NCJ Number
74267
Date Published
1980
Length
52 pages
Annotation
This annual report examines the first year's status of the Wisconsin Juvenile Restitution Project (JRP), covering the period March 1, 1979, to February 29, 1980.
Abstract
The JRP is designed to serve juveniles who are adjudicated delinquents or who have agreed to a consent decree order. Restitution obligations performed by participating youths may be in the form of monetary payment to the victim, direct service to the victim, service to the community, or a combination of the three. Regionally, juvenile delinquency prevention consultants provide legal and policy development consultation to the local projects. The entire project also benefits from an extensive training and technical assistance contract with a college. The evaluation methods used aim at determining the individual jurisdictions' progress in terms of reaching the goals and objectives pursued during the first year and to provide insights into the reasons for their current status. Results show that the participating jurisdictions are, in nearly every aspect, meeting or exceeding their initial objectives. This is largely due to the involvement, cooperation, and leadership provided by the juvenile court judges and juvenile justice system staff of the jurisdictions. The work of the consultants and the technical assistance program are operating effectively. One of the objectives of the project in each jurisdiction, reducing incarceration rates, is being aggressively pursued. Changes in the children's code regarding stricter requirements for incarceration and an overall trend in juvenile courts to exhaust community-based options before using secure services are key factors in the incarceration reduction. Evaluation data are provided from each jurisdiction. Tables are included.