Reports of the National Juvenile Justice Assessment Centers The Impact of Deinstitutionalization on Recidivism and Secure Confinement of Status Offenders

• NCJ Number: 99808
• Author(s): A L Schneider
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 26 pages
• Grant Number(s): 79-JN-AX-0013
• Sponsoring Agency: Canadian Institute of International Affairs
• Corporate Author: American Justice Institute
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Based on a review of over 70 empirical studies of status offender deinstitutionalization (DSO), this monograph examines the movement's impact on recidivism rates, program models, effect on commitments to secure facilities and detention centers, and unintended side effects.

Abstract

An examination of the 14 programs which provided recidivism rates revealed no differences between DSO and non-DSO youths. Some jurisdictions prohibited detention or commitment, while others simply established alternative programs without prohibiting secure confinement. Commitments of status offenders to public correctional institutions declined since 1974, but commitments to private institutions increased. The impact of DSO on local detention was not clear because of scanty data. Strategies for reducing or eliminating secure confinement of status offenders unintentionally produced net widening effects where juveniles who previously had been handled informally were brought into the juvenile justice system. Tables, graphs, 12 footnotes, and approximately 60 references.