NCJ Number
104001
Date Published
1979
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This analysis of 302 delinquent and predelinquent youth who participated in a community-based delinquency prevention program located in Philadelphia addresses discrimination and staffing issues in the program's job referral efforts as well as the impact of successful job placements on delinquency.
Abstract
The typical client in the program was male and came from a low income, broken family headed by a female. Two things, however, distinguish this group from other delinquent groups: there were fewer blacks and a much higher percentage were probably able to find jobs. Analysis showed that youths who received job referrals through the program were somewhat different from youths who did not receive referrals. These differences were attributed to organization selection bias and self-selection bias on the part of youths who obtained the jobs. The study compared screening procedures used by caseworkers and job specialists, but produced no clearcut conclusions. The hypotheses which tested the effects of employment and unemployment on crime recidivism were all rejected. The report emphasizes that better measures and more sophisticated tests are needed before the causal relationship between crime and employment can be rejected. Tables.