Assessing the Effectiveness of Juvenile Justice Reforms: A Closer Look at the Criteria and the Impacts on Diverse Stakeholders

• NCJ Number: 184026
• Journal: Law and Policy Volume: 22 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2000 Pages: 175-202
• Author(s): Daniel P. Mears
• Date Published: April 2000
• Length: 28 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

Drawing on previous research and an analysis of the potential effects of a recent juvenile justice sentencing reform in Texas, this paper argues for greater attention to conceptualizing and empirically assessing effectiveness broadly, including reference to intended and unintended effects, multiple goals and means, and diverse stakeholders.

Abstract

After reviewing previous research on juvenile justice reforms, the paper provides an outline and discussion of dimensions that are critical to assessing effectiveness. As a preliminary to focusing directly on the potential importance of diverse stakeholders, the author provides a brief overview of the specific juvenile sentencing reform -- determinate sentencing of juveniles in Texas -- that provides the empirical basis for the subsequent analyses. This new, "blended" sentencing statute creates an additional sentencing option in cases that involve certain felony offenses. By affording prosecutors the ability to seek specific sentence lengths that can begin in the juvenile system and be completed in the adult system, a middle ground is created between indeterminate sentencing in the juvenile justice system and transfer to the adult system. The discussion of determinate sentencing is followed by review of the data used, which consist of interviews with juvenile justice practitioners and a survey of juvenile court prosecutors in Texas, as well as previous research on select issues. The analyses and discussion center on three groups of stakeholders: juveniles, practitioners, and the juvenile and criminal justice systems. The author then discusses research and policy implications of the general assessment issues, as well as the more specific focus on diverse stakeholders. The author advises that this paper is illustrative, aimed not at providing a definitive evaluation framework or generalizable findings, but instead at suggesting the potential importance of taking a broader view of effectiveness than generally is done in evaluations of sentencing policies. 4 tables, 13 notes, and 99 references