AMIkids Community-Based Day Treatment Services
Problems addressed
Recidivism
Juvenile delinquency
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
Teenagers (14 to 17 years)
Where the program was applied
Community (streets or community centers)
Country of application
United States
Description

This is a community-based program that provides psychosocial assistance to socially vulnerable adolescents between 14 and 17 years of age and/or those who have committed nonviolent offenses.
The objective is to reduce recidivism based on eight integrated components:
1) Education;
2) Challenging experiences;
3) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy;
4) Strengths-based case management;
5) Behavior modification;
6) Family re-engagement;
7) Problem-solving; and
8) Social skills development and access to community services.
Activities are carried out in the neighborhoods where the adolescents reside, Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, prioritizing small groups. In general, permanence in the program ranges from 4 to 6 months.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation found that, after the 12-month follow-up period, thanks to the program, adolescents who received treatment were statistically significantly less likely to reoffend for the same offense compared to youth in the control group who did not receive the intervention (54% vs. 59%, respectively), to reoffend for a new offense (30% vs. 42%), and to be convicted (18% vs. 27%) [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Winokur E. K. et al. (2010). Experimental Community-Based Interventions for Delinquent Youth: An Evaluation of Recidivism and Cost Effectiveness. (Unpublished manuscript).

Information source