NCJ Number
124006
Date Published
1988
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The Florida Environmental Institute (FEI) operates a highly structured four-phase program providing continuous case management for serious and violent youthful offenders.
Abstract
The youth served by FEI include males aged 15 to 18 who have a history of serious legal and social problems; generally exhibit inadequate and undersocialized personalities; and have extremely poor self-images and lack adequate communication skills, complicated by serious educational deficits. The program emphasizes an action-oriented, hands-on approach which develops desirable work habits, emphasizes fast and fair discipline, and the development of employability and social skills in participating youth. Length of stay, varying from one to two years, is based on each youth's ability to achieve measurable written performance objectives in each phase. Youth participate in a point system emphasizing the work ethic, the value of hard work, and the correlation between effort and achievement. The point system rewards are based on relevant needs and desires of the youth. The first year of FEI's operation has yielded promising results in the moral development and work skills of the participant youth. This program has the potential to effectively change the pattern of youths headed for long-term incarceration in the nation's prisons.