NCJ Number
87942
Date Published
1982
Length
31 pages
Annotation
Connecticut's Project Detour juvenile restitution program reduced substantially juvenile court costs by significantly decreasing the number of those participants recontacting the court for at least 1 year.
Abstract
In accordance with the LEAA grant, the objectives of the Project Detour program were to reduce the incarceration rate and recidivism rate of adjudicated youthful offenders and to provide partial restitution to the victims of nonviolent crimes. Restitution was required to be made to the victims by participants from monies earned through employment found for them by the program. In March 1981, the original 2-year grant was extended to 3 years, and there was a shift in emphasis from monetary restitution to community service hours. The evaluation consisted of assessments of the first-year participants and the program process as well as an outcome analysis. Of the 158 youth on whom data were collected, only 16 (10.13 percent) failed to complete the program, but 7 of these youths either moved from the area or were placed out of the area by an official agency. Thus, only 5.7 percent were terminated from the program for failure to meet restitution requirements. Recidivism, as measured by recontact with the juvenile system during the first year following disposition of the instant offense, was 35.51 percent for project participants and 57.14 percent for a comparison group. Forms used in the evaluation are appended.