Juvenile Conference Committees Issues in Assessing a Diversionary Court Program

• NCJ Number: 195199
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 30 Issue: 2 Dated: March/April, 2002 Pages: 107-119
• Author(s): Connie Hassett-Walker
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research Paper
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article presents the author’s investigation of the Newark, New Jersey juvenile court diversion program and follow up analysis of David Twain’s 1983-1984 research regarding the program.

Abstract

The author begins the discussion with an overview of the development of the Newark, New Jersey juvenile court Juvenile Conference Committees (JCCs), juvenile court diversion for misdemeanor offenders. The author also discusses the initial research by David Twain conducted in the early 1980's regarding the JCC program and Twain’s findings of deficiencies within the program; most notably deficiencies in the area of aftercare follow through and recidivism prevention. The article reviews the programs and Twain’s findings specifically focusing on: 1) the response or lack thereof of the New Jersey officials to Twain’s research and findings; 2) the 1978 OJJDP report on the efficacy and limitations of JCC and other volunteer diversion programs; and 3) research on recidivism rates for JCC participants. 3 statute references, 30 references