Institutional Treatment Programs for the Violent Juvenile (From Youth Violence, P 75-88, 1986, Steven J Apter and Arnold P Goldstein, eds. - See NCJ-101447)

• NCJ Number: 101451
• Author(s): V L Agee
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: Pergamon Press, Inc
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes four institutional treatment programs and the features common to most such programs.

Abstract

The four programs exemplify residential approaches to treatment in mental health facilities, youth correctional facilities, and combination mental health-youth corrections facilities. They include the Thistletown Regional Center in Ontario, Canada; the Lookout Mountain Treatment Center in Golden, Colo.; the Closed Adolescent Treatment Center in Denver, Colo.; and the Intensive Change Sex Offenders' Program in Portland, Me. With only a few exceptions, most programs for violent juvenile offenders (including those described) have many aspects in common. Most have as a major treatment emphasis the therapeutic community or positive peer culture approach. Most have a structured treatment approach that provides these usually character-disordered youth with ongoing behavioral feedback. The majority use a team management approach and emphasize high quality staff and high staff-youth ratios. Most have developed systems for promptly disciplining misbehaviors that are structured to prevent attempts at manipulation or intimidation and that emphasize the logical consequences of the misbehavior. In addition, most programs offer specialized treatment for the juvenile sex offender segment of the violent youthful offender population. Finally, most programs view a secure setting and adequate time for treatment as critical to their success. references.