Community Intensive Supervision Project

• NCJ Number: 177654
• Author(s): G Kinder
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 9 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Juvenile Court of Allegheny Cty
• Sale Source: Juvenile Court of Allegheny Cty
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report describes the features of Allegheny County's (Pittsburgh, Pa.) Community Intensive Supervision Project (CISP) as well as some of the evaluation findings.

Abstract

The CISP provides a community-based alternative to residential care for selected, chronic juvenile offenders and also serves as an aftercare program for youths following their release from institutions. A full range of programming, including drug screening, is offered in four specially designed neighborhood centers during afternoon and evening hours seven days a week. Supervision of youth continues throughout the night with the use of an electronic monitoring system. In addition to traditional probation personnel, the program is staffed by paraprofessional "Community Monitors," who are adult residents of the same neighborhoods in which the youths reside. A youth must live in one of the designated neighborhoods to be placed in CISP. Youth remain in their homes under the supervision of their parents or guardian. Parental involvement in program objectives is vital to the success of a youth in the program. The major CISP treatment component is drug and alcohol education, assessment, and treatment. Youth are involved in individual counseling, group counseling, peer counseling, and family intervention. Youth in the program continue attending school; they are also permitted to work. Specialized educational programs are used when appropriate. The development and promotion of structured recreational activities are also important elements of CISP. Community service is required as a means of symbolically "paying back" the community for the offense committed. Youths who do not comply with program rules and expectations are sanctioned with short-term placement in a "backup" unit or by going to the 8-day Passages to Adventure Program. One evaluation has shown that 55 percent of the successful program participants did not recidivate (arrest) in either the juvenile or adult systems. Information is provided on program cost and funding.