NCJ Number
84111
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 33 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1982) Pages: 3-13
Date Published
1982
Length
11 pages
Annotation
An evaluation of the Public Service Restitution program (PSR) in Bexar County, Tex., shows that it mitigates the stigmatization (labeling) of being a first offender and reduces recidivism, largely because the participants develop positive labeling for their program supervisors.
Abstract
Under PSR, juveniles sign a restitution agreement stipulating they will work a certain number of hours for a given business or government agency in the community. The clients are supervised by personnel regularly employed at the workplace. In the first phase of the evaluation, all 12 juveniles assigned to PSR at the time were studied. Some were interviewed while others were covertly observed at their workplace, and 10 of the 12 responded to questionnaires. A separate set of interviews and questionnaires was administered to 9 juveniles' parents and supervisors and to all 13 intake officers in the probation department. In the second phase of the evaluation, a second population consisting of the 41 juveniles released from the PSR program from 6 months to 1 year ago were contacted; twenty-one responded to questionnaires. All 41 juveniles were compared to a randomly drawn comparison group of 65 juvenile first offenders with similar offenses who had been either dismissed or placed on 'informal adjustment.' Findings show that the PSR juveniles had a low sense of being stigmatized, while experiencing positive labeling from their work supervisors. Their rate of recidivism was less than that of either those who were given 'informal adjustment' or dismissal dispositions. The positive relationship with supervisors was found to be the primary factor in reducing recidivism, along with the juveniles' feelings they had been given one more chance to avoid the juvenile justice system, which they perceived as dispensing harsh treatment. Thirty-eight footnotes are listed.