NCJ Number
84938
Date Published
1982
Length
49 pages
Annotation
Findings from this study of a sample of 30 alternative facilities for status offenders cover issues releavant to the implementation of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), service characteristics, programming and normalization, and current service problems.
Abstract
The program types examined were (1) secure detention facilities, (2) nonsecure alternatives to detention, (3) group homes, and (4) residential treatment facilities. Local needs, not general direction-setting policy in service provision, appear to be the most salient factors in precipitating the development of new services and changes in existing facilities. Referral patterns and funding sources suggest that the social service departments, not corrections, are largely responsible for services to status offenders. Within the sample, the only example of a service uniquely designed for status offenders is the runaway emergency shelter. The most salient finding regarding the nature of programming and the quality of the settings is the variability and diversity evidenced in the sample. Under both quantitative and qualitative definitions of normalization, the nonsecure settings provide most of the physical and structural necessities for a normalizing setting. Administrators report massive funding cuts, retrenchment, and ever-increasing licensing requirements that drastically affect their programs. Lack of resources, inadequate staff training, extensive staff turnover, and more difficult youth seem to be the primary explanations for less than complete success among larger programs. The decisionmaking processes and functioning of the referral system need further study to determine how placement decisions are made and why some youth enter the system and others do not.