NCJ Number
197277
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 64 Issue: 6 Dated: October 2002 Pages: 90-94,96,97
Editor(s)
Susan L. Clayton M.S.
Date Published
October 2002
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the Colorado Department of Corrections, Youthful Offender System delivering habilitation programs and services to youthful offenders sentenced as adults.
Abstract
Established in 1993 Colorado’s Youthful Offender System (YOS)provides a controlled, regimented, and secure environment for youthful offenders sentenced to the Colorado Department of Corrections. YOS promotes education, work, and self-discipline, and develops inmates’ pro-social skills and abilities through a supportive aftercare program. Eligible YOS inmates have been charged and sentenced as adults. YOS holds a distinct place in the State’s correctional system because these youthful offenders are considered adults by the criminal justice system. The sentence imposed must be at least 2 but no more than 6 years, except for specific Class-2 felonies. The intent is to divert young offenders and replace criminal thinking with pro-social values and accepted norms. YOS is built on the belief that youthful offenders can be habilitated, offering a positive and productive future. YOS delivers a four-part continuum of services for youthful offenders which are presented and discussed in this article and include: (1) intake, diagnostic, and orientation; (2) Phase I, the cognitive-behavioral redirection phase and intense residential programming; (3) Phase 2, a supervised 3-month prerelease program; and (4) Phase 3, a community supervision and reintegration program. YOS adopts a holistic approach where developmental tasks are learned in four domains: physical, cognitive, emotional, and social.