NCJ Number
70142
Date Published
1971
Length
37 pages
Annotation
This final report covers the Dallas Key Project, a student volunteer delinquency prevention project designed to help the predelinquent youth who is of junior high school age (12 to 14 years).
Abstract
An overview looks at the project's goals, the kinds of participants recruited, and the rationale for selecting volunteers from high schools. The processes for selecting high school volunteers, for matching volunteers to junior high school participants, and for recruiting junior high school participants are outlined, with attention to the explanations given to participants and their families and to the training programs developed for volunteers. Also, a project involving graduate student participation in the program is discussed, with recommendations for involving college students more intensively in the project in further years. Suggestions are made regarding the expansion of family counseling for these predelinquent youths. Descriptions are provided of the kinds of activities most enjoyed and used by the students, consideration is given to staff development and training sessions for project staff, and the development of an advisory council is documented. Finally, problems encountered in the operation of the project, an evaluation of the project's successes, and the use of control groups are addressed. The attitude test administered before and after the project is also described, and appendixes provide examples of the tests used in the project and the questionnaires administered to the volunteers, the parents of participants, and the predelinquent youths. Statistical reports and forms used in recruiting persons for the project are also appended.