Over the last two decades the punitiveness of the juvenile justice system has declined" substantially relative to the adult courts. During that same time period juvenile violent crime" rates have grown almost twice as quickly as adult crime rates. This paper examines the degree to" which those two empirical observations are related, finding that changes in relative punishments" can account for 60 percent of the differential growth rates in juvenile and adult violent crime" between 1978 and 1993. Juvenile offenders appear to be at least as responsive to criminal" sanctions as adults. Moreover, sharp changes in criminal involvement with the transition from" the juvenile to the adult court suggest that deterrence, rather than simply incapacitation important role. There does not, however, appear to be a strong relationship between the" punitiveness of the juvenile justice system that a cohort faces and the extent of criminal" involvement for that cohort later in life.

Juvenile Crime and Punishment

Over the last two decades juvenile violent crime has grown almost twice as quickly as that of adults. This paper finds that changes in relative punishments can account for 60 percent of that differential. Juvenile offenders are at least as responsive to criminal sanctions as adults. Sharp drops in crime at the age of majority suggest that deterrence (and not merely incapacitation) plays an important role. There does not, however, appear to be a strong relationship between the punitiveness of the juvenile justice system that a cohort faces and the extent of criminal involvement for that cohort later in life. Language: en

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This article examines the challenges of reentry for teenage and youthful offenders. It discusses (a) reentry within a broader “reintegration” paradigm; (b) the mission and purpose of institutional and community corrections, as well as the tensions between them; (c) the intersection of chronological age and legal status; (d) the intersection of chronological age and stages of development; (e) risk and protective factors; and (f) the seven specific domains of reentry: family and living arrangement, peer groups, mental and physical health, education, vocational training and employment, substance abuse, and leisure and avocational interests. Particular attention is given to the need for reentry policies to be developmentally appropriate and age-specific. Finally, the article closes by discussing the implications for reentry policy.

Adolescent and Teenage Offenders Confronting the Challenges and Opportunities of Reentry

Deinstitutionalization and diversion of juvenile offenders have been prominent goals of recent juvenile justice reform efforts. Both are attempts to replace formal, institutional processing with various forms of community treatment. Legislatively mandated, theoretically justified, and responsive to a professional consensus that the conventional juvenile justice system is seriously deficient, both kinds of program enjoy broadly based support. For all that, however, neither program has often been established in accordance with its premises. They have not been meaningfully evaluated and their effectiveness, accordingly, cannot be shown. The words "diversion" and "deinstitutionalization" refer to both ideas and programs. Whether deinstitutionalization and diversion programs truly embody the ideas which underlie them is a critical question in any attempt to evaluate their effectiveness. This essay presents a paradigm for reviewing the degree to which social programs represent the ideas underlying them. It then...

Deinstitutionalization and Diversion of Juvenile Offenders: A Litany of Impediments

Social scientists have long recognized that individual experiences in particular settings shape behavior, and as a result, many service sectors regularly evaluate client perceptions. This is not the case in the juvenile justice system. Using a sample of 519 serious juvenile offenders (92% male, ethnically diverse) from two sites, this study evaluated the impact of youth perceptions along eight dimensions of an institutional experience on recidivism following release, with recidivism measured as self-reported antisocial activity, rearrest, or a return to a facility. The authors demonstrated that more positive perceptions within and across dimensions of the juvenile setting reduce involvement in the outcomes assessed, even after controlling for individual characteristics and facility type. Implications for juvenile justice practice and policy are discussed.

Perceptions of Institutional Experience and Community Outcomes for Serious Adolescent Offenders

Diversity in a youth correctional system : handling delinquents in Massachusetts

A theory of social reform : correctional change processes in two states

Juvenile correctional reform in Massachusetts : a preliminary report of the Center for Criminal Justice of the Harvard Law School

The Center for Criminal Justice at the Harvard Law School is in the fifth year of a seven-year project to study the reforms undertaken by the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services to close training schools and substitute a diversified network of community-based correctional ser vices for youth. The following account outlines the research design of the project and presents preliminary findings to date. The Department is still consolidating its new system of public and privately purchased services. However, current indications based on six months of community expo sure following treatment reveal a significant decline in court appear ances and a greater positive response of youth to the new programs.

Evaluating the Reform of Youth Correction in Massachusetts

Evaluation research on changing social service systems has been plagued with problems attributed to a lack of the stability required for rigorous evaluation designs. The authors present an alternative concep tualization scheme and model which permits evaluation to be done in such changing environments. The authors distinguish among sets, strategies, and programs and identify a time perspective in the use of evaluative criteria that focus on client relationships both within and outside programs. The model described should Permit research teams to address system administration concerns while at the same time taking advantage of the natural changing setting for testing theoretical proposi tions.

Robert B. Coates

Papers

Diversity in a youth correctional system : handling delinquents in Massachusetts

A theory of social reform : correctional change processes in two states

Juvenile correctional reform in Massachusetts : a preliminary report of the Center for Criminal Justice of the Harvard Law School

Evaluating the Reform of Youth Correction in Massachusetts

Evaluating Large Scale Social Service Systems in Changing Environments: The Case of Correctional Agencies: