NCJ Number
171841
Date Published
1997
Length
86 pages
Annotation
This report presents the methodology and findings of an evaluation of the Family Empowerment Intervention program on 12- month recidivism among youth processed at the Hillsborough County Juvenile Assessment Center in Tampa, Fla.
Abstract
The Youth Support Project (YSP) is implementing a systems- oriented approach to family preservation: a home-based Family Empowerment Intervention (FEI). The YSP is a 5-year project now in its fourth year. This experimental prospective longitudinal study involves four interview data-collection waves and recidivism analyses. Families involved in the project are randomly assigned into one of two groups: the Extended Services Intervention (ESI) or the Family Empowerment Intervention group. ESI group families receive monthly phone contacts from the project research assistants, and FEI group families receive personal visits from project field consultants (FCs). FCs are not trained therapists, but they are trained by and perform their work under the direction of licensed clinicians. FCs work with families to achieve goals designed to repair dysfunctional aspects of family life and strengthen parenting skills, communication skills, and the implementation of rules and consequences for youth in the family structure. Overall, the findings show statistically significant or marginally significant relationships between the various predictor variables and the various recidivism measures; however, additional 12-month recidivism analyses should be performed with more cases. At the time of this analysis, 200 youths and their families were involved in the YSP, with 80 of these cases having been involved in the project for less than 1 year. These new cases will be included in a planned, expanded 1-year recidivism analysis. 44 references