NCJ Number
171850
Date Published
1997
Length
122 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether law-related education (LRE) incorporated in the daily operations of a large juvenile correctional facility can help prepare incarcerated youth for eventual release and assist them in their adjustment while incarcerated and following release.
Abstract
The project was housed within Arizona's Adobe Mountain School, a secure correctional facility with a population of over 500 juveniles. For purposes of this study, youth were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, with the experimental group receiving LRE and the control group not receiving it. All involved youth were administered a pretest and posttest during the course of the data-collection period. Pretesting of youth began in July 1995. LRE content was designed to be compatible with a number of objectives associated with the cognitive and social development of delinquent youth. The content developed by the team addressed the nature and extent of human conflict and offered rules for interaction, delineating behavioral expectations. The curriculum was based in the notion that law is itself representative of a higher level of moral and abstract development. LRE focused on changing the delinquent's attitudes and reasoning styles. The cognitive attributes emphasized were social competence, problem-solving skills, and a sense of autonomy. The data analysis shows that among older youth in correctional settings, LRE can produce substantial gains in factors associated with law-abiding behavior. The largest gains occur when LRE includes participation by police officers. For younger youth in correctional settings, LRE is somewhat effective with police participation and generally ineffective without it. As of March 7, 1997, when the data analysis was completed, 2,260 hours of LRE had been provided to 101 youthful offenders confined at Adobe Mountain. Appended curriculum materials and the pretest and posttest