NCJ Number
99269
Date Published
1985
Length
208 pages
Annotation
This book reports on a series of studies of youth correctional practices in Massachusetts that support local communities being the locus for the most effective action against juvenile delinquency.
Abstract
The studies began with the appointment of Jerome Miller as commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services in 1969. The studies were mounted in anticipation that Miller's policies would produce significant reforms in the State's youth corrections, thus providing the opportunity to study the impact of the reforms compared to previous policies. Miller closed the State's juvenile training schools and emphasized the development of community-based juvenile corrections. Five major issues dealing with institutional and community correctional responses to delinquency are reviewed. These include (1) the impact of traditional training school regimens on youth subcultures and youths' responsiveness to treatment, (2) the impact of community group residential and nonresidential programs on delinquents, (3) assessment of the comparative effect of institutional versus community-based programs on juvenile recidivism, (4) analysis of social and organizational change in the reform process, and (5) integration of youth correctional services with the differential opportunity structure for youth in two Boston communities. Research data pertaining to these issues are presented, and study implications are discussed. The book concludes with an extensive research agenda.