Wc. Myers et al., Project back-on-track at 1 year: A delinquency treatment program for early-career juvenile offenders, J AM A CHIL, 39(9), 2000, pp. 1127-1134
Citations number
31
Categorie Soggetti
Psychiatry
Journal title
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY
Objective: This study assessed the effectiveness of Project Back-on-Track,
an after-school diversion program that uses a multimodal approach for the t
reatment of early-career juvenile offenders. Method: Project Back-on-Track
completers (30 of 41 enrollees; 73%), aged 9 to 17 years, 63% female, parti
cipated in a 4-week cycle of treatment consisting of group and family thera
pies, parent groups, educational sessions, community service projects, and
empathy-building exercises. These youths attended the program 2 hours per d
ay, 4 days a week, allowing for 32 hours of contact with the program per cy
cle; parents attended the program for 15 hours per cycle. Most youths were
referred for violent offenses and met criteria for conduct disorder. Result
s: Project Back-on-Track completers were significantly less likely than mat
ched controls to have committed subsequent criminal offenses at 12 months.
In addition, they had significantly fewer subsequent criminal charges at 9-
and 12-month follow-up intervals than the control group. By decreasing the
frequency of criminal recidivism, it is estimated that Project Back-on-Tra
ck resulted in savings to society of approximately $1,800 per youth enrolle
d after 1 year. Conclusion: At 1-year follow-up, findings suggest that trea
tment through Project Back-on-Track was effective in reducing criminal reci
divism and costs in a population of early-career juvenile offenders.