More Mentoring Information The Connecticut Mentoring partnership is a program of the governor's prevention partnership and has lots of good information and ideas. Includes how to become a mentor, start a mentor program, recruits the business community. Publications by Susan Weinberger, a national authority on mentoring, available at the site: Business Guide to Mentoring - describes benefits for stating a mentor programs and outlines start-up steps. Available at no charge. Call 860.523.8042 x55 My Mentor and Me - Designed to help mentors and mentees share in a mutually rewarding experience. Week-by-week activities with lessons. Available in both elementary and high school editions. $4 each. Call 860.523.5023 x55.
The latest issue of The Prevention Researcher magazine is devoted to mentoring programs for at-risk kids. Includes an article on assessing the effectiveness of mentoring programs. You can’t read the articles at the TPR site, but you can read an abstract of each. Foster Grandparenting offers seniors opportunities to serve as mentors, tutors and caregivers for children and youth with special needs. Foster grandparents serve children directly one-on-one, hands-on. They serve 20 hours a week, are 60 years of age or older, meet income eligibility guidelines, and attend preservice and monthly training sessions. They receive modest tax-free stipends to offset the cost of volunteering and receive reimbursement for transportation, meals during serice, an annual physical, and accident and liability insurance while on duty. For more information contact the Corporation for National Service. The last issue of Brevity featured information on applying for JUMP grants. Here’s the JUMP web site. See also the publications about mentoring and information on how to order a copy of the video tape from the 1997 OJJDP satellite downlink program Mentoring for Youth in Schools and Communities. National Mentoring Center - Publishes a quarterly bulletin on the latest information from the Center. Bulletins are downloadable. Some bulletin titles: Work-based mentoring, minority mentoring, program evaluation and assessment, fundraising. See also the Technical Assistance Packets available from the Center. These are "how-to" guides for mentoring. Currently available, Supporting Mentors, Training New Mentors, Building Relationships, Recruiting Mentors, and more. ++++++++++ Afterschool Programs and Funding J. C. Penney funds afterschool programs in partnership with the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs, the Afterschool Alliance, and 4-H. Read about afterschool programming and resources. ++++++++++ National League of Cities Report on Curfew According to a poll conducted by NLC in nearly 800 cities, curfews help deter crime and violence among youth The survey also says that curfews are cost effective and useful. A majority of cities with curfews say the curfews are effective in several areas: combating juvenile crime, fighting truancy, making streets safer, and reducing gang violence. Among cities with nighttime curfews, - 56 percent reported drops in violent crime, and
- 55 percent reported a drop in gang activities after one year of implementation.
Cities with daytime curfews often use school hours to define the curfew period. Daytime curfews are a product of the 1990s. Of those cities reporting a daytime curfew, 52 percent said they established them in the last five years; 25 percent within the last three years. The survey was based on information from mayors and city officials in 787 cities representing 126 central cities, 396 suburban communities, and 265 rural or non-metropolitan cities and towns. For more information on the curfew survey contact John Pionke at pionke@nlc.org. I suggest you use caution in reviewing these survey results. Previous studies on juvenile curfew and related hours of juvenile crime statistics paint a different picture. ++++++++++ The Boston Strategy to Prevent Youth Violence The City of Boston has achieved a dramatic reduction in youth homicides and gang-related gun violence since the mid-1990s. Now you can see how some innovative programming and an amazing degree of institutional cooperation worked together to reduce youth violence. Probably the most well known of the Boston programs are Operation Night Light and Operation Cease Fire. Operation Night Light is a partnership between police and probation. Teams of police and probation officers together make evening visits to the homes of youthful probationers are at home and doing what they’re supposed to be doing. This program began from the ground up. A couple of police officers mentioned to a couple of probation officers that they had seen their probationers on the street at night. That led to the probation officers doing ridealongs with the police officers and eventually, development of the formal program. Operation Cease Fire is a multi-jurisdictional effort designed to quickly suppress flare-ups of firearm violence in gang hot spots, to prioritize prosecutions and to disrupt the trafficking in firearms to youth gangs. These are only two of the dozen programs in the Boston coalition. Look at Community Based Juvenile Justice, the Gun Project, the Jobs Project, the Juvenile Service Providers Team and a number of other approaches at this site. They each occupy a unique niche in the city’s juvenile violence reduction strategy. ++++++++++ The 8% Solution In 1988 the Orange County, California probation department began a 7-year research study which examined two groups of first-time offenders, one with 3,305 youths who were charged with crimes during the first 6 months of 1985 and another with 3,164 youths facing criminal charges in the first 6 months of 1987. All these youth (6,000+) were tracked for three years. Representative subsamples were followed for six years. The results: - 70% of these kids committed just one crime during the 3-year tracking period.
- 22% were accused of one or two more crimes (for a total or two or three crimes) during the 3-year follow-up period, but then their criminal careers appeared to end too.
- 8% of the 6,000 plus youth were arrested repeatedly and went on to become 55% of repeat cases.
The 8% Problem In the course of the 7-year study the probation department found that more than half of the 8% repeat juvenile offenders continued lives of crime as young adults. These serious, chronic juvenile offenders were formally handled by Orange County’s justice system an average of eight times and served nearly 20 months in adult and juvenile custody facilities in the 6-year follow-up period. The research showed that the 8% kids were dramatically different from the youth who were arrested once and did not return to juvenile court. The differences were evident at the first arrest and referral to juvenile court. They entered the system with a complex set of problems that made them much more likely to get into trouble and to stay in trouble and they shared a common set of risk factors: Crime at an early age – youth who are 15 or younger when first referred to juvenile court for criminal behavior are much more likely to become serious, chronic juvenile offenders. Multiproblem Profile - The 8% studies found that youth who become chronic juvenile offenders typically display at least three of the problems below: disrupted families poor parental structure and supervision - child neglect and abuse
- criminal family members
school failure - truancy
- school suspension, expulsion, or both
- failing grades
drug and alcohol abuse predelinquent behavior - gang ties
- running away
- stealing
The 8% Solution - Early Intervention Instead of ignoring the 8% until they had become chronic repeat offenders, the Orange County Probation Department developed an early intervention program which included not just the juvenile offenders, but also their families. The 8% Early Intervention Program Design was first, to target improvements in school attendance and performance, in family communication and participation in the lives of youngsters, and in positive peer relationships during the 12 to 18 months of each youth’s and family’s involvement in the program. In the 18 to 24 months after the program is completed the probation department expected: - fewer new law violations
- fewer court appearances (for new crimes or probation violations)
- fewer days in custody
- fewer minors who become adult offenders
- fewer siblings referred for probation and family crisis intervention.
Information about the creation of the 8% Solution, the mistakes made in the early days, the refinement of the early intervention programming, lessons learned, and useful addenda can be read online at the Orange County Probation Department web site or in the book about the 8% written by Probation Department staff members Michael Schumacher and Gwen Kurz. See below for the details. The 8% Solution: Preventing Serious, Repeat Juvenile Crime, by Michael Schumacher and Gwen Kurz, describes the study, the intervention program, and the experiences of the Orange County Probation Department in detail. It is available from Sage Publications in both hardcover and paperback versions. For more details on the study, the program, program assessment and service plan forms, and the Orange County Model Continuum of Juvenile Justice Services, visit the Orange County Probation Department web site. ++++++++++ Preventing Delinquency Through Improved Child Protection Services This new Juvenile Justice Bulletin reports on research from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency indicating that - the prevalence of child abuse or neglect among delinquent offenders is substantially greater that it is among the general population,
- Maltreated children are significantly more likely to become involved in delinquent behavior than their nonmaltreated peers, and
- delinquent youth with a history of abuse or neglect are more likely to continue their offending behavior than delinquents who have not suffered child abuse or neglect.
The Bulletin suggests that implementing programs to reduce the incidence of child maltreatment is a means of preventing delinquency that is promising through often overlooked. Also reviews the known links between childhood maltreatment and juvenile and adult offending. Downloadable, nineteen pages. ++++++++++ OJJDP Bulletin Reports on Blueprints for Violence Prevention Implementation Experience A new Juvenile Justice Bulletin from OJJDP profiles the 1996 original 11 Blueprints for Violence Prevention Programs and found to have been effective in reducing adolescent violent crime, aggression, delinquency, and substance abuse and predelinquent child aggression and conduct disorders. The Bulletin discusses replication, program funding, and lessons learned from the replication sites. Includes a lengthy discussion on selection criteria, research design and design issues. Nineteen programs have been identified as promising programs, but have not yet met the rigorous criteria for blueprints program selection. Fifteen pages, downloadable ++++++++++ New web site: The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center - Comprehensive site from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Working Group on Youth Violence. Hot Topics include Youth Suicide, Violence, Collaboration, After School and Youth at Risk. These topics are covered very thoroughly. The site is intended for parents and caregivers, professionals, and teens. Wish I’d known about this site when I was covered Teen Suicide a few weeks ago. One click and you get it all. Less Cost, More Safety: Guiding Lights for Reform in Juvenile Justice - a new report from the American Youth Policy Forum written by Richard Mendel, the author of a companion report, Less Hype, More Help: Reducing Juvenile Crime, What Works -- and What Doesn’t. It provides "compelling" evidence that greater success against adolescent crime is within reach and available for less money they we spend currently. The report profiles quality intervention programs that: - reduce delinquency,
- ease overcrowding in detention and corrections,
- divert delinquent youth from criminal careers, and
- reduce reliance on expensive residential treatment programs.
- Even better yet, these programs make communities safer and save taxpayers millions of dollars.
From the report: Milwaukee County , Wis. - innovative home-based counseling has lowered the arrest rates of delinquent teen participants by 70%, reduced the number of youth in residential treatment from 360 to 135 per day, saving more than $11 million per year in treatment costs. Last Chance Ranch - This small correctional program based in the Everglades in Florida uses intensive behavior management and ongoing follow-up. Over the past four years this program has enabled 85% of participants to avoid re-arrest, compared to a 58% success rate in Florida’s more conventional juvenile prisons. In Orange County, Calif. Juvenile probation workers have developed methods to identify at first arrest youth who are most likely to become chronic offenders, providing them with intensive treatment and family counseling, thus lowering future incarceration rates and these youth. The county has reduced the number of your with two or more subsequent arrests by 29%. Less Cost, More Safety is available in hard copy for $5 from the American Youth Policy Forum, 1836 Jefferson Place, NW, Washington DC 20036, or call 202-775-973, or download the full report. While you’re at the site look at the left column and click on Fact Sheets, More Facts, and 16 Hard Questions. Lots of good stuff there. Delinquency Linked to Failure in School - The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which surveyed 10,000 high school students, has found that flunking school and hanging out with a bad crowd often begin a pattern of alcohol and tobacco consumption, premarital sex, and introduction to weapons. Demographic factors previously thought to commonly be associated with risky behavior in teens – race, family income, family structure and gender – are not the prerequisites to delinquency they were thought to be. Instead, teens with more school-performance problems than their peers are more engaged in risk taking behaviors and kids who hang out with kids who engage in risk taking behavior have an increased likelihood of risk taking themselves. Protecting Teens: Beyond Race, Income and Family Structure Best Practices in Youth Violence Prevention - Noting that more than 3,400 youths under 19 died as a result of violence in 1998, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have published a 200+ page manual examining the effectiveness of youth violence prevention in four areas: social/conflict resolution, parenting and families, home visits, and mentoring. The book includes a directory of organizations using these approaches. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Teen Risk-Taking: Promising Prevention Programs and Approaches - This new guidebook from the Urban Institute reviews the most recent information on successful prevention programs and their implementation. The guidebook describes fifty-one programs whose initial effectiveness has been demonstrated through scientific evaluation. Downloadable at the site in PDF format. May also be ordered by calling the Office of Public Affairs at 202-261-5709 |
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