NCJ Number
84944
Date Published
1982
Length
45 pages
Annotation
The forces that led to change in the deinstitutionalization of status offenders in Utah are identified, along with the outcomes of those changes, with particular attention to the Federal role in those developments.
Abstract
Three stages of primarily local activity are identifiable in the evolution of deinstitutionalization policy, each of which was augmented by Federal influence. First was the period of consciousness-raising concerning alternative approaches to nonoffenders, lasting from about 1965 to 1970. It was the report of the President's Commission in 1967 and the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1968 that lent legitimacy and plausiblity to the deinstitutionalization philosophy. The second stage was a period of serious debate among local interest and advocacy groups and agencies, at its most intense between 1970 and 1974, but still continuing. The third stage of local activity was the implementation of funded alternatives to detention, adjudication, and institutional corrections. Within this general scenario, several specific themes also appear in Utah's experience. Fiscal conservatism toward spending State and local funds is an element of the overall picture, as is conservatism toward serious juvenile criminal offenders. The diversion of status offenders has cleared the way for greater court attention to serious juvenile offenders. The dichotomy between urban and rural Utah is also a central theme. Blanket policies are almost never applicable to both areas. The perceived inapplicability to rural Utah of the guidelines in the 1974 Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act was a major reason for Utah's long delay in participation. While virtually all of Utah seems to embrace a philosophy of deinstitutionalization, there is great disparity in the abilities of various areas to implement that philosophy. Thirteen references and the names of officials interviewed are listed.