NCJ Number
46944
Date Published
1977
Length
80 pages
Annotation
THE REPORT OF AN EVALUATION OF YOUTH SERVICE BUREAUS WHICH WERE FUNDED BY THE LAW AND JUSTICE PLANNING DIVISION OF WASHINGTON STATE'S OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IS SUMMARIZED.
Abstract
THE FIRST PART OF THE STUDY FOCUSED ON A DESCRIPTION OF THE HISTORY, ORGANIZATION, STAFF, PROGRAMS, AND FUTURE PROBLEMS AND PLANS FOR THE 25 YOUTH SERVICE BUREAU (YSB) SITES. IN ADDITION, ANY EXISTING EVALUATION DATA, CONCERNING THE YSB'S WERE COLLECTED AND PLACED IN A COMPUTER DATA BASE. THE DATA WERE ANALYZED AND SUMMARIZED ON SEVERAL BASIC YOUTH BACKGROUND VARIABLES, AND THE FINDINGS WERE EVENTUALLY PUBLISHED IN THE PHASE ONE FINAL REPORT (NCJ - 41634). TABULAR BREAKDOWNS OF THESE DATA ARE PROVIDED AND DISCUSSED. THE GOALS OF THE SECOND PART OF THE EVALUATION WERE: (1) TO ANALYZE THE COLLECTED DATA MORE EXTENSIVELY, (2) TO THOROUGHLY EVALUATE FOUR TO SIX SELECTED YSB PROGRAMS; AND (3) TO APPLY THE PROCEDURES OF POLICY ANALYSIS TO THE FORMULATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS. AS THIS PHASE OF THE STUDY BEGAN, IT WAS DECIDED TO PROCEED TOWARD ALL THREE GOALS BUT TO GIVE THE GREATEST WEIGHT TO INDEPTH EVALUATION OF THE SELECTED BUREAU SITES. THE REASON FOR THIS EMPHASIS WAS THAT APPARENTLY THE STATE HAD DEVELOPED SEVERAL EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS WHICH MIGHT QUALIFY AS NATIONAL MODELS; IT WAS IMPORTANT TO DOCUMENT THESE PROGRAMS IN ORDER TO DISCOVER THE SCOPE OF THEIR EFFECTIVENESS. SIX YSB SITES WERE SELECTED AND EVALUATED REGARDING PROGRAM MANAGEMENT, BUREAU-COMMUNITY RELATIONS, BUREAU GOALS, PARTICIPATING YOUTH CHARACTERISTICS, PROGRAM AND SERVICE DELIVERY, THE BUREAU'S EFFECT ON CUTTING RECIDIVISM, AND THE FACTORS THAT APPEARED TO CONTRIBUTE MOST TO A REDUCTION IN JUVENILE DELINQUENCY. TABULAR SUMMARIES OF THE MANAGEMENT EVALUATION RESULTS; OF EXISTING BUREAU/COMMUNITY LINK-UPS; OF YOUTH SEX, AGE, AND RACE DATA; OF OFFENSE INFORMATION; OF SERVICE DELIVERY; OF RESTITUTION PROGRAM PARTICIPATION; OF COUNSELING SERVICES; AND OF RECIDIVISM RATES ARE PROVIDED. A TABULAR SUMMARY OF POLICY ANALYSIS DATA IS PRESENTED, AND RECOMMENDATIONS RELATING TO THE SPECIFIC PROGRAM SERVICES OF THE INDIVIDUAL YSB SITES SELECTED FOR EVALUATION ARE DISCUSSED FOR THE MAIN REPORT, SEE NCJ-46945. (KBL)