Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders in Massachusetts The Role of the Private Sector (From Neither Angels nor Thieves - Studies in Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders, P 355-371, 1982, Joel F Handler and Julie Zatz, ed. - See NCJ-84933)

• NCJ Number: 84942
• Author(s): J A Arnaud; T C Mack
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 37 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; National Academies Press
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Available on microfiche as NCJ-84933

Annotation

The impact of the 1974 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) on the deinstitutionalization of status offenders in Massachusetts is assessed.

Abstract

Few States have put the ideals of deinstitutionalization into practice as completely as Massachusetts. The training schools and locked institutions are gone, and a range of alternative nonsecure settings has replaced them. New legislation provides that status offenders cannot be compelled to accept services, and they are increasingly diverted from the adversary process altogether. Nonetheless, problems have emerged during the implementation of deinstitutionalization. Officials in the juvenile courts and social service agencies are frustrated by their lack of control over status offenders and are confused as to who has the acutal authority to make decisions concerning these youth. Current methods of recording and analyzing State data have been viewed as unsatisfactory by a number of State officials, who are also concerned about the growing system of private providership and the lack of systematic planning for the future. Further, as the State's children's service system becomes more decentralized, there is concern within the State bureaucracy over the increasing discretion exercised at the local level. Twelve references are listed, together with a bibliography of 9 listings. The persons interviewed are also listed. (Author summary modified)