NCJ Number
54783
Date Published
1978
Length
30 pages
Annotation
THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL AND LEGAL VARIABLES ON THE SECURE CARE DECISIONMAKING PROCESS FOR SERIOUS JUVENILE OFFENDERS IN MASSACHUSETTS ARE EXAMINED.
Abstract
SOCIAL AND LEGAL VARIABLES THAT INFLUENCE THE DECISION PROCESS AFFECTING JUVENILES AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN REFERRED FOR TREATMENT BY THE MASSACHUSETTS JUVENILE COURTS TO THAT STATE'S DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH SERVICES (DYS) ARE STUDIED. THE SPECIFIC DECISION PROCESS EXAMINED OCCURS AT TWO LEVELS: (1) THE DYS REGIONAL CASEWORKERS' RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CERTAIN JUVENILES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR SECURE PLACEMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT'S SECURE CARE REVIEW TEAM (SCRT), AND (2) THE SCRT'S DECISION TO PLACE OR NOT TO PLACE A YOUTH IN A SECURE CARE FACILITY. DATA FOR THE STUDY WERE GATHERED FROM DYS CASE RECORDS OF YOUTHS WHO HAD RECEIVED SERVICES ANY TIME DURING THE 15-MONTH PERIOD, JANUARY 1976 TO MARCH 1977. ONE STUDY GROUP CONSISTED OF A RANDOM SAMPLE OF CASES (N=80) DRAWN FROM THE POPULATION OF YOUTHS COMMITTED TO DYS FOR SERVICES BY JUVENILE COURTS, BUT WHO HAD NEVER BEEN CONSIDERED BY THE SCRT FOR SECURE CARE. THIS REPRESENTED THE 'GENERAL' POPULATION. THE OTHER GROUP CONSISTED OF ALL DYS CASES (N=100) REFERRED BY CASEWORKERS FOR SECURE PLACEMENT REVIEW BY THE DYS-SCRT AND SUBSEQUENTLY ACCEPTED OR REFUSED SECURE CARE SERVICES. A TOTAL OF 81 ACCEPTED CASES AND 19 REFUSED CASES WERE EXAMINED. FINDINGS SHOW THAT SECURE CARE DECISIONS AT THE CASEWORKER LEVEL ARE PRIMARILY INFLUENCED BY YOUTHS' LEGAL BACKGROUND, BUT 'FAMILY COMPOSITION' EXERCISES SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON DECISIONS WITH SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES BEING VIEWED LESS FAVORABLY THAN TWO-PARENT FAMILIES. AT THE SCRT DECISION LEVEL, NEITHER SOCIAL OR LEGAL VARIABLES APPARENTLY INFLUENCED DECISIONMAKING. RECIDIVISM EMERGED AS THE PRIMARY FACTOR AFFECTING THE SECURE CARE DECISION AND WAS ALSO FOUND TO BE A PREDICTOR OF THE SCOPE AND VIOLENCE OF OFFENSES. TABULAR DATA, FOOTNOTES, AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)