Maryland Shifts Away From Training Schools (From Good News About Juvenile Justice: The Movement Away From Large Institutions and Toward Community-Based Services, P 73-93, 1990, Steve Lerner - See NCJ-132601)

• NCJ Number: 132604
• Author(s): S Lerner
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 21 pages
• Sale Source: Commonweal
• Publication Type: Program Description (Model)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

The reform of the Maryland juvenile justice system is described with particular focus on the reduction of training school populations and development of various community-based programs.

Abstract

The National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (NCIA) was instrumental in the closure of Montrose and reduction of population at Hickey through placement of offenders at three levels of alternatives to institutionalization. The first consists of prevention and diversion programs, and the second level includes various residential alternatives such as probation, daycare, counseling, education, community service, intensive supervision, and electronic monitoring. At the highest level, a variety of residential program are available. These include shelter care, foster care, group homes, mental health treatment centers, alternative living units, and independent living units. A key factor in the success of these community-based systems is youth participation in decision making about their own placements. Instead of sending delinquents to their community for treatment, wilderness programs provide an additional alternative in which the youths can develop a sense of self-esteem and assertiveness. This spectrum of placement options offers Maryland correctional officials considerable flexibility in prescribing treatment for adjudicated delinquents.