NCJ Number
219094
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 51 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2007 Pages: 348-362
Date Published
June 2007
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study examined the roles and responsibilities of cottage staff members in a juvenile maximum-security State training school as they attempted to balance their dual roles of custody and rehabilitation.
Abstract
In the training school that was the focus of this study, custody was a key concern; however, individual staff members were also committed to modeling good behavior and resocializing the male residents into responsible less violent individuals. Although cottage staff members preferred to view cottage life as treatment-oriented, the objective assessment of the cottage found that it best fit Feld's individual custody model, in which staff members are responsible for detaining and managing dangerous juveniles while attempting to change their behaviors for a successful return to the community. Individual staff members attempted to establish relationships with the boys in their care for the purposes of motivating and guiding them to a positive change in their attitudes and behaviors. In dealing with the stress and conflicts that arose from the dual responsibilities of custody and treatment, the cottage staff would have benefited from supportive psychological counseling; however, none was provided by or available in the institution. Staff members were left to their own devices regarding the best approach for dealing with their daily duties. The data for this ethnographic study was obtained through participant observation in the State's "end-of-the-line" training school over a period of 15 months. The training school housed chronic and violent male offenders who ranged in age from 15 to 20. Their offenses included drug dealing, multiple property crimes, serious violent and/or sexual assaults, armed robbery, and homicide. Most had spent time in other juvenile institutions. The researcher focused on one cottage, which housed between 18 and 26 violent offenders. Two to three staff members worked each shift. 28 references