Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.
Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 12:18 pm
Time: 12:18 pm
Results for youth training centers
2 results foundAuthor: Casey, Sharon Title: Review of Programmes in Youth Training Centres. Part 1: Literature Review Summary: This report contains a detailed account of the published literature relevant to the delivery of effective programmes in youth training centres. This is important for several reasons: first it has been established that some programmes offered to offenders, even when delivered with the best of intentions, can work in opposite ways to those intended. In other words, some programmes increase, rather than decrease, the risk of a young person reoffending. The best examples of this comes from programmes like ‘Scared Straight’ (where young offenders are taken into adult prisons in an attempt to deter them from further offending), and boot camps (highly structured, physically challenging, residential programmes often run on paramilitary lines). Whilst significant efforts and resources have been allocated to the development and delivery of these types of programmes, evaluations have consistently shown that they do not produce the types of outcomes that they were intended to produce. In short, then, it is not always wise to trust our intuitions or personal beliefs about ’what works’ best for juvenile justice clients. Rather there is a need to evaluate different programmes against standard criteria, and base decisions about which programmes to offer on the basis of what can be shown to be the most effective. Indeed, this is the idea that underpins the notion of evidence based practice, and most health and justice organisations around the world would now subscribe to this approach to service delivery. That is not to say that programmes that have not been evaluated do not work, rather that we do not know whether they work. There is clearly an important role for development and pilot programmes, but these programmes should not form the basis for service delivery. By offering programmes that can be demonstrated to be effective, service providers become accountable to external agencies, young people and the community, and all stakeholders can have confidence in the quality of the services being offered. In this review, the evidence base underpinning effective programmes for young offenders is described. Evidence can come not only from programme evaluations, but also from theories about the causes of juvenile crime. Indeed researchers have shown that programmes that are based on a coherent theory are around six times more effective than programmes that are not. As such the first part of the review is dedicated to a review of different theories of crime. The focus here is on developmental theories of crime (that is, understanding how criminal behaviour changes as people grow older) as these are considered to be the most appropriate types of theory to guide programming decisions in youth justice. A number of different developmental theories are described, although there are many similarities between each of the theories. Each theory seeks to explain the way in which biological, individual, familial, social, and community and cultural factors interact with life events to create a situation where offending may occur. Such theories have led to the identification of both risk and protective factors for offending and how these may change at key transitional points (for example, starting school; moving from primary to high school; leaving school). This work is important as it suggests, theoretically, that if programmes and services can either reduce the number of (or intensity of) risk factors, or increase the number of protective factors, then they are likely to be effective in reducing the probability of a young person offending. In other words the theories offers important suggestions about what programmes should aim to change. There is now a reasonable body of evaluation research documenting the outcomes of a range of different types of programmes with young offenders. At the same time there are still many gaps in the literature – some of the research is conducted with older age groups (for example, young offenders are classified as from ages 15-21 years in some countries), and there is very little published research on effective programmes either for young women or for those who identify as from indigenous cultural backgrounds. However, evaluations have shown that programmes are more effective when they have certain characteristics, such as the types of person , the areas of functioning , and the methods used to bring about that change. For example, the most effective programmes are offered to those young people who are at the most risk of re-offending, address those areas of need that are most closely associated with the reasons why they offend (for example, substance use, associating with other offenders), and are delivered in ways that match the learning styles of adolescents (for example, structured and skills focussed). Perhaps unsurprisingly the most effective programmes are also delivered by highly trained staff who are well supported in their work. It is, however, clear that specialist programmes for juvenile offenders need to be developed such that they are age and developmentally appropriate. Programmes cannot simply be imported in from adult correctional settings. There is a limited research base from which to examine specific types of programmes, and in this review programmes for violent offenders, sexually aggressive offenders, and substance use are considered separately, along with the evidence for more generic programmes (such as cognitive skills and social skills programmes), programmes to improve family functioning (such as fostering programmes and multi-systemic therapy), and educational and vocational achievement. It is concluded that all of these programmes have an important role to play in any approach that seeks to meet the needs of youth justice clients. However, one programme is unlikely to meet all of the needs of a young person, and supplementary programmes targeting other areas (for example, health and education) also have an important role to play. Whilst this report is a review of the scientific and research literature, and has been written in an academic way that attempts to adequately describe the current knowledge base, the hope is that it will provide a stimulus for readers to think about how this evidence might inform their own practice. What is clear from this review is that the starting point for any review of programmes in the youth training centres has to be the theoretical and empirical evidence from Australia and internationally relating to what is currently known about what will work best for youth justice clients. In conclusion then, it is important for those involved in programme design and delivery to have some awareness of the literature reviewed in this report. Details: Adelaide: Guardian for Children and Young People, 2008. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 20, 2012 at: http://www.sapo.org.au/pub/pub10623.html Year: 2008 Country: International URL: http://www.sapo.org.au/pub/pub10623.html Shelf Number: 123691 Keywords: Correctional Program, JuvenilesJuvenile CorrectionsJuvenile OffendersYouth Training Centers |
Author: Day, Andrew Title: Review of Programmes in Youth Training Centres. Part 2: Consultation and Recommendations Summary: Over the last five years there has been much discussion in South Australia, and other parts of the country, about the ways in which government agencies can, and should, respond to the needs of those young people who are considered to be at risk, particularly those who are considered to be at risk of offending or re-offending. It is well known and widely accepted that young people who are categorised in this way are likely to have particularly high levels of unmet need across multiple areas of functioning, with ongoing difficulties related to substance use, mental health, family functioning, educational attainment, as well as specific needs in relation to their offending behaviour. The development of age and culturally appropriate services to meet this diverse range of needs in a timely manner presents a considerable challenge to government agencies and other service providers. Each Australian state and territory manages young offenders in a slightly different way. In South Australia, responsibility for the provision of juvenile justice services (remand, detention and the administration of all youth justice dispositions from the court) lies with the Department for Families and Communities, and specifically Families SA. There are two youth training centres in South Australia, Cavan and Magill, accommodating children and young people from the ages of 10 through to 18. In 2006-07 there were 1011 admissions to secure care representing 500 young people. Families SA has the lead responsibility for the provision of programmes to young offenders, through the relatively recently established Youth Justice Directorate. Since its inception the Directorate has shown a strong commitment to the delivery of interventions that are both needs focused and effective in preventing re-offending in the context of meeting its obligations to young people under the 1993 Young Offenders Act. This report has been prepared at the request of the Guardian for Children and Young People in South Australia. This is a statutory position that reports to the Minister for Families and Communities, and has a mandate for intervention that extends to all children and young people under guardianship or custody orders, including those in secure care on youth justice orders. The Guardian has an important role to play in informing the development of services in this area, and thus commissioned this review of programmes offered in youth training centres in South Australia. The need to review and develop programmes has, however, also been identified by the Youth Justice Directorate as a key improvement area in the Training Centre Action Plan, and by others such as the Social Inclusion Unit, and the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Youth Justice System (SA). Part 1 of this report is dedicated to a comprehensive review of the scientific literature relating to theories and practice in youth justice. This review has been written to provide an up to date account of the current status of evidence relating to programmes that are offered to clients of the Directorate that are intended to reduce the risk of further offending. In any organisation that aims to be ‘evidence-based’, it is important that decisions around the structure, management, and delivery of programmes are made in the light of what is currently known about programme effectiveness. Evidence can take two forms: theories and models about how to understand the reasons why young people offend, and hence their likely need for intervention; and evaluations and trials of programmes that have been used with juvenile justice clients. Developmental theories of crime consistently suggest that antisocial behaviour is the strongest underlying causal factor for criminal behaviour. These theories stress the socialisation process and subsequent social bonds that the young person forms as being paramount to the development of pro-social behaviour and, in our view, are particularly appropriate theories for accounting for juvenile offending. Part 2 of the review reports the findings of a series of consultations with a range of stakeholders, both government and non-government, about the current provision of services and programmes to youth justice clients. Representatives from a range of services and agencies (identified through discussion with the Guardian and the reference group) were invited to take part in the review. These included the Families SA Directorate of Youth Justice, Kumangka Aboriginal Youth Services, Victim Support Services, Social Inclusion Unit Department for Premier and Cabinet, Justice Strategy Unit Department of Justice, Breaking the Cycle (Families SA), Central Community Legal Services, Youth Affairs Council of SA, and Service to Youth Council. In addition focus groups were conducted with residents of both the Cavan and Magill Training Centres, and centre staff members were invited to respond to a questionnaire about the social climate of the centres. Whilst the primary focus of the consultations was on the provision of programmes and services within the youth training centres, it was immediately apparent that broader issues relating to the availability of community programmes, the legal context underpinning any work in youth justice, and the range of services offered by external agencies, were all of direct relevance to the types of programmes that might be both possible and appropriate within the centres. The term ‘programme’ as used in this report requires some clarification. It is used to refer to specific forms of intervention which aim to meet particular objectives, particularly those relating to the reduction in risk of re-offending. Programmes are therefore distinguished from ‘activities’ which are not necessarily goal directed. This definition is somewhat narrower than that proposed by Families SA in its draft Subprogram Development and Implementation Guidelines (November, 2007) which describes programmes as those services provided or coordinated by the agency as a result of the requirements of the juvenile justice system (although we note that one of the aims identified in the Training Centre Action Plan is to ‘engage children and young people in programmes and interventions which challenge and reduce their offending’). Details: Adelaide: Guardian for Children and Young People, 2008. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 20, 2012 at: http://www.sapo.org.au/pub/pub10623.html Year: 2008 Country: Australia URL: http://www.sapo.org.au/pub/pub10623.html Shelf Number: 123692 Keywords: Delinquency PreventionJuvenile CorrectionsJuvenile Offenders (Australia)Youth Training Centers |