Youth Assistance Research Articles

Recidivism in a juvenile court‐sponsored delinquency prevention program

AbstractPrevious research on the rates of juvenile re‐offending have been found to be as high as 66% when measuring recidivism by rearrest and as high as 33% when measuring re‐offending by reconvictions within one to three years of release. However, accurately estimating a national juvenile recidivism rate is problematic. This is even more complicated when attempting to determine recidivism for delinquency prevention programs. One of the oldest, and perhaps most successful of these programs, is the Oakland County (Michigan) Youth Assistance Program (OCYA), which began in 1953. The present paper is an attempt to quantify the recidivism rate for youngsters referred to OCYA in a different sample. This study drew on the entire OCYA database from 2004 to 2014 with a random sample of 1540 cases selected. Demographic information of the selected youths, their number of caseworker contacts, the type of offense, and their recidivism record were evaluated using SPSS statistical software. Results showed a relatively low recidivism rate, but participation in OCYA face‐to‐face caseworker contacts or auxiliary programs had no predictive value in forecasting recidivism.

지방자치단체의 청소년지원 프로그램에 대한 비행 예방이론적 관점에서의 분석

지방자치단체의 청소년지원 프로그램에 대한 비행 예방이론적 관점에서의 분석

State programs for organizing the training of future doctors in higher medical education institutions of Great Britain

The article analyzes state programs for organizing the professional training of future doctors in higher education institutions in the UK. During the last years, vocational education and training have become one of the fastest developed sectors of the economy of western countries. The dynamic process of social development is closely linked to the rapid changes in the quantitative parameters of national education systems and the updating of public training periods for future employees. For the UK there is a characteristic advanced qualification system. Youth education is carried out in accordance with the state program "Professional Youth Training", designed for high school graduates aged 16–17 years. The purpose of the program is the in-depth training of young people. Graduates are tested on four indicators: compliance with the requirements of narrow specialization and qualification requirements of the profession, the ability to apply knowledge in new conditions, business qualities. In the UK, internships at enterprises within the framework of the state "Youth Assistance Program" are supplemented by theoretical seminars at special courses.The modern approach to training and retraining of labor potential, which is used in British education, is characterized by a variety of content, forms and methods of work, an increase in the professional level of specialists in human resources management services, an increase in the proportion of funds spent on these goals using the latest technologies. Economic, administrative and moral factors are used to encourage employees to study in the studied country

SPIRITUALITAS PELAYANAN SANTO DON BOSCO DALAM PENDAMPINGAN KAUM MUDA

This study aims to find out the youth participation and spiritual contribution of St. Don Bosco for youth assistance in church’s life in the Parish of St. Mikael Tamiang Layang. This research is a descriptive qualitative research with data collection technique through interview, observation and documentation. The result of this study finds out that the youth motivation in church activies is lack. It is caused by internal and external factors. Some internal factors are the lack of awareness, and appreciation of their vocation as the next generation of the Church. Some external factors are lack of support and motivation from those around them. The spirit of service owned by Saint Don Bosco can motivate and assist in mentoring young people to return enthusiastically in performing their duties as members of the Church.

Negative Life Events and Coping Style among the Young Adults in a Highly Collective Community of Borneo

This qualitative study explored the differences in the interpretation of “negative life events” and the coping style among male and female young adults aged 21-25 in a highly collective community of Borneo. In-depth interviews were deployed, and pattern saturated at 5 males and 5 females. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Finding shows that both gender, males and females, were most affected by self-image and identity crisis, implicating sensitivity for social acceptance/rejection, academic bullying, and friendship, family and and financial issues. Females were significantly affected by friendship problems and tended to deal with it using emotional-focused coping, such as, emotional release, whereas males reported rejection/one-sided love problems and tended to cope using action-focused coping style, such as, confronting, as well as action-focused release, such as, playing games. While the findings support the universal findings in the male-female differences in coping with negative events, this study found a unique difference in the coping style of the males to those of the lesser cohesive community - males in this community were found to be celebrating sharing of problems and emotional discomfort with close friends and family, as much as the females. This study suggests that careful considerations need to be given when generalizing the theory of emotional and social disconnectedness, in males in crisis in the highly cohesive community. Future research using mixed methodology can further explain the nature and generalizability of in-crisis males’ emotional and social connectedness in cohesive community, using a larger sample. Findings from this research would be useful to understand how our male and female youngsters in highly collective communities perceive life issues, and the pattern they choose in coping, and further assist in designing effective youth assistance and development programs.Keywords: negative life events; coping styles; gender; young adults; collective community

Recidivism, Costs, and Psychosocial Outcomes for a Post-Arrest Juvenile Diversion Program

Recidivism, costs, and psychosocial outcomes are reported for a post-arrest diversion program in Wayne County (Detroit), MI. Program features included: rapid, standardized assessment of psychosocial functioning with the Juvenile Inventory For Functioning®, an individualized plan for addressing needs, engagement of caregivers, service provision by youth assistance programs in the youth's community, and access to mental health and substance use services as needed. The adjudication rate for new offenses one-year post services was 7.7%, for a program that costs $1,500 per youth. Significant improvement in functioning was observed for youth with an exit assessment. Functioning at entry predicted recidivism.

Youth sex offenders: descriptive survey from the population takes in charge by a specialised team

Sexual criminality is a well-known problem but the problem of youth sex offender is poorly documented, especially in Belgium. Created in 2001, the team Groupados, from the SOS Enfants centre,...

Thugs, Black Divas, and Gendered Aspirations

This essay presents ethnographic data from more than five years of fieldwork at the Fresh Start shelter and among African-American young women living in greater Detroit to contextualize an analysis of how the sexual identities of low-income women of color are framed by the racialized and class-based expectations of nonprofit community organizations, the welfare system, and vocational-training programs. Young black women living in postindustrial Detroit must navigate these overlapping social service networks on a daily basis and, in the process, discover the most efficacious strategies for achieving social and economic mobility. However, in the context of the Fresh Start shelter and other youth assistance programs, young women rework and disrupt identity categories in ways that demonstrate their sophistication in subverting the race and gender hierarchies that threaten their potential success. In claiming ownership of their ability to define and continually redefine their sexual identities, while staging performances of self in public and private spaces, young black women reveal their understanding of gender and its expression as inherently dynamic and unstable.

WINNING THE BATTLES AND THE WARS. An evaluation of comprehensive, community‐based delinquency prevention programming

This three‐year program evaluation investigated the primary prevention aspects of Youth Assistance (YA), a community‐based program of the Oakland County Probate Court providing casework and prevention services. The activities studied included parent education sessions, supervised teen recreation, summer camp scholarships, skill building activities, and a one‐to‐one mentorship program. The goals of the study were to determine how effectively the program succeeded in mobilizing community volunteers, and to examine whether the incidence of neglect and delinquency had been reduced as a result of children and parents participating in one or more of these primary prevention activities. Ethnographical as well as quasi‐experimental approaches were used. The following results are highlighted: YA primary prevention services do serve “at risk” populations in the community; overall, participation in the YA activities had positive effects on the participants, such as improved communication skills, increased respect for authority, and more use of positive discipline techniques; 92% of the primary prevention program participants had no subsequent contact with YA or the Court; the program is cost‐effective. The study also confirmed that volunteers are an essential part of the success of a community‐based prevention program. The study resulted in a number of specific recommendations which will be implemented over the next few years in order to continuously improve the program.

A National Registration System for Youth Assistance

ABSTRACT The SRJV (Registration Foundation of Youth Facilities) is a national Dutch organisation that is responsible for setting up a national registration system for youth services. The main objective of the foundation is to generate information for government policy and management information for the involved organisations. To gain better insight into this territory, it is essential to have knowledge of a number of developments within youth assistance in the Netherlands. This will be in line with the new law on youth assistance, which has been effective since the middle of 1989. The previous history and the development of the registration system will be discussed. Attention will also be given to the actual structure of the system. A look into the future will conclude this article.

Small initiative, big questions: An analysis of the Townsville Youth Assistance Panel

Abstract This paper attempts to convey the views and experiences of young people and parents appearing before the Townsville Youth. Assistance Panel (YAP) during a two-year period. These accounts are considered in the light of the official discourse relating to the aims and objectives of the Youth Assistance Panel. The views of prominent welfare organisations in the Townsville area are also discussed. The study illustrates clearly the gulf between panel members and parents' perceptions of the Youth Assistance Panel's operation. It is argued that the Youth Assistance Panel is predicated on an individualistic theory of juvenile offending which necessarily ignores the impact of structural forces upon such behaviour. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of issues facing social welfare practitioners in the field of juvenile justice attempting to develop ways of empowering young people and families. It is maintained that approaches to dealing with young people who offend should be more firmly embedded in...

Chapter 2: Pay Now So You Won't Pay Later: The Effectiveness of Prevention Programming in the Fight to Reduce Delinquency

Community‐based delinquency prevention programs, designed to work with youth and families before they become involved with the official court process, are relatively rare. Likewise, few studies have been published concerninge valuative research on such programs. This article reviews some background on program concepts, describes the operations of the Oakland County Probate Court Youth Assistance casework services program, and reports the results of a comprehensive program evaluation project. The findings suggest that prevention programming is one effective strategy to aid in reducing the likelihood of more costly court interventions. Recommendations for program development are offered.