NCJ Number
120859
Date Published
1989
Length
240 pages
Annotation
This book documents the organizational change which transformed Glen Mills Schools (Delaware County, Pa.), America's oldest juvenile correctional institution, from a physically deteriorating, ineffective institution into one of the most successful residential programs for delinquents in the Nation.
Abstract
Intended for practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and students of juvenile justice, this book provides both a theoretical model and practical guidelines for the effective reform of juvenile facilities. Documentation of Glen Mills' effectiveness includes the most extensive recidivism study ever conducted on an American correctional institution. The study demonstrates that the normative-culture residential treatment approach for juvenile offenders does work at a cost below most traditional programs. The discussion addresses the theory, beliefs, and values underlying the formal treatment system at the Glen Mills Schools and the process through which the psychosocial environment is shaped into an effective treatment tool. Major steps are described for replicating the Glen Mills model. The book concludes that delinquents, including repeat and serious offenders, have much greater potential for positive behavioral change and educational achievement than is generally believed. Name and subject indexes, 110-item bibliography. (Publisher summary modified)