Juvenile Justice

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.

This intervention was designed to help adolescent males in detention with interpersonal stress and conflict. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant effects on depressive symptoms, recidivism, social problem-solving, anger response, anger control, and inward expression of anger. However, the treatment as usual control condition was found to have a statistically significant reduction on outward expression of anger, a result in the other-than-expected direction.

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 No Effects. 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

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 No Effects. 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.

This is a program that aims to divert youths charged with serious offenses from detention, with an overall goal of reducing recidivism. The program is rated Promising. Comparison group participants were more likely than treatment group participants to recidivate and to recidivate for a felony charge. Comparison group participants had a higher average number than treatment group participants of referrals and felony referrals. All differences were statistically significant.

The program is an alternative to formal processing in the juvenile justice system. The overall goal is to reduce the number of youths entering the juvenile justice system, while also reducing recidivism. The program is rated Promising. Youths in the treatment group who participated in the diversion program had statistically significantly fewer rearrests, compared with youths in the comparison group who did not participate in the intervention.

This is a community-based, trauma-informed, gender-responsive advocacy intervention for girls 11 to 17 years old who are at risk for or already involved in the juvenile justice system. The program is rated Promising. Intervention group girls were less likely to engage in physical fights and minor status offending behavior (i.e., missing fewer days of school), compared with control group girls. These differences were statistically significant.

This is a responsive intervention that seeks to reduce severe aggressive behaviors of incarcerated youth at a juvenile justice institution in the Netherlands. The program is rated Promising. Intervention group youth, compared with treatment-as-usual group youth, had statistically significant higher aggression-related skills, lower cognitive distortions (such as how youth think about aggression), and a lower recidivism risk for violent and general offenses at the 3-year follow up.

This is a model that uses a conceptual plan and organizational framework to strengthen collaborations between child welfare and juvenile justice system professionals and partners to prevent or reduce youths’ involvement in the juvenile justice system or related systems of care. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group youth showed a statistically significant reduction in recidivism rates, compared with youth in the comparison groups.

This is a diversion program intended to reduce juvenile recidivism by treating youths in the community in place of incarceration. This program is rated as Promising. Youths in the treatment group were statistically significantly less likely to be incarcerated during the 1-year follow-up, compared with youths in the control group.

This adapted version of Functional Family Therapy is designed to improve functioning for child welfare-involved families. This program is rated Promising. Treatment families showed a statistically significant greater likelihood of achieving all treatment goals and a lower likelihood of being referred to another program at case closing, compared with control families. However, there were no statistically significant differences between groups in out-of-home placements.

This is a short-term, family-based program, which is designed to reduce out-of-home placements for juvenile justice-involved youth. The program is rated Promising. Youth who received Family Centered Treatment were less likely to experience future conviction or incarceration in either the juvenile or adult justice systems, compared with youth who were placed in a group home.

This is an intervention designed to prevent future criminal activity among system-involved youth through using short-term, high-intensity relationships with paid mentors, referred to as Advocates. The program is rated Promising. Program participants showed statistically significant improvement in educational engagement and reductions in serious dispositions, compared with a comparison group.

The program is a cognitive–behavioral, anger management treatment for adolescent girls in residential juvenile justice facilities, which is designed to reduce participants’ anger, physical aggression, and relational aggression. The program is rated Promising. Program participants showed statistically significant reductions in anger, physical aggression, and relational aggression scores, compared with the control group.

This is a group-based, cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness training intervention targeted at male youth in high-security correctional facilities. The program is rated Promising. Results indicated a statistically significant reduction in the decline of attention skills for the treatment group, measured as accuracy and response variability on the Attention Network Test; however, there was no statistically significant effect on response time.

This is a home-visiting program for youth on probation who are considered at high risk of recidivism. The program is rated No Effects. Compared with the treatment group, the control group was more likely to have completed probation, less likely to have probation revoked due to a technical violation, and committed fewer new crimes during probation; however, they recidivated sooner. There were no differences in the probation revocations due to severity of a new crime.

The program provides education, vocational training, and other youth-development services to low-income youths, ages 16–24, who have been convicted of a crime. The program is rated Promising. The program statistically significantly reduced recidivism and increased the likelihood of receiving a high school diploma, GED, trade license, or training certificate. However, there were no effects on enrollment in postsecondary courses, employment, or certain measures of youth development.

This behavioral intervention targeted high-risk juvenile arrestees in a detention center in Chicago. The curriculum focused on correcting automatic or reactive behavior, with the goal of reducing both the probability and number of readmissions. The program is rated Promising. Participants were less likely to be readmitted and had fewer readmissions to the detention center, compared with non-participants. This difference was statistically significant.

This is a supervision program that incorporates family-focused, strengths-based principles of Functional Family Therapy. The goal of the program is to reduce re-arrests and increase employment rates. The program is rated Promising. Participants in the intervention were less likely to be re-arrested, more likely to be employed, and earned more per quarter, compared with the comparison group. These findings were statistically significant.

This program provides an alternative to juvenile court processing for youths with justice system contact who may or may not have a criminal record. The program is rated Promising. Although there was no statistically significant difference between the treatment and comparison groups on rates of official police contact, the average number of days to re-arrest was statistically significantly lower for the treatment group (441.7 days) than for the comparison group (254.1 days).

This treatment program aims to reduce recidivism among youths convicted of violent offenses and capital crimes (such as murder) in one southern state. The program offers six months of intensive, therapeutic treatment to juveniles in a residential facility before they are released. The program is rated Promising. Results showed a statistically significant difference in reduced recidivism rates for juveniles who participated in the program, compared with those who did not participate.

This was an aftercare program in Pittsburgh (Penn.) and Detroit (Mich.) for juveniles transitioning out of a residential correctional program. The intent of the program was to decrease instances of reconviction and re-arrest among participating youths after their release into the community. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant effects on rates of reconviction and rearrest among program participants in either city.

This program was an intensive alternative reintegration program for high-risk male juveniles who were being released to probation from a juvenile corrections facility. The program is rated Promising. Results showed that while there were no differences between the treatment and comparison groups on the percent who had been re-arrested during the 9-month follow up, the treatment group had a statistically significantly lower number of re-arrests than the comparison group.

This program was located at a secure-custody residential facility that provided educational and vocational training to moderate-risk male youth. The program is rated No Effects. Participants showed a statistically significant greater likelihood of obtaining a degree, compared with nonparticipants. However, there were no statistically significant differences in any arrest for any offense overall and felony arrest specifically, employment, time employed, or higher education enrollment.

This is a reentry program designed to reduce recidivism and increase reentry services for males, ages 13 to 18, who have committed offenses and are placed in a locked, residential treatment facility. The program is rated Promising. The program was shown to statistically significantly decrease recidivism rates among youths who participated in the program, compared with youths who received services as usual.

This is a diversion program that provides intensive supervision and treatment for juveniles on probation who suffer from mental illness. This program is rated Promising. The intervention group showed a statistically significant reduction in number of rearrests within 1 year, compared with the comparison group. However, there was no statistically significant impact on time to rearrest.

This is a training program for juvenile justice probation/parole case managers (PCMs), to promote their use of evidence-based practices to identify the mental health and substance use needs of delinquent youth and increase youth’s access to services. The program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant reductions in re-referral and placement rates for youth whose PCMs received the enhanced training, compared with youth whose PCMs received the standard training or no training.

This is a problem-solving community court that seeks to prevent crime. One component of the program, the Family Court, hears juvenile delinquency cases involving youth aged 15 or younger, with the goal of responding to the specific needs of youth in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The program was rated No Effects. The program had no significant effect on recidivism rates for juvenile defendants.

This program incorporates contingency management protocols and multisystemic therapy into traditional juvenile drug court services to provide juveniles and families with additional engagement opportunities and support to reduce recidivism and substance abuse. The program is rated Promising. The program statistically significantly reduced alcohol and poly drug use, positive drug urine screens, status offenses, and property offenses. The program had mixed effects on marijuana use and offenses.

This is a juvenile drug court designed to reduce alcohol and other drug and delinquency offenses through an accountability framework. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group participants were statistically significantly less likely to recidivate in delinquency/criminal offenses, compared with the comparison group participants. However, there was no statistically significant effect on alcohol and other drug recidivism.

Offers a wide array of services for youth with serious emotional disturbances to reduce youth's contact with the juvenile justice system. The services are accessible, community-based, individualized, culturally competent, and include an individual’s family in the planning and delivery of treatment. The program is rated Promising. The program was shown to statistically significantly reduce youths’ contact with the juvenile justice system.

This is a multi-family group-based intervention targeting juveniles convicted for the first time. The goal is to help youth and their families find solutions to family conflict and poor decision-making that will prevent youth’s recidivism and improve personal and family well-being. The program is rated Promising. Intervention group youth showed a statistically significant lower likelihood of recidivating, compared with youth in the probation comparison group.

This is a restorative justice program that provides juveniles who have been convicted of an offense and their victims the opportunity to meet face to face in the presence of a mediator to discuss the offense. The program is rated Promising. Individuals in the program were statistically significantly more likely to complete their restitution obligation. There was a statistically significant impact on victim satisfaction with the justice system, but there was no statistically significant impact on

This is a substance abuse intervention program for high-risk adolescents (ages 12–18) living in residential facilities. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group youth showed a statistically significant lower likelihood of reporting alcohol, marijuana, or overall alcohol and other drug (AOD) use in the previous 30 days, compared with comparison group youth.

This is a juvenile court-based program designed to address the needs of people on probation who have emotional and behavioral disorders and the needs of their families. The approach is meant to be an integrated, seamless, coordinated system of care for children with mental health problems. The program is rated Promising. The intervention youth were statistically significantly less likely to recidivate, commit a felony offense or serve time in detention, compared with comparison youth.

This is a nonpunitive treatment model that concentrates on teaching juvenile justice–involved youth about prosocial behaviors as alternatives to antisocial behaviors. The program is rated Promising. Overall, findings were mixed. Treatment group youth had a statistically significant lower likelihood of being convicted for any new offense, compared with control group youth. However, there were no statistically significant effects on new charges or on incarceration rates.

This is a neighborhood-based, intensive case-management approach to prevent drug use and delinquency for high-risk adolescents living in distressed neighborhoods. The program is rated No Effects. While treatment group youths had statistically significant reductions in the frequency of total violence and drug sales, there were no statistically significant effects on delinquency, property or status offenses, arrests and tickets, truancy, and disciplinary incidents or suspensions.

This is a residential program that provides mental health treatment to violent juveniles. The program is rated Promising. Participants in the treatment group demonstrated a statistically significant lower likelihood of violent (but not general) recidivism and had a longer offense-free period in the community prior to committing felony, violent, or violent felony (but not misdemeanor) offenses, compared with control group participants.

This is an in-home, family preservation service and reunification program for families with children returning from or at risk for out-of-home placement. The program is rated Effective. The treatment group had a statistically significant greater number of reunifications and reduced rates of out-of-home placement, compared with the control group. However, there were no significant differences between groups in successful reunification (i.e., whether the children returned to foster care).

This is a program that combines group therapy and family therapy to treat youth, ages 10–18, who have a primary diagnosis of oppositional defiant or conduct disorder. This program is rated Promising. Findings were mixed. Intervention youth showed statistically significant decreases in rates of recidivism and improvements in behavior, compared with control group youth. However, there were no significant differences between groups on measures of readiness to change.

This program is an adaptation of Multisystemic Therapy, specifically designed for adolescents who have committed sexual offenses and demonstrated other problem behaviors. The program is rated Promising. Program participants had lower rates of self-reported person and property offenses as well as lower rates of arrests for sexual crimes and other crimes, compared with control group participants. These findings were statistically significant.

This is a multicomponent treatment program administered in juvenile correctional facilities for youth with conduct disorders. This program is rated Promising. Program youth showed statistically significant improvements in social skills and had statistically significant fewer instances of self-reported and staff-reported institutional misconduct, compared with control group youth. However, there were no significant differences between groups on measures of moral judgment.