NCJ Number
138137
Date Published
1990
Length
82 pages
Annotation
A comprehensive community-based indicator analysis and needs assessment was conducted to assist the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee and the Governor's Justice Commission as well as the agencies they support to better identify young people in Rhode Island who are at risk of delinquent behavior.
Abstract
The study identifies characteristics of at-risk youth and provides a baseline for a comprehensive approach to reducing Rhode Island's delinquency problem. Identification of predelinquent behavior can be accomplished through the application of analytic and descriptive indicators. Two powerful analytic indicators of potential delinquency were identified: poverty and weak family structure. Other analytic factors include educational deficits; sexual, psychological, and physical abuse; and substance abuse. Several descriptive indicators were identified in relation to poverty and weak family structure. For poverty, the descriptive indicators include low self-esteem, alienation from school/family, teen pregnancy, stress-related illness and pathologies, and low educational aspirations and goals. Descriptive indicators for weak family structure include loneliness, lack of bonding, cult membership, and lack of parental support and supervision. Few programs exist in Rhode Island that deal directly with families of at-risk delinquent youth. Available services and programs address only one symptom of a child's problems rather than provide comprehensive assessment and services. Key strategies are proposed to address three action areas: program development, professional training, and funding. 6 tables, 25 references, and 2 appendixes