Diverting multi-problem youth from juvenile justice: investigating the importance of community influence on placement and recidivism
Behavioral Sciences & the Law, Volume 25, Issue 1, Pages 137 - 158 Special Issue: Current Directions
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Zachary K. Hamilton, Christopher J. Sullivan, Bonita M. Veysey, Michele Grillo
"In the US, diversion has increasingly become one of the most utilised alternatives to detention of delinquent youth. Programmes providing diversion can vary greatly and such variations make it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of programme outcomes. This study examines variations in outcome for ten programme sites of the New York State MH/JJ Diversion Project. Programme and youth predictors were evaluated on two outcomes: out-of- community placement and recidivism. At the individual level, significant mental health and substance abuse problems, age, prior placements, and use of wraparound funds were predictive of youth placements, while significant substance abuse problems were predictive of recidivism. Programme variations were found to have a significant impact on youth outcomes. Study results and implications for future research are discussed." [Sub required]