NCJ Number
75330
Journal
Children and Youth Services Review Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: special issue (1980) Pages: 291-313
Date Published
1981
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Findings are presented from an evaluation of Operation IDEA, a program located in Chicago providing an 8-week program for youthful offenders which emphasizes upgrading basic educational skills and developing conventional work habits.
Abstract
Two hundred fifty-nine offenders participating in the program were given the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) and the Basic Skills Assessment (BSA). Demographic and background data were also collected on the subjects. The program primarily served black males with an average age of 18. Most of the participants had little or no work experience, lived with their parents, and perceived themselves as coming from working class backgrounds. About 35 percent of the participants' fathers were high school graduates; about 46 percent of their mothers had completed high school. About 66 percent had friends who had been incarcerated; 32 percent had belonged to a gang. The youths had an average of 6.7 previous arrest; about 15 percent had prior convictions. The youth showed a full grade point level change on the SAT over the course of program involvement. Basic skills improvements in math were larger than those in reading on the BSA. Nearly half of those youth taking the GED test after the program passed it. BSA results correlated best with GED scores. About half of the participants obtained jobs after completing the program. Average salary was $3.63 per hour. Tables and 13 references are included.