NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
ERIC Number: ED339935
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1991-Nov-13
Pages: 43
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Project About Face: The Effect of an Educational Program on Recidivism.
Petry, John R.; And Others
The primary objective of Project About Face, a program of Youth Services, Inc., is to reduce the rate of recidivism among juvenile offenders assigned to the program by the Juvenile Court of Memphis/Shelby County, Tennessee. Another purpose is to establish a profile of the type of offender who would be most likely to benefit from the academic, physical training, and counseling components of the project. As of the date of this report, 135 juveniles in cohort groups of 15 youths have been admitted to the program because they were convicted of offenses related to the manufacturing, distributing, and selling of cocaine. This study examined only Groups 2-6, which together totalled 75 subjects, since these were the first groups for which pretest and posttest data were collected. Assessments were conducted to determine severity of risk for substance abuse, hedonistic risk-taking orientation, perceived purpose in life, moral reasoning, grade level, and physical fitness. Data analysis revealed the typical participant to be a 16-year-old black youth, whose educational level was the 9th grade, who was enrolled in school, was from a single parent family, had siblings, had an average of 3.7 arrests before being arrested and assigned to Project About Face, and who was not using cocaine at the time of arrest. It was found that: involvement in the academic program produced significant changes in three of the six groups; all groups improved in one or more of the exercises in the physical training component; and some gains, for example, in Principled Thinking, resulted from the counseling component. However, these gains were limited to only two groups. The rate of recidivism for this population (32%) is about the same as the rate for groups not in a program of this nature. A reordering of priorities is recommended such that staff would spend less time on the easier physical training area and more on academics and on a counseling component that would cut back on the number of areas covered but would focus more deeply on those that remained. Group schedules, instruments used in data collection, and a sample data log are appended. (LLL)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A