Juvenile Delinquency
Knowing what to do starts with knowing what works, and what hasn't. CrimeSolutions helps practitioners and policymakers understand what programs & practices work, are promising, or haven't worked yet.
On this page you can find programs and practices related to Juvenile Delinquency. Select "Search Filters" to narrow down the list by rating, extent of evidence, and many other aspects of the programs or practices. Skip to Practices
CrimeSolutions’ ratings are assigned from standardized reviews of rigorous evaluations and meta-analyses. While we encourage you to learn more about this process, you don’t need to in order to benefit from it. Our clear ratings and profiles can help you determine if a program or category of program is worth pursuing.
| Icon | Rating | Description |
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Effective | Implementing the program, or a program encompassed by the practice, will achieve the intended outcome. |
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Promising | Implementing the program, or a program encompassed by the practice, will achieve the intended outcome. |
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Ineffective | Implementing the program, or a program encompassed by the practice, will not achieve the intended outcome. |
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Negative Effects | Implementing the program, or program encompassed by the practice, will not result in intended outcome(s) and may result in harmful effects. |
Programs
| Title | Evidence Rating | Topics | Summary | RCT | ||
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| Program Profile: Spotlight Serious Offender Services Unit (Canada) |
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Youth gangs, Probation, Violent offenders, Comprehensive/wraparound services, Juvenile detention, Juvenile justice, Juvenile (under 18), Gang Crime, Crime prevention, Child health and welfare, Juvenile delinquency | This was an urban-based intensive supervision program in which high-risk, gang-affiliated youths (ages 12–19) were assigned to work with a probation officer who was paired with a paid “street mentor.” The program is rated Promising. Youths in the program were significantly less likely than those in the comparison group to have a new conviction in the follow-up period of up to 3 years and remained offense-free for a longer period. Date Posted: |
None | ||
| Program Profile: School-Based Law Enforcement Framework (Texas) |
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School safety, Training, School climate, Schools, Juvenile delinquency, Crime prevention, Child health and welfare, Juvenile (under 18), Victimization, Victims of crime, School climate | This is a framework of recommended practices for integrating police into the educational environment to enhance a safe school climate. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant differences in treatment and control school students’ delinquency, victimization, exclusionary discipline, relationships with adults, perceptions of police, nor school bonding, connectedness, and safety. Treatment school students had statistically significant increases in rule clarity. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Coaching Boys Into Men (Middle School) |
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Mental health, Youth development, Recreation, Schools, Rape and sexual assault, Violent crime, Crime prevention, Juvenile (under 18), Mentoring, Child health and welfare, Juvenile delinquency | This program aims to prevent sexual violence in middle school male athletes. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant differences between treatment and control group athletes in reports of abuse (relationship, cybersexual, or sexual), sexual harassment, negative bystander behaviors, sex-equitable attitudes, or intention to intervene. Treatment group athletes reported statistically significantly more positive bystander behaviors and recognized more signs of abuse. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Reentry Services of Clay County (Minnesota) |
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Probation, Mental health, Substance abuse, Reentry, Case Management, Treatment, Comprehensive/wraparound services, Access to education, Corrections, Juvenile detention, Juvenile justice, Juvenile (under 18), Mentoring, Child health and welfare, Juvenile delinquency | This is a one-to-one mentoring program aimed at improving public safety by assisting youths who commit offenses with comprehensive reentry services following their release into the community. The program is rated Ineffective. There was no statistically significant difference between program and comparison group youths in prevalence of reoffense. Program youths had statistically significantly fewer official juvenile justice contacts within 1 year of release, compared with comparison group youth Date Posted: |
None | ||
| Program Profile: Oklahoma's Juvenile Second Chance Act Reentry Program (Tulsa, OK) |
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Reentry, Case Management, Corrections, Juvenile recidivism prediction, Crime prevention, Juvenile delinquency, Juvenile justice, Juvenile detention | This is a juvenile reentry program that offers services to youth returning to the community in Tulsa, Okla., after their out-of-home placements. The goal of the program is to reduce rates of recidivism for high-risk youth. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant differences in reconviction rates for treatment group youth who received the program’s services, compared with comparison group youth who did not receive services. Date Posted: |
None | ||
| Program Profile: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Vacant Lot Greening Program |
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Burglary, Larceny/theft, Gun violence, Robbery, Environmental design, Crime prevention, Property crime, Juvenile delinquency, Juvenile (under 18), Assault, Gun violence, Violent crime, Public order offenses, Crime prevention | This was an intervention to reduce crime and delinquency in urban areas by remediating vacant land. The program is rated Promising. Compared with the control area, treatment areas experienced statistically significant reductions in gun assaults, burglary, nuisances, shootings (overall and per kilometer), and all crimes overall. However, the intervention showed mixed results with regard to drug offense rates and no statistically significant effect on robbery/theft rates. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: iMentor’s College Ready Program |
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Mental health, Youth development, Jobs and workforce development, Juvenile (under 18), Child health and welfare, Juvenile delinquency prevention, Juvenile delinquency | This mentoring program for urban high school students is designed to improve college readiness. The program is rated Ineffective. Compared with comparison students, treatment students were more likely to graduate and reported higher self-advocacy and critical thinking. These differences were statistically significant. There were no statistically significant differences in attending college, taking AP courses, task persistence, sitting in on college courses, seeking help, or growth mindset. Date Posted: |
None | ||
| Program Profile: Chance UK |
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Youth development, Child health and welfare, Juvenile (under 18), Juvenile delinquency | This is a one-to-one mentoring program in which children (ages 5–11) meet weekly over 12 months with an adult volunteer. Mentors engage in structured activities to help reduce behavior and emotional problems in children by developing self-esteem, self-efficacy, social skills, and future aspirations. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in parent- and teacher-rated problem or prosocial behavior or in child self-esteem or goals. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: GEAR UP – Academic Mentoring in Mathematics |
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Youth development, Juvenile (under 18), Child health and welfare, Juvenile delinquency prevention, Juvenile delinquency | This is a school-based mentoring program for low-income high school students designed to increase academic achievement and college attendance and success. The program is rated Promising. Program participants had a statistically significant increase in receiving a C grade or above in algebra I and in scores on a standardized state math exam, compared with the comparison group. However, there was not a statistically significant difference between groups in receiving a C grade or above in geometry. Date Posted: |
None | ||
| Program Profile: Eye to Eye |
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Juvenile (under 18), Child health and welfare, Mental health, Juvenile delinquency | This is a group-mentoring afterschool program in which elementary and middle school students with the diagnosis of a learning disability (LD) or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) meet with high school or college student mentors who also have LD/ADHD, to discuss and address their strengths and challenges. The program is rated Promising. The program was shown to be associated with statistically significant decreases in depression and increases in self-esteem over the program period. Date Posted: |
None |
Practices
| Title | Evidence Rating | Topics | Summary | ||||||||||
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| Practice Profile: Mentoring Youth With Emotional and Behavioral Problems |
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Youth development, Positive youth development, Treatment, Child health and welfare, Juvenile delinquency | This practice encompasses programs that provide youths who have emotional and behavioral problems with supportive relationships (generally with older individuals who offer guidance and encouragement) to improve their mental health outcomes. The practice is rated Effective for improving youths’ internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and interpersonal skills. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Formal Mentoring to Prevent Youth Substance Use |
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Alcohol-Related Offenses, Schools, Alcohol, Substance abuse, Underage drinking, Juvenile (under 18), Child health and welfare, Juvenile delinquency, Legal substances | This practice encompasses programs that provide youths with formal supportive relationships and various positive, community-based activities and experiences to reduce their need to use alcohol and/or drugs. The practice is rated Effective for reducing the likelihood of alcohol initiation and reducing the likelihood of drug use initiation. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Youth-Initiated Mentoring for Youth Development |
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Juvenile health, Mental health, Youth development, Child health and welfare, Juvenile delinquency | Youth-initiated mentoring involves a hybrid approach in which youths are empowered to identify, develop, and strengthen natural mentoring relationships from their existing social networks, rather than being assigned a new mentor through a more formal mentoring relationship. The practice is rated Promising for improving psychological, health, school/academic, and social outcomes, and rated Ineffective for cognitive functioning outcomes. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: School-Based Interventions to Reduce Suspension and Arrest |
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Truancy, Youth development, Afterschool, School climate, Juvenile delinquency | This practice includes universal and targeted school-based interventions that aim to reduce student arrests and suspensions by helping students develop prosocial behavioral skills or improving school environment by revising school discipline practices. This practice is rated No Effects for reducing student suspensions and rated No Effects for reducing arrest rates of students. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Early Developmental Prevention Programs for At-Risk Youths |
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Home visiting, Alternative schools, Juvenile delinquency, Crime prevention, Child health and welfare, Juvenile (under 18) | This practice consists of early developmental programs that focus on enhancing child, parent–child, or family well-being to prevent social deviance and criminal justice involvement among at-risk children under age 5. The practice is rated Effective for reducing deviance and criminal justice involvement in youths who participated in early developmental prevention programs, compared with youths in the control group who did not participate. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Social Skills Training for Preventing Antisocial Behavior of Youth |
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Juvenile health, Mental health, Child health and welfare, Juvenile delinquency, Juvenile (under 18) | This practice involves the promotion of social and social-cognitive competencies to prevent future antisocial behavior. The practice is rated Effective for preventing overall antisocial behavior, aggression, delinquency, oppositional and disruptive behaviors, and general antisocial behavior. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Skill-Building Interventions for Delinquent Behaviors of Youth |
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Probation, Reentry, Treatment, Recidivism, Crime prevention, Juvenile delinquency, Juvenile justice, Juvenile (under 18), Young adults (18-24), Juvenile detention | This practice involves the use of skill-building interventions to prevent antisocial and delinquent behaviors in youth (ages 12 to 21) and to reduce juvenile recidivism. Skill-building interventions tend to be behavioral in approach or focus on instruction aimed at developing specific skills. The practice is rated Promising in reducing juvenile recidivism. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Cognitive–Behavioral Interventions for Justice-Involved Juveniles and Young Adults Adjudicated for an Offense in Europe |
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Parole, Probation, Mental health, Reentry, Treatment, Crime prevention, Juvenile delinquency, Juvenile detention, Juvenile (under 18), Adjudication | This practice involves the use of cognitive–behavioral interventions to reduce the reoffending of juveniles and young adults adjudicated for an offense in Europe. Cognitive–behavioral interventions include various similar therapies, including thinking skills programs, social skills and problem-solving approaches, and reinforcement of behavioral change. This practice is rated Promising for the reduction of reoffending. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Juvenile Intensive Supervision Programs |
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Probation, Recidivism, Crime prevention, Juvenile delinquency, Juvenile justice, Juvenile detention | This practice consists of intensive supervision of juveniles on probation in the community, compared with those on traditional community supervision. Conditions of intensive supervision programs may vary, but they generally include increased face-to-face contact with probation officers, drug/urinalysis testing, and participation in programming (such as tutoring, counseling, or job training). The practice is rated Ineffective for reducing recidivism. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Teen Court |
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Juvenile courts, Diversion, Youth/peer courts, Teen courts, Problem-solving courts, Recidivism, Crime prevention, Juvenile delinquency | This is a specialized diversion intervention that offers an alternative to traditional court processing for first-time, nonviolent juveniles. The goal is to hold juveniles accountable for their behavior, repair the harm caused to the community by their offenses, and reduce juvenile recidivism. The practice is rated Ineffective for reducing juvenile recidivism. Date Posted: |
