NCJ Number
232325
Journal
Victims and Offenders Volume: 2 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2007 Pages: 125-140
Date Published
April 2007
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of early intervention programs in the fight against juvenile offending.
Abstract
There is a growing body of high-quality scientific evidence on the effectiveness of early intervention programs designed to tackle the most important early risk factors for crime. At the individual level, preschool intellectual enrichment and child skills training are effective in preventing delinquency and later offending. At the family level, parent education (in the context of home visiting and parent education with daycare services) and parent management training programs are effective. At the environmental level, a number of school-based interventions are effective in preventing delinquency among youths in middle school and high school, while after-school and community-based mentoring hold promise as efficacious programs. This research evidence needs to be translated into local and State efforts with the support of a comprehensive national strategy on early prevention. (Published Abstract)