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…

In recent years, schools have become a focal point for general delinquency and gang prevention programs for a variety of reasons. One premise behind this approach is that schools can serve as ideal settings for providing delinquency and intervention services because youths spend so much time there. School-based gang prevention efforts are supposed…

Compared with juveniles who start offending in adolescence, child delinquents (age 12 and younger) are two to three times more likely to become tomorrow's serious and violent offenders. This propensity, however, can be minimized. These children are potentially identifiable either before they begin committing crimes or at the very early stages of…

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.…

Provides a comprehensive picture of the project, outlines its strengths and weaknesses, and interprets the findings that could be applied immediately in communities seeking to improve planning and coordination of youth services. (Author)

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…

Analyzes data from a juvenile diversion program which seem to indicate that as program services increased, the likelihood of participant recidivism increased. Maintains that the unexpected findings resulted from flaws in data recording within the program and suggests that program designs should incorporate evaluation strategies in order to ensure…

Delinquency reduction and reduction of the number of juveniles referred to the justice system were assessed for 14 diversion programs in Los Angeles County. A project versus nonproject comparison and a pre-post analysis with archival and other data gathered from 1972 through 1977 were used. Preliminary results indicated that the diversion projects…

This paper evaluates the extent to which certain program activities such as discussion activities, "it" games, group games, swimming, arts and crafts, special events, written activities, or transitional activities measurably decrease anti-social and non-social behavior among anti-social children and, likewise, increase the incidence of pro-social…

Replicated and extended the design and outcome measures of several small studies. In these studies, juveniles at high risk for violence and delinquency showed decreased violence and positive changes in psychological risk factors after being required to take a school-linked course in traditional martial arts. (Author)

This study assessed the impact of a prevention program on the growth of delinquency from 13 to 16 years of age and examined whether its impact operated through a chain of events compatible with many developmental models. Analysis showed that the program had an indirect effect on the growth of delinquency from 13 to 16 years of age. (Author)

Juvenile crime and its immediate and long-term economic and human costs have become a national concern. Programs to prevent and reduce delinquency have developed across the country and one such program in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (which includes Pittsburgh) is described in this bulletin. The Allegheny program exemplifies a large-scale,…