Massachusetts Closes Its Training Schools and Leads the Nation in a Shift to Community-Based Programs (From Good News About Juvenile Justice: The Movement Away From Large Institutions and Toward Community-Based Services, P 21-39, 1990, Steve Lerner - See NCJ-132601)

• NCJ Number: 132602
• Author(s): S Lerner
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 19 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 20-year transformation of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) from institutional to community-based programs is described.

Abstract

Patterns of abuse in training schools and the unsuccessful therapeutic community approach to rehabilitation within the training schools led to the decision to close training schools and to implement a functioning community-based system. Today there are a number of small-scale programs, ranging from the 15-bed Westboro high-security facility for young men to smaller, residential facilities such as Littleton Girls House and Alliance house for boys to the Roxbury Youthworks non- residential tracking program. Their success is dependent on general agreement about who is appropriate for unlocked community programs and who must be confined. A study published by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency ascribes the success of these programs to lower recidivism rates, more humane treatment of offenders, and public safety. However, the process of deinstitutionalization is not complete; it needs to shift to its second phase which includes involvement of the whole family in the treatment process. 14 notes