Accomplishments in Juvenile Probation in California Over the Last Decade

• NCJ Number: 214776
• Journal: Federal Probation Volume: 70 Issue: 1 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 63-69
• Author(s): Susan Turner Ph.D.; Terry Fain M.S.
• Date Published: June 2006
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes the major probation initiatives undertaken in California during the past decade and links these changes to potential impacts on youth crime and other outcomes.

Abstract

While it is difficult to conclude that initiatives in California’s probation programming is responsible for drops in youth crime, it is the case that juvenile arrests and incarcerations have declined in California over the past 10 years, as have their rates of pregnancy, poverty, and homelessness. Many of these positive developments in youth’s lives may be due to programs and initiatives for juveniles implemented in California over the past 10 years. Evaluations have indicated that criminal justice outcomes for program participants in California probation initiatives have been better than for youths in routine probation programming. The evaluation data suggests the importance of this enhanced probation programming for at-risk youth in California. The authors suggest that program data be collected on the types of youth participating in California’s enhanced probation programming to enable more sophisticated program assessments. The author describes several probation enhancement programs that have been implemented in California over the past 10 years, including the Repeat Offender Prevention Program designed to address the rising juvenile crime rates and the Juvenile Crime Enforcement and Accountability Challenge Grant Program designed to determine the best approaches to reducing juvenile crime. Various indicators of youth change in California are examined to assess the impact of California’s youth justice programming. Indicators under examination include juvenile arrest and incarceration rates, teen birth rates, high school completion rates, and child poverty levels. These indicators from California are compared to youth crime statistics and youth program spending from other States, which generally suggest the success of California’s youth programming on juvenile crime reduction. Footnotes, references