NCJ Number
210147
Date Published
2005
Length
164 pages
Annotation
This Program Model and Planning Guide II, which is intended for use with the Graduated Sanctions for Juvenile Offenders: Training Curriculum Guide II, presents conceptual and operational models and examples for the three components of a juvenile graduated sanctions system (GSS) related to secure care and reentry: programs and services, "Structured Decision Making," and management information systems.
Abstract
The program component involves developing a continuum of graduated immediate and intermediate sanctions, sanctions for the more serious offender that includes secure care, and transition and reentry services for those returning from secure care and other out-of-home placements. The second component of an effective GSS involves developing and applying assessment tools to structure the way sanctioning decisions are made in individual cases. This is called "Structured Decision Making" (SDM). In a GSS system, SDM should be incorporated into all key decision points, including intake, diversion, detention, disposition, custody and supervision levels, length of stay, readiness for release, response to violations, and discharge. This guide describes models and examples of SDM for multiple decision points relative to secure care and reentry for juvenile offenders. SDM helps ensure that juveniles with similar characteristics receive similar sanctions and that juveniles will receive sanctions tailored to their rehabilitative needs. The third component of an effective GSS is a management information system (MIS) that will collect and display data on all youth involved in the GSS. The MIS serves the goals of the GSS by tracking individual juveniles, monitoring the overall functioning of the system (documenting the number and characteristics of juveniles with each type of sanction), and documenting outcomes. MIS data can also be used to test or validate SDM assessment tools. This guide presents a nationally recognized MIS model ("Performance Based Standards").