Background: Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) are strongly overrepresented in young offender populations, and there is growing commitment internationally to ensuring access to speech-language therapy services for such young people. However there is currently no framework in which such interventions might be conceptualized, delivered…

Learning about restorative justice involves examining conventional thinking about crime (or wrongdoing generally), values in relation to how people associated with wrongdoing are treated, and best responses when a wrongdoing occurs. In this introductory article, the author highlights key developments in the restorative movement and main…

Youth with disabilities are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system and tend to be repeat offenders. Current intervention strategies have produced differential effects between those with and without disabilities. Yet, little research has been done to examine the differences between these two populations regarding risks for and patterns of…

Criminologists, lawmakers, policymakers, educators, and others discuss juvenile delinquency and recidivism and note the relationship to adult offending and cost factors. Poverty, peer relations, family life, and school are risk factors that have been linked to define the problem of juvenile crime. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to…

Transition-age students with disabilities under the jurisdiction of the juvenile justice system face serious transition and rehabilitation challenges as they reenter the community from youth detention. This article presents the initial outcomes of a demonstration project utilizing the Rehabilitation, Empowerment, Natural supports, Education and…

The demand for effective approaches to prevent juvenile delinquency is growing. This bulletin provides information on the Westminster's (CA) Strategic Home Intervention and Early Leadership Development (SHIELD) Program, a promising and effective approach to delinquency prevention. By improving coordination among law enforcement; school systems;…

In 1995, the Texas Legislature mandated the formation of Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Programs (JJAEPs) to serve adjudicated youth in counties with a population of 125,000 or more. Some less-populated counties formed their own JJAEPs. This paper presents a comparison of these voluntary programs to the mandated programs. Of the 22…

Reviews the types of treatment facilities being utilized by youth facilities nationwide and their practices regarding self-mutilating residents. Results indicate varied frequencies of self-harming behavior. Findings suggest that departments that chose to take responsibility for stabilizing mutilating adolescents as a distinct group express greater…

Over 5,200 youths processed through a Juvenile Assessment Center during a 20-month period were involved in this study of recidivism predictors. Significant relationships were found between the youths' demographics, dependency referral factors, delinquency referral history variables, and recidivism. Direct implications for service delivery and…

This study evaluated a multiple-family group-intervention program (MFGI) for first-time juvenile offenders. The recidivism rate for subjects who completed the MFGI (the Family Solutions Program) was compared to recidivism rates of two other groups of first-time juvenile offenders. Using logistic regression analysis predicting who will recidivate,…

Canadian counselors working with young offenders confront at least two problems that interfere with effective intervention: a trend toward increased incarceration, and public confusion and mistrust over approaches to reducing crime. Research during the past decade is beginning to show clearly that programs for young offenders and other at-risk…