NCJ Number
80530
Journal
Journal of Social Issues Volume: 37 Issue: 3 Dated: (1981) Pages: 87-101
Date Published
1981
Length
15 pages
Annotation
The nature of, practical principles for, and some barriers to community-based services for juvenile delinquents are discussed.
Abstract
The article reviews a spectrum of delinquency-related literature but focuses mainly on the Massachusetts deinstitutionalization experience, since the basic conceptual framework of community-based programs portrayed was developed during the research on this State's experience. The extent to which a program can be deemed community-based depends upon the extent and quality of relationships between the clients and the people and institutions within the community, along with the social climate of the program setting (relationships between staff and youth and among youth). The development of a community-based program should be based on several principles: (1) the program should grow out of a clear idea of the program's purpose and its potential clients; (2) there should be a hierarchy of restrictiveness in community contacts in a system of programs, based upon types of offenders; (3) as far as possible, work with the youthful clients should be in the context of normalized social networks; and (4) clients should be involved in the decisionmaking that affects their lives. Territorial and professional conflicts are likely to arise in the development of a community-based program. These may include conflicts between community representatives and program staff in dealing with clients and the role of professional clinicians in community-based service delivery. Twenty-one references are listed.