Reducing minority overrepresentation in juvenile justice: Results of community-based delinquency prevention in Harrisburg

To reduce minority overrepresentation in its juvenile justice system, Penns ylvania sponsored nine community-based delinquency prevention programs in H arrisburg and Philadelphia. The authors describe results of their evaluatio n of the Harrisburg programs over a three-year period (1992 to 1995), repor ting two-year follow-up data for the 1992-93 cohort (N = 191). The major ob jective was to reduce rates of arrest and rearrest for clients; programs al so attempted to reduce major risk factors such as educational failure, drop out, and truancy. Using quasi-experimental comparison groups based on progr am attendance (control, low, and high), program effects are examined using logistic regression and multivariate analysis of variance. Programs were su ccessful in reducing recidivism: over one-year and two-year follow-up perio ds, 2 recidivism was lowest for the high-attendance group. Program effects on school outcomes, however, were generally weak. Implications for policy a nd program development are discussed.