NCJ Number
221716
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 45 Issue: 3/4 Dated: 2007 Pages: 47-83
Date Published
2007
Length
37 pages
Annotation
This study examined the levels and sources of correctional orientations among a sample of juvenile correctional workers in Ohio.
Abstract
The results revealed that, like adult correctional workers and the general public, these juvenile correctional workers supported both rehabilitation and custody. An examination of the possible sources of the two orientations indicated that there was a large degree of consensus regarding rehabilitation, while support for custody varied primarily by individual characteristics. There are two perspectives concerning the correctional orientations of those working in juvenile corrections. First, the original child saving or rehabilitative mission that the American juvenile system was founded upon would suggest that these workers should have high levels of support for rehabilitation. A different perspective, however, stems from the overall punitive shift in American corrections including the juvenile system that has occurred over the past three decades. Juvenile correctional workers supported both rehabilitation and custody simultaneously, confirming the complex nature of correctional orientations reported in other research. Given the rehabilitative mission of the juvenile system, the relatively high level of support for custodial sentiments among juvenile correctional workers was an unexpected finding considering that child saving is a part, but not the abiding mission of their work. The data was collected from a survey of a sample of juvenile correctional workers, throughout the State of Ohio. The self-report surveys were distributed to staff members in county juvenile detention and treatment facilities across the State by the Ohio Department of Youth Services staff from September 1998 through February 1999. Tables, reference, appendix