NCJ Number
144183
Date Published
1980
Length
55 pages
Annotation
The traditional disposition for juvenile delinquents is institutionalization. Yet, the effectiveness of this type of sanction is questioned by many experts because of high recidivism rates; delinquents' adaptation to the prison subculture and inability to reintegrate; prison's interference with normal adolescent development; and institutional tendencies to become an end in themselves.
Abstract
Researchers conducted a survey of alternatives to institutionalization used in various countries, particularly with reference to juveniles. The emphasis here is on working- class and deprived children, a reduction in the use of prison, a shift to community-based sanctions, and treatment of family and community, as well as individual, pathologies. The alternatives detailed in this report include volunteer programs, vocational retraining, diversion, restitution, community service orders, community-based corrections, and therapeutic communities. Examples of programs are drawn from Britain, the U.S., and Europe. 2 appendixes