NCJ Number
172274
Date Published
1996
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the activities of the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center, a Maryland 40-bed residential treatment center for juveniles, with attention to the incorporation of the program of a Boy Scout Explorer Post.
Abstract
The normative model is the core of the center's treatment philosophy. This treatment approach explicitly recognizes the importance of norms (social rules and expectations) that bond people together. At the center, new positive norms must be learned and practiced by residents to help them become community members. Delinquent or antisocial norms are challenged and discouraged. The program builds upon each youth's desire to become accepted in a social group. A unique component of the center's program consists of "social clubs." These groups include a drill team, a chorus, a photography club, and an Explorer Post. The Boy Scout Explorer Post has proven advantageous to both the youth and the program. It has enabled its members to set goals and work toward positive objectives. The members have the opportunity to see themselves as different from their life of delinquency, and they are able to transform themselves into individuals with promise and dignity.