NCJ Number
73347
Date Published
1980
Length
20 pages
Annotation
The operation of a successful behavioral-employment intervention program for adolescent offenders in Washtenaw County, Mich., is described; guidelines for managing community-supported employment programs for juvenile offenders are provided.
Abstract
Out of 76 more serious adjudicated offenders referred to the program by the juvenile court's probation or intake workers, 23 were placed in a nontreatment comparison group and 56 were placed in the experimental group. Juvenile offenders were hired by 45 volunteer employers. The experimental subjects were praised, and their job-appropriate behaviors were encouraged during the interview and orientation stages of job placement. Contingency contracts signed by the young offenders before job placement stipulated reporting to the project leader at first weekly and later biweekly. In addition to continued encouragement of pro-employment behavior, employers and project leaders offered additional positive feedback on actual job performance. Later phases of employment were characterized by less frequent reinforcement and contact between subjects and project leaders. Followup data showed that experimental subjects had significantly fewer arrests and were institutionalized much less frequently; fewer became school dropouts. These subjects were also much more successful in acquiring better jobs or going on to further vocational training 3 months to 1 year after entry into the employment program. It is asserted that a broadly based behavioral intervention program involving job placement, praise of positive job behaviors, cooperative employers, and contingency contracting is effective, especially when coupled with the automatic return to full court jurisdiction for failure to complete the program. In organizing similar programs in other communities, measures should be taken to gain local support from the courts, employers, and parents. Five data tables and six references are provided.