NCJ Number
89202
Date Published
1981
Length
120 pages
Annotation
This report evaluates the program operations, service delivery, and community role during 1980 of the 12 juvenile delinquency prevention projects of the Los Angeles County Youth Services Network (California).
Abstract
The network serves over 10,000 youth per year, includes 69 cities and about 96 communities, covers numerous police jurisdictions, and has over 200 agencies on contract. Network projects generally have a good reputation in their communities. The level of project implementation is enough to offer the potential for significant impact on delinquency in the community. About 24 percent of police referrals to the projects had prior arrest records, indicating a relatively high level of delinquency risk. The 6-month recidivism rate for these juveniles was 22 percent. Juvenile arrest trends for the county during the period between the network's inception in 1974 through 1977 showed greater reductions in areas served by vigorous network projects than in comparison years. However, later analyses make these reslts problematic. The typical juvenile client was male, aged 15 years, and an ethnic minority. Over 40 percent were referred to the project by police or probation authorities. Average cost per client for diversion service in the network was $303, of which 55 percent went directly into services. Data tables, graphs, and footnotes are provided. Distinctive features of each of the 13 projects are described.