This instructional material presents and briefly explains each of five statements about juvenile delinquency intervention and treatment, as rated by CrimeSolutions.
The five statements are preceded by the general statement that “Juvenile delinquency intervention and treatment programs have the broad goals of preventing crime and reducing recidivism by providing treatment and services to youth who have committed crimes.” The first statement is that “juvenile awareness programs, similar to ‘Scared Straight,’ may be ineffective and potentially harmful.” Scared Straight consists of organized visits by juveniles to adult prison facilities for adjudicated youth and youth at risk of adjudication. Based on the findings of two meta-analyses of existing research, CrimeSolutions concludes that youth exposed to such programs are more likely than adjudicated youth to commit offenses in the future, as well as youth at risk of adjudication who did not attend such a program. The second statement in this instructional guide is that “Cognitive behavioral therapy can effectively reduce aggression in children and adolescents.” The third statement is “Multisystemic therapy for juveniles reduces recidivism, rearrests, and the total number of days incarcerated.” The fourth statement is that “Intensive supervision of juvenile offenders – the conditions of which may vary – has not been found to reduce recidivism.” The concluding statement is that “Incarceration-based therapeutic communities for juveniles with substance-use disorders have not been found to reduce recidivism after release.” In promoting these statements, CrimeSolutions’ intent is to help practitioners and policymakers understand what works in justice-related programs and practices.