In a context where more than 1,000,000 American adolescents are processed by juvenile courts annually and approximately 160,000 are sent to residential placements, this paper examines "what works" and "what doesn't work" in reducing the criminal behavior of juvenile offenders and presents examples of government initiatives that have successfully…

State juvenile justice systems face critical problems when it comes to juvenile delinquency issues such as reentry--when offenders return home from incarceration--and substance abuse. GAO was asked to review juvenile reentry and substance abuse program research and efforts by the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Juvenile Justice and…

This testimony discusses issues related to girls' delinquency--a topic that has attracted the attention of federal, state, and local policymakers for more than a decade as girls have increasingly become involved in the juvenile justice system. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is the Department of Justice (DOJ)…

This report considers the cost-effectiveness potential for seven research-based programs funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). These programs are highlighted because they represent the bulk of the PCCD's investment in prevention programming and because there are existing longitudinal data on program outcomes from…

Serious delinquent youth who attended a moderately confrontive juvenile awareness program at San Quentin Prison showed an improvement in attitudes. Behaviorally, however, the program did not reduce delinquency overall. The only finding in favor of experimentals (N=53) showed those to be arrest-free longer than controls (N=55) in the study.…

Determined a prisoner-run delinquency prevention program's effectiveness in the prevention of delinquency in previously arrested youths. Found that the program had no effect on the delinquent behavior of females. Males who attended the program, however, were arrested at a significantly higher rate than counterparts who did not hear the prisoners'…

Ten delinquency prevention studies are reviewed that incorporated rigorous evaluative procedures (specifically the classic experimental design) for assessing programmatic outcomes. Following an introduction, the evaluation mechanisms built into each project are described, since they were used for determination of the effectiveness of the…

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention?s (OJJDP?s) intensive community based aftercare research and demonstration project known as the Intensive Aftercare Program (IAP) has become widely recognized as one of the most promising recent innovations in juvenile justice. The project has called attention to an area that traditionally…

Uses experiences of a mentoring program to argue that mentoring programs represent a viable strategy for delinquency prevention and reduction, even for youth who have been adjudicated for serious offenses. The importance of careful design and concern for the special needs of the population to be monitored is discussed. (SLD)

Although the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 does not specify the primary purpose of the Special Emphasis Program, it is generally categorized as serving a dual function of research/demonstration and service delivery. A General Accounting Office (GAO) review was held to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of the…

The Police Liaison Program (PLP) was established in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada) elementary and secondary schools to improve police-community relationships; to increase understanding of the police role and of the individual's responsibilities in the community; and ultimately, to reduce juvenile delinquency. In 1981, the program was…

The effects of a criminal diversion project on recidivism rates are described for late-age adolescent defendants with learning disabilities (n=73). Recidivism rates were 12% for the project completers, 40% for noncompleters, and 38% for nontreated subjects. The importance of skill development and interventions targeted toward this population is…

In 1996, California provided funding to 14 county probation agencies to implement multiagency, comprehensive services to keep troubled youths from recommitting crime and progressing farther into the justice system. We report results of a randomized experiment used to evaluate Ventura County's 4-year demonstration project called the South Oxnard…

This report, prepared by the Delinquency and School Environments Program, describes further interim results of the program's national evaluation of the Alternative Education Program of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The report is directed primarily to project implementers and to the OJJDP and is organized in two…

In 1976 the Special Emphasis branch of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention made $10 million available for the development of 11 diversion programs. A national evaluation of these programs was promoted in the hope of better understanding the viability of diversion as an alternative to traditional practices. The impact of…