Recidivism of Juvenile Offenders in a Diversion Restitution Program (Compared to a Matched Group of Offenders Processed Through Court) (From Criminal Justice, Restitution, and Reconciliation, P 217-225, 1990, Burt Galaway and Joe Hudson, eds. -- See NCJ-126460)

• NCJ Number: 126478
• Author(s): M S Rowley
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This evaluation of the Vermont Juvenile Court Diversion Program used court records for a long-term followup (1981-1987) of 60 male participants, aged 16 or 17, who were compared to a matched sample of youth not diverted.

Abstract

The program requires juvenile offenders to make restitution to their victims and to the community in the form of unpaid service. Only first offenders are eligible, and participation is voluntary. An individualized, time-limited contract is negotiated for each offender. Contract conditions generally include apology to the victim, victim restitution, and/or community restitution via community service work. Twelve analyses of variance comparisons were performed; 10 were significant at the .05 level or above. Comparisons between the diversion and court groups showed significantly less subsequent offending for the diversion group in terms of both incidence and severity. In view of the cost effectiveness of the diversion program, with the mean cost per case at approximately $216 compared to approximately $750 for juvenile probation, these findings provide additional support for the continuation of the program. 2 tables and 14 references