Discrimination in the Handling of Juvenile Offenders by Social Control Agencies

This study provides a partial test of the importation and deprivation models of prisonization by examining inmate subcultures in ten different cottage units in four institutions for juvenile offenders. A typology of juvenile institutions based on both the correctional goals pursued and the methods of intervention and social control distinguishes four different treatment models used in institutions for juveniles. Matching and controlling for the effects of differences in inmates' background characteristics within and between settings, the study describes the relationships between the formal organizational structure and respective inmate culture. The study demonstrates a clear and consistent rela tionship between the formal and informal organizations: The more custodial and punitive settings had inmate cultures that were more violent, more hostile, and more oppositional than those in the treatment-oriented settings. The crucial organizational differences were in the extent to which staff members contained and controlled subterranean inmate violence by encouraging the communication of information about the activities within the inmate sub culture.

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The Implementation of an Intensive Aftercare Program for Serious Juvenile Offenders

Criminal Justice and Behavior ◽

10.1177/0093854897024003002 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 332-359 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

LYNNE GOODSTEIN ◽

HENRY SONTHEIMER

Keyword(s):

Juvenile Offenders ◽

Service Delivery ◽

Social Control ◽

Critical Period ◽

Program Design ◽

New Model ◽

Successful Model ◽

Implementation Period ◽

Successful Innovation ◽

Client Responses

This article presents the results of a study of the implementation of an intensive aftercare probation (IAP) program developed in Philadelphia. In addition to presenting program design and standards, the article discusses issues involved in effecting a successful innovation. These include (a) the transition from the old to the new model of supervision, (b) evolution of the IAP's mission and philosophy, (c) applications of the evolved model, (d) unanticipated conditions affecting program operations, and (e) client responses to the IAP program. The program experienced difficulties in several areas. A critical period occurred in which there was a breakdown in service delivery, officers apparently had difficulty understanding and adjusting to the new organizational norms implicit in the program's mission, and program goals and philosophy were not articulated clearly by program planners. Nevertheless, over the course of the implementation period, a successful model incorporating social control and rehabilitative elements was developed and stabilized.

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