NCJ Number
61716
Date Published
1978
Length
62 pages
Annotation
A COMPARATIVE OUTCOME STUDY EXAMINED A SAMPLE OF 960 DELINQUENT YOUTH RELEASED FROM DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES (DSS) PLACEMENTS IN MICHIGAN OVER A 3-YEAR PERIOD.
Abstract
PLACEMENTS RANGED FROM HIGHLY STRUCTURED INSTITUTIONAL SETTINGS TO MINIMALLY STRUCTURED GROUP HOMES OR OWN HOME SETTINGS. VARIABLES UNDER ANALYSIS WERE CLIENT AGE, SEX, RACE, AGE AT PROGRAM ENTRY, LEVEL OF AGGRESSIVENESS, PLACEMENT TYPE, AND OUTCOME 3 MONTHS AND 12 MONTHS AFTER RELEASE (RECIDIVISM). CROSS-TABULATIONAL ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT AGE AT PROGRAM ENTRY WAS RELATED TO PLACEMENT OR THE STRUCTURE OF PLACEMENT AND CONTRIBUTED TO THE PREDICTION OF POSTRELEASE SUCCESS. YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS WHO WERE OLDER AT PROGRAM ENTRY WERE GENERALLY MORE SUCCESSFUL, A PHENOMENON DUE IN PART TO THEIR EMPLOYABILITY. THE SUCCESS RATE DECREASED AS AGE DECLINED IN MORE HIGHLY STRUCTURED TASK-ORIENTED PLACEMENTS. IN LESS STRUCTURED FAMILY TREATMENT SETTINGS, YOUNGER YOUTH WERE MORE APT TO BENEFIT. YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS ACHIEVED DIFFERENT RATES OF POSTPLACEMENT SUCCESS, DEPENDING ON THEIR HISTORY OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR AND ON THE TYPE OF PLACEMENT RECEIVED. AGGRESSIVE-INJURIOUS YOUTH OR SERIOUS FELONS TENDED TO BE TREATED WITH RELATIVELY UNIFORM SUCCESS ACROSS PLACEMENTS. WITHIN PLACEMENTS, SERIOUS FELONS ACHIEVED RELATIVELY DIFFERENT SUCCESS RATES. AFTER COMPLETING INSTITUTIONAL PLACEMENT, SERIOUS FELONS REPRESENTED THE MOST SUCCESSFUL YOUTH. LESS AGGRESSIVE YOUTH, INCLUDING STATUS OFFENDERS, WERE LESS LIKELY TO BENEFIT FROM INSTITUTIONAL PLACEMENT. CONVERSELY, AFTER GROUP HOME PLACEMENT, SERIOUS FELONS WERE THE LEAST SUCCESSFUL WHERAS LESS AGGRESSIVE YOUTH WERE MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED. IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED, AND RECOMMENDATIONS PERTINENT TO THE PROVISION OF RESIDENTIAL SERVICES FOR DELINQUENT CHILDREN AND YOUTH ARE OFFERED. SUPPORTING DATA AND FOOTNOTES ARE INCLUDED. APPENDIXES CONTAIN DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION AND A CORRELATIONAL MATRIX OF CLIENT, PLACEMENT, AND OUTCOME VARIABLES. (DEP)