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Prevention
Prevention Programs That Work
In recent years, there has been a growing body of research about programs that work to prevent juvenile crime, including violent crime. We also know that these programs are the most cost-effective way of fighting crime. For example:
In the summertime, when Phoenix basketball courts and other recreational facilities are kept open until 2:00 a.m., police calls reporting juvenile crime drop by as much as 55%. This program is a bargain. With 170,000 participants in Phoenix, the cost is only sixty cents per youth.
It costs over $100,000 to build a new prison cell, but only about $1,700 to provide a summer job for a youth and $3,000 to provide urgently needed after-school care for a child.
A RAND study found that crime prevention efforts are three times more cost-effective than increased punishment.
A study on the High/Scope Foundation's Perry Preschool project found that the program saved $150,000 per participant in crime costs alone, with a net savings of over $7 for every $1 invested. Blueprints for Violence Prevention The leading research in the area of effective prevention programs has been done by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The Center identified ten model programs that meet a rigorous scientific standard of program effectiveness: a demonstrated deterrent effect, replication in multiple sites with successful outcomes, and evidence that the deterrent effects achieved during the program are sustained after the young person leaves the program.
An important aspect of the Blueprints programs is that they offer models for violence prevention for children and youth of all ages and their families, from infancy to high school adolescents. The federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has funded CSPV to provide training and technical assistance for extensive replications of the Blueprints programs. The Blueprints Model Programs are:
Prenatal and Infancy Home Visitation, consists of intensive and comprehensive home visitation by nurses during a woman's first pregnancy and the first two years after birth. While the primary mode of service delivery is home visitation, the program also uses a variety of other health and human services in order to achieve its positive effects.
The PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) Curriculum, a comprehensive program for promoting emotional and social competencies and reducing aggression and behavior problems in elementary school-aged children while simultaneously enhancing the educational process in the classroom. The curriculum is primarily focused on school and classroom settings, but also includes information and activities for use with parents.
The Bullying Prevention Program, a school-based intervention for the reduction and prevention of bullying and victim problems. School staff has the primary responsibility for introducing and implementing the program.
The Life Skills Training Program, targets middle and junior high school students, beginning in grades 6 or 7, with follow-up sessions in the two subsequent years. The program is designed to prevent or reduce gateway drug use (i.e., tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana), primarily implemented in school classrooms by teachers.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) has been providing adult mentoring to youth for nearly a century. A study in 1991 noted that through BBBSA's network of nearly 500 agencies across the country, more than 70,000 youth and adults were supervised in one-to-one relationships. The study reported that children with mentors were 46% less likely to initiate drug use, 27% less likely to initiate alcohol use, and 32% less likely to commit assault.
Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC), a cost-effective alternative to group or residential treatment, incarceration, and hospitalization for adolescents who have problems with chronic antisocial behavior, emotional disturbance, and delinquency. The program recruits, trains, and closely supervises families which provide adolescents with treatment and intensive supervision at home, in school, and in the community. The MTFC families provide a relationship with a mentoring adult, separation from delinquent peers, positive reinforcement for appropriate behavior, and clear and consistent limits with consequences and follow-through for misconduct.
The Midwestern Prevention Project (MPP), a comprehensive, community-based program for adolescent drug abuse prevention. The MPP is initiated in a school setting and works with adolescents in their families and their communities.
The Quantum Opportunities Program (QOP), a youth development program designed to serve disadvantaged adolescents by providing education, service, and development activities, as well as financial incentives, over a four-year period, from ninth grade through high school graduation.
Multisystemic Therapy (MST), an intensive family- and community-based treatment that addresses the multiple determinants of serious antisocial behavior in juvenile offenders. The multisystemic approach views individuals within a network that includes individual, family, and other (peer, school, neighborhood) systems. Intervention may be necessary in any one or a combination of systems.
Functional Family Therapy (FFT), a prevention and intervention program for youth involved in delinquency, substance abuse, violence, and behavioral disorders. Teams of professionals (e.g., probation, mental health) provide services in homes, clinics, juvenile courts, and during re-entry to communities after institutional placements.
Building Blocks for Youth at the Youth Law Center, 202/637-0377, http://www.buildingblocksforyouth.org