Increasing interest has been shown in brief interventions for troubled persons, including those with substance abuse problems. Most of the published literature on this topic has focused on adults, and on the efficacy of these interventions. Few of these studies have examined the critical issues of enrollment and engagement in brief intervention…

Reflective of interest in mental health and substance abuse issues among youths involved with the justice system, we performed a latent class analysis on baseline information collected on 100 youths involved in two diversion programs. Results identified two groups of youths: Group 1: a majority of the youths, who had high levels of delinquency,…

We report the results of an evaluation study of a diversion program, operated by the Miami-Dade County Juvenile Assessment Center in Florida. The Post-Arrest Diversion (PAD) program represents an innovative approach to treatment and intervention within the juvenile justice system that utilizes standardized psychosocial risks and needs assessment…

The authors report the results of latent class analyses and latent class transition analyses of antisocial behavior risk factors among 137 youths participating in a juvenile diversion program. The study examined the youths' latent classifications using baseline and 1-year follow-up measures of family, peer, education, and mental health risk…

Reports on the impact of a Family Empowerment Intervention (FEI) on twelve-month recidivism among 303 youths. FEI families received three one-hour, home-based meetings per week. Final analysis indicates that youth who completed the FEI experienced significantly lower rates of new charges and significantly fewer new arrests that youths not…

Reports on an expanded analysis of the impact of a Family Empowerment Intervention on twelve months recidivism among youth processed at Hillsborough County Juvenile Assessment Center. Results show that youth receiving intervention services had a reduced rate of subsequent arrests for property felonies and a new arrest in one or more of seven…

Discusses establishment of Juvenile Assessment Center in Hillsborough County, Florida, designed to permit simultaneous accomplishment of required legal and social service interventions of youths taken into custody. Reviews components of the assessment center, collaborating agencies, and its comprehensive information system. Discusses processing of…

In this issue we describe a clinical trials study of the impact of adding specific case manager overlay services to "treatment as usual" services for youths in a Juvenile Arbitration Program. In this first article we describe the experimental intervention, the Arbitration Intervention Worker (AIW) service, which was provided to a randomly selected…

Reports the results of a study examining the preliminary screening, assessor staff service recommendations, and service utilization outcomes of 143 youths processed at the Hillsborough County, Florida Juvenile Assessment Center. Results indicate that assessors were making recommendations that were meaningfully associated with the youths' potential…

Expanded analyses were completed on the efficacy of a family empowerment intervention for juvenile offenders and their families. Results indicate the promise of the intervention in regard to the youth's drug use and involvement in drug sales during a one-year post initial interview follow up period. (Contains 12 references and 1 table.) (Author)

Reports the results of a study of substance use (measured by self-reports and hair test results) and delinquency among arrested youths entering a service intervention program. Results highlight important relationships between alcohol and other drug use and involvement in delinquency in the year prior to the interviews. (Author/RJM)

We report the results of the relationship of lifetime and past year drug involvement to psychosocial functioning among youths entering a Juvenile Arbitration Program (a diversion program) in the 13th Judicial Circuit, who enrolled in a Center for Substance Abuse Treatment funded study. The project is a clinical trial evaluating an innovative…

Over 5,200 youths processed through a Juvenile Assessment Center during a 20-month period were involved in this study of recidivism predictors. Significant relationships were found between the youths' demographics, dependency referral factors, delinquency referral history variables, and recidivism. Direct implications for service delivery and…

Recent Florida legislation changes have resulted in policy modifications reflecting a "get tough" approach to juvenile crime. In 2000, budget cuts by the Florida legislature eliminated one of the state's primary community service-oriented juvenile diversion programs, the Juvenile Alternative Services Program (JASP). JASP was subsequently…

Following a national trend of "getting tough" on juvenile crime, the Florida legislature eliminated one of the State's primary community service-oriented juvenile diversion programs, the Juvenile Alternative Services Program (JASP). JASP was subsequently replaced with four other diversion programs, two of which (the Walker Plan and an…