Changing Lives: Prevention and Intervention to Reduce Serious Offending

• NCJ Number: 243993
• Author(s): Phil Bulman
• Date Published: August 2014
• Length: 8 pages
• Publication Series: OJJDP Justice Research Series
• Grant Number(s): 2008-IJ-CX-K402
• Agencies: OJJDP; NIJ
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance); Program/Project Description
• Award: Study Group on Violence and Serious Offending in Late Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Annotation

This bulletin assesses early childhood, juvenile, and early adulthood programs that have achieved measurable impacts on offenders in early adulthood or up to age 20.

Abstract

Family-based programs target risk factors such as poor child rearing. Psychologists deliver some programs and public health professionals deliver others. Family-based programs for young children and for adjudicate delinquents are profiled. Another section of the bulletin addresses school-based prevention programs. Only three school-based prevention programs have shown that they have reduced offending in early adulthood. The school-based prevention programs profiled are the Seattle Social Development Project, which combines parent training, teacher training, and skills training for children; the Montreal Longitudinal-experimental Study, which combines skills training, parent training and teacher support; and the Good Behavior Game, which encourages children to learn how to regulate their own and their classmates' behavior; another category of programs described consists of peer- and community-focused programs. Peer- and community-focused programs are peer-focused programs that prevent offending through the influence of delinquent friends while increasing the influence of healthier friends. Other types of programs described target individual-level risk factors for offending in early childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. The National Institute of Justice's CrimeSolutions.gov uses proven research to determine what works in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services. Ratings are provided for "effective" program types and "promising" program types.