Youth Connections Program (Clarke County)
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 an integrated and coordinated program to provide care to mentally disturbed adolescents on probation and their families. The service is implemented by juvenile courts in partnership with community and health agencies.
Participants are monitored weekly, and activities include crisis stabilization, family support, interagency meetings, and access to income transfer welfare benefits. Three months prior to the end of treatment, participants begin transitioning from monitoring to community services.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation showed that adolescents who participated in the program were significantly less likely to recidivate and commit a new crime or serve time in prison compared to the control group, which did not receive the intervention [1].
The study had a quasi-experimental design whereby participants were juveniles referred by the Clarke County (WA) court. The intervention group comprising 106 young individuals was compared with a historical data sample of 98 young individuals. The historical data sample originally consisted of 110 young individuals who were part of the juvenile justice system and the mental health system. The sample was predominantly white (88%) and male (72%), with an average age of 15.4 years [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Pullmann, M. D., Kerbs, J., Koroloff, N., Veach-White, E., Gaylor, R. & Sieler, D. (2006). Juvenile Offenders With Mental Health Needs: Reducing Recidivism Using Wraparound. Crime & Delinquency, 52(3), 375–397. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128705278632

Information source