Recidivism Among Juvenile Offenders over Periods Ranging from One to Twenty Years Following Residential Treatment

Abstract

This paper examines the recidivism data for juvenile offenders discharged from a Massachusetts residential treatment center between 1976 and 1995. The criminal histories, juvenile and adult, of 162 delinquent youth referred through the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services who left the program were reviewed. Recidivism was defined as any post-program juvenile or adult conviction. A program stay of over 11 months was associated with no future convictions for all offenders (p = .031). Chronic offenders (4 arrests prior to commitment) madeup 59% of the sample (N = 95). As expected, chronic offending was highly associated with recidivism (p = .004), yet it was also seen that chronic offenders in placement for 11 months or more recidivated at a significantly lower rate then those in placement less than 11 months (p = .026). A cost benefit analysis showed that a savings of $18,690,728 could be achieved by retaining chronic juvenile offenders in residential placement for over 11 months.