Evaluation of the Juvenile Breaking the Cycle Program in Lane County, Oregon, 2000-2002 (ICPSR 4339)

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Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose

The Juvenile Breaking the Cycle program (JBTC) was implemented in 1998 by the Lane County Department of Youth Services (DYS). The JBTC model was expected to be an improvement upon existing treatment and rehabilitation interventions for drug-involved juvenile offenders because juvenile offenders tend to have co-occurring psychological and behavioral problems that require multi-faceted approaches. In particular, JBTC built upon what had been learned about the implementation and effects of programs that attempted to integrate substance abuse treatment with other programmatic interventions (mental health, family, etc.) and monitoring activities (urine analysis, court monitoring, etc.). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the JBTC program on interim and longer-term outcomes such as adherence to program requirements, results of urine testing, school performance, and rearrest for new offenses.

Study Design View help for Study Design

The impact of the Juvenile Breaking the Cycle program (JBTC) was assessed by evaluating the outcomes of a sample of 306 juveniles who were risk assessed by the Lane County, Oregon Department of Youth Services (DYS) between April 15, 2000, and November 15, 2001. Of the 306 juveniles recruited into the study, 149, or 49 percent, were enrolled in JBTC, and 157, or 51 percent, were not enrolled in the JBTC program. Juveniles were identified as substance involved (alcohol and/or other drug, or AOD) following an encounter with police that led to either an arrest or a citation. Following the police encounter, a juvenile was either turned over to DYS or cited and released. Those sent to DYS were processed by intake personnel, who administered a risk assessment. If the assessment identified the juvenile as having AOD problems and as high risk, the juvenile was assigned to JBTC. Juveniles were considered to be high risk if their total risk scores were above ten. However, in some cases intake staff would override a risk score below ten and classify a juvenile as high risk. Typically, this occurred to ensure a juvenile would receive treatment when the juvenile had a high score on the drug component but scored relatively low on the other components. Three waves of interviews were conducted, and administrative data were collected on a baseline sample of 306 juveniles. Parental consent was obtained prior to interviews, and the juveniles were also asked to consent to the interview. The baseline interview, with 306 respondents, occurred within about 1 month of the juvenile receiving risk assessment at DYS. The second interview, with 208 respondents, was conducted approximately 6 months after the baseline interview. The third interview, with 183 respondents, was conducted approximately 6 months after the second interview, or 12 months after the baseline interview. The baseline interview took about 30 minutes, and the follow-up interviews took between 1 and 1.5 hours to complete. Respondents were given gift certificates for local shopping malls as compensation for their participation. Administrative data, including demographic characteristics, risk assessment scores, and additional data on criminal history were obtained from DYS. Data describing substance abuse treatment and mental health counseling episodes were collected from the Oregon Client Process Monitoring System (CPMS). These data were used to verify the respondents' history of substance abuse treatment and mental health counseling. Data from the Oregon Youth Authority's Juvenile Justice Information System (JJIS) were used to determine the extent to which those participating in the study were involved in the juvenile justice system and to verify the respondents' history of contact with the juvenile justice system. All measures of delinquency reported in this study exclude the instant offense, which is the arrest that led to the juvenile being eligible to participate in the study.

Sample View help for Sample

A quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent comparison group was used to evaluate the impact of the Juvenile Breaking the Cycle program (JBTC). During the baseline recruitment period, approximately 925 juveniles were administered risk assessments by the Lane County, Oregon Department of Youth Services (DYS). Of these, 306 (33 percent) were approached and agreed to participate in the JBTC program evaluation study. Those interviewed included 50 percent (146 of 290) of the juveniles who were in the JBTC and 25 percent (160 of 635) who were not. The JBTC participants differed from the non-JBTC participants on many of the measures that historically have been associated with higher rates of recidivism and substance abuse. The JBTC participants were assessed as being more likely to be higher risk, to have more extensive and more serious criminal histories, to report alcohol and/or other drug use (AOD) and to have begun at an earlier age, to have been in treatment or a shelter prior to assessment, to have family members with criminal records and serious alcohol or drug problems, and to report being diagnosed with a mental health problem more than non-JBTC participants.

Universe View help for Universe

All juvenile offenders in Lane County, Oregon from April 15, 2000 to November 15, 2001

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Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

These data contain demographic variables on the respondent including age, gender, race, where they live (in a house, apartment, shelter, etc.), with whom they live, and the primary source of their caregiver's income. Further information on the respondent includes JBTC program assignment, substance abuse risk score, total risk score, and DYS risk assessment status. Respondents were asked about their history of alcohol and/or other drug use including lifetime use, age at first use, frequency of use in the past 6 months, and frequency of use in the past 30 days of the following: tobacco products, alcohol, marijuana, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, amphetamines, inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, barbiturates/tranquilizers, and designer drugs (ecstasy, etc.), and if they had ever received any alcohol and/or drug treatment or education. Respondents were also asked if they had ever been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), bi-polar disorder, anger management issues, post traumatic stress disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder, and if they had ever received any in-patient or out-patient mental health treatment. To assess their prior contact with the juvenile justice system, respondents were asked about their prior arrests, age at first arrest, and prior time on probation, in detention, on parole, or in a diversion program. Respondents were asked about family history of severe drug or alcohol problems, criminal background, contact with family members, and relationship with family members. Respondents were also asked about their school status (enrollment, grades, days missed, etc.), involvement in gang activity, involvement in sexual activity, whether they carried a weapon (gun, knife, stick, etc.), and whether they had ever been threatened with or threatened someone with a weapon. Data collected from DYS include the number of drug tests the respondent had taken between the baseline interview and 6-month follow-up interview and between the 6-month follow-up interview and the 12-month follow up interview, as well as the number of positive drug tests and the drugs that the respondent tested positive for.

Response Rates View help for Response Rates

Baseline interviews were completed by 306 of 925 study-eligible juveniles for a response rate of 33 percent. A total of 208 6-month follow-up interviews and 183 12-month follow-up interviews were completed for subject retention rates of 68 percent and 60 percent, respectively.

Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales

Several Likert-type scales were used.

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Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

2006-09-21

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