NCJ Number
197817
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 66 Issue: 2 Dated: September 2002 Pages: 72-77
Date Published
September 2002
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Based on evaluation findings to date, this article assesses the effectiveness of various juvenile aftercare programs and discusses future prospects.
Abstract
"Reintegration" or "continuity of care" are important in sustaining in the community those gains made by offenders while in correctional confinement. The Intensive Aftercare Program (IAP) model, which was funded by the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, is designed to help identified "high-risk" juvenile offenders make the transition from correctional facilities gradually back into the community in a more calibrated and structured fashion. IAP is explicitly designed to address two widely acknowledged deficiencies of institutional corrections: the lack of adequate preparation of youth to return to the community where at least part of their problem originated and the lack of systematic monitoring and reinforcement of lessons and skills learned while in confinement. IAP conceptualizes reintegration as composed of three distinct but overlapping phases: institutional services and programming linked directly to prerelease planning and lending themselves to application and reinforcement in the community; structured transition experiences before and after community re-entry, involving both facility and community-based staff; and longer term normalization in the community, where non-correctional agencies and community support systems become dominant in serving released juveniles. The added value of rehabilitative measures being intertwined with surveillance and control techniques has found widespread support in the evaluation literature. On the issue of what specific type of programs work best for some, some researchers have focused on the extent and nature of risk and needs as being critical. Most notable among interventions for institutionalized juveniles that have produced the greatest reduction in recidivism have been the provision of interpersonal skill training, teaching family homes, cognitive behavioral approaches, and multi-modal approaches. Effective interventions used with noninstitutionalized juveniles include interpersonal skills training, behavioral contracting, and individualized counseling that is cognitive-behavioral oriented. The challenges remaining to be faced in designing effective aftercare include bridging the gap that often divides the worlds of institutional and community corrections; reforming current institutional and aftercare practices that ignore the broader reintegration concerns; and forging partnerships between correctional agencies and those responsible in the public and private sectors for mental health, child welfare, substance abuse, education, and employment. 72 references