Treating Street Youth, Some Observations.

• NCJ Number: 116983
• Author(s): J Oleson
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 7 pages
• Contract Number(s): OJP-85-C-007
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Corporate Author: Community Research Associates
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services; Community Research Associates
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Profile Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Annotation

This article provides juvenile justice practitioners with a better working definition of the term 'chronic status offender.'

Abstract

The needs, values, attitudes, and experiences of 62 street youth who sought assistance at Ogden House, Denver, Colorado, are described. Interviews with the youth revealed many similarities. Most were victims of sexual abuse and most perceived the help they received as punitive or harmful. Most had long histories with helping agencies, yet these agencies had been unable to intervene successfully in their problems. The interviews also described criticisms of large group homes and residential treatment programs. It is recommended that temporary shelter with young single adults or couples be arranged for street youth. Outreach programs should maintain a constant, visible presence in the areas where youth congregate. It is recommended that counselors provide youth with support, that clinical intervention be available, and that survival problems be resolved as quickly as possible. Counselors should build trust, heal, allow feelings of dependency to surface, and foster transition to normal adulthood. The importance of volunteers is stressed. Independent living services are deemed a viable alternative.