NCJ Number
141250
Date Published
1992
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Research has suggested that family- and community-based alternatives are essential to the successful treatment of juvenile offenders. Data collected on families referred to family-based services for status offenses or delinquency were examined to evaluate the effectiveness of this type of approach.
Abstract
In these families, 20 percent of the caretakers were male, mostly single parents, unemployed men with working wives, or the biological fathers of children at risk. The primary caretakers were older than other groups referred for services, and were overwhelmingly white. About one-third of the families lived below the poverty level and almost half were headed by single parents. In families with two adults, 43 percent of the children at highest risk of delinquency were the stepchildren or adopted children of the second adult. Most families reported problems with parent-child conflict and child behavior. Families received services including family counseling, individual counseling, case management, and information and referral services. Delinquents most likely to experience placement came from families with substance abuse problems and high levels of stress. In families with status offenders, the children were most likely to be placed when there had been a history of previous placements or when the families received services mostly focused on parenting skills. 4 tables and 1 note