The Multi-site Evaluation of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative Characteristics of Prisoner Reentry Programs for Juveniles

• NCJ Number: 221094
• Author(s): Laura Winterfield; Susan Brumbaugh
• Date Published: October 2005
• Length: 4 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2003-RE-CX-K101; 2004-RE-CX-0002
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Award: Multi-site Evaluation of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative - Phase II; The Evaluation of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry

Annotation

This paper presents findings from a multisite evaluation on the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) programs that serve juveniles only, and highlights organizational characteristics, approaches to service coordination, and special service components.

Abstract

This paper has shown that the juvenile Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) programs are run by government agencies and focus equally on pre- and postrelease. They tend to be targeted geographically but are inclusive in their population and service focus. Most programs employ a continuity-of-care model that involves staff and community members working with juveniles both before and after release. This approach, combined with the provision of “wrap around services” reported by most programs, indicates that the SVORI juvenile programs appear to be incorporating best practices recommended by the juvenile programmatic field. The SVORI multisite evaluation, conducted by RTI International and the Urban Institute and funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, provides brief and practical information on SVORI programs and interim evaluation findings. This paper describes SVORI programs exclusively serving juveniles along various dimensions that characterize their reentry approaches. Findings were based on data gathered from a June 2005 survey of the SVORI program directors. Tables