A counseling program for delinquent teenagers was developed in 1969-70 to serve four public high schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Liaison Teacher-Returnee Counselor Project was designed to provide continuous support to delinquent juveniles after their release from state institutions. Former teachers from the institutions and special counselors…

The results of four studies conducted to measure the effectiveness of Clinical Rehabilitation Support Teams (Project CREST) are summarized. Professional counseling was provided to delinquent youths, as were regular probation services--a dual-treatment model. Studies indicate that clients in the CREST program have consistently shown decreased…

Effects of model status and offender type on imitation of self-reward criteria were examined. Immature-inadequate and gang-oriented offenders viewed videotapes of models who were either stringent or liberal in self-reward criteria and were either staff members or peers. Subjects viewing the liberal model rewarded themselves more. (Author)

Families can help delinquents change. Behavioral family contracting applies the social learning approach to a series of family agreements or contracts. It provides structure, a natural system for learning and changing, commitment, and responsibility. (Author/LHW)

Reviews the rationale for social skills training with delinquents. Describes one program that uses discussion, modeling, role-playing, positive reinforcement, and shaping. Presents four scales for behavioral assessment to access social skills, assertion/aggression, violation of minor rules and regulations, and evaluation of the program by each…

Reviews various social learning and counseling approaches utilized by psychotherapists in one-to-one clinical behavior therapy. Behavior analysis, family contracting, and social skills training are used as are other office-based clinical behavior therapy techniques to help delinquents change. (Author/LHW)

Presents the social learning approaches in group homes for delinquents as an alternative to institutionalization. Describes two behavioral group homes that are not only effective but cost less than institutions. (Author/LHW)

The paper reviews problems in implementing P.L. 94-142, the Education For All Handicapped Children Act, in juvenile corrections and describes the strategies adopted by the Los Angeles County Juvenile Court Schools to meet the needs of incarcerated youth. Future directions are considered. (CL)

A brief description is presented of a school for delinquent boys that attempts to change the student's attitude toward his former educational experiences. The boys, ages 10 to 16, are from the Pittsburgh area. (MF)

Family intervention is shifting from an informal alternative in treatment of juvenile offenders to a formal adjudicatory option. The politically expedient move was not based on conclusive empirical data. Without evaluation of family intervention strategies, such strategies are likely to proliferate with little control over possible unfortunate…

Shows how a multimodal treatment approach that utilizes a broad range of behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, and psychological skills training methods can eliminate assaultive behavior among incarcerated juvenile offenders. The study found that those youths who received the multimodal treatment showed significant or at least considerably better…

Investigated effectiveness of expanded juvenile court services (job preparation, outdoor experiential, and family skill building components) program versus traditional probation supervision in reducing probationer offense activities of adolescent offenders (n=45). Found intervention failed to yield desired effects although experimental subjects…

By introducing creative writing to preadolescent and adolescent youth in a detention center in Missouri, the program hoped to change their perceptions of their lack of language skills. The leader separated idea generation from mechanical composition. The variety of activities provided opportunities to make each participant feel valued and…

A former client of the juvenile justice system argues that neither punitive attack nor passive inaction will cause delinquency to go away. Research suggests the use of early delinquency as an opportunity to alter the trajectory of a life headed toward crime. Rather than focusing on recidivism, researchers should focus on successful rehabilitation.…