NCJ Number
73349
Date Published
1980
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The results are reported of a followup study of youth referred from 1974 to 1978 to the Kentfields program, a nonresidential community placement project for chronic juvenile offenders in Kent County, Mich.
Abstract
Monthly records on number of petitions, seriousness of petitions, and demographic data were collected from the files of the Kent County Probate Court on 197 youths referred to the Kentfields program due to repeated contacts with the court. Archival data were collected on all youths referred for 41 monthly time periods -- 24 months preinvolvement, 5 months during treatment, and 12 months during followup. Comparative interview data were obtained from 43 youth who had been out of the Kentfields program for an average of 34 months. An interrupted time series analysis of the 41 monthly periods suggested a significant decrease in the frequency of court petitions filed following program involvement. Of the youths interviewed, 60 percent reported having attended school regularly during the year prior to followup, while 55 percent were employed full or part time. Also, 93 percent of the interviewees felt they had benefited from the program. Therefore, data suggest that program goals are being met. The Kentfields program cost is about 8 percent that of institutional placement in the State training school, despite program expansion and an increase in program cost per youth. The 36-percent recidivism rate, as well as the decrease in court contact, are virtually identical with the followup data on the 1969-70 program youth, suggesting that program outcomes have been stable throughout its 10 years of existence. The Kentfields program is now an established arm of the Kent County Probate Court in providing an alternative to institutionalization of hardcore delinquents. A figure and 14 references are provided.