Evaluation of Florida's Avon Park Youth Academy and STREET Smart Program, 2002-2008 (ICPSR 37111)

Version Date: Sep 7, 2018

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Principal Investigator(s):
Robert DeComo, National Council on Crime and Delinquency; Tim Matthews, Eastern Kentucky University

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37111.v1

Version V1

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Summary

The Evaluation of Florida's Avon Park Youth Academy and STREET Smart Program, 2002-2008 contains data gathered on youth involved in programs which aim to increase educational outcomes, increase labor force participation, and reduce recidivism.

Avon Park Youth Academy (APYA) is a secure custody residential facility that provides specialized, remedial education and intensive vocational training to moderate risk youth committed to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). The STREET Smart program (SS) was the reentry component of the program, which provided community support and educational and vocational services to APYA participants on a voluntary basis after their release to the community. In the last several years, APYA/SS has received national and international recognition as a "Promising Program" for juvenile offenders. Both the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) determined that a rigorous evaluation was required to assess whether APYA/SS could progress from a "Promising Program" to an "Evidence-based Practice."

To conduct this evaluation, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) designed and conducted a field trial that randomly assigned youth committed to DJJ to the APYA/SS program or a control group. This experimental design permitted a rigorous test of the hypothesis that compared to the control group, APYA/SS participants would demonstrate more positive educational achievement, increased labor force participation, and reduced recidivism outcomes after community release.

The 360 youth assigned to the experimental control group stayed at APYA for an average of 9.7 months from 2002-2005. Of these, 301 youth completed participation in the SS program by March 2006. The youth were observed for a three-year period after their community release dates. This included an interview following release from incarceration to collect data on educational achievements, employment, and justice system program experiences. All subjects had reached the 36-month follow-up threshold as of May 2008.

Citation

DeComo, Robert, and Matthews, Tim. Evaluation of Florida’s Avon Park Youth Academy and STREET Smart Program, 2002-2008. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2018-09-07. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37111.v1

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Funding

United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2005-JK-FX-0010)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

County

Restrictions

Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2002 -- 2008

Date of Collection

2006-05 -- 2008-03
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Study Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Avon Park Youth Academy and the STREET Smart Program at increasing educational attainment, increasing labor force participation, and reducing recidivism rates among juvenile offenders.

Study Design

The post-release subject interviews combined telephone and face-to-face interviewing techniques to minimize costs and reduce the attrition rate. A subject tracking and interview schedule was constructed based on a standardized follow-up period of 44-48 months (a four-month window) from the time of random assignment. Respondents were asked to identify and evaluate vocational services they received during residential placements and aftercare and report criminal behavior and arrests after their release.

Sample

Random assignment procedures were successfully implemented. Assignment produced a sufficient sample size (369 experimental and 345 control youth) to detect relatively modest treatment effects, and the experimental (APYA) and control groups were equivalent in terms of critical pre-assignment characteristics including criminal history and demographics.

Following random assignment, control group youth were placed in one of 49 DJJ residential programs located across the state. While these programs varied widely by program type, they all included some educational and/or vocational training components. The average length of residential stay was 8.5 months. Control group youth were not eligible for SS after community release, but they did receive reentry services typically available to DJJ clients. Findings for the study are based on an intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis of all randomly assigned subjects (369 experimental and 345 control youth).

Time Method

Longitudinal: Panel: Interval

Universe

To be eligible for this study, youth had to meet the following criteria:

  • Be between 16 years old and 18 years, three months;
  • Be moderate risk level;
  • Have an IQ of at least 70;
  • Demonstrate a need for or interest in vocational training and/or have the ability to pass the GED;
  • Be free of significant mental health diagnosis and/or psychotropic medication;
  • Not have a significant substance abuse problem (i.e., not recommended for residential substance abuse treatment) nor any history of inhalant abuse;
  • Not have a history of escape from residential placement or absconding from supervision;
  • Not have a history of aggressive behavior;
  • Not have any chronic, pre-existing medical condition requiring a doctor's supervision (see Appendix A for the screening instrument used for determining study eligibility).

Unit(s) of Observation

Individual

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables

The post-release subject interview questions were designed to examine educational attainment, employment and income, training and certifications, job search activities, household status (residence and family), health status, and self-reported arrests after youth were randomly assigned to APYA or control groups. Participants were also asked to describe and evaluate their program experiences (e.g., extent to which program participation enhanced job-related skills) and the services they received during secure placement and after release.

Response Rates

Out of 477 asked to complete a post-release subject interview, 237 were non-respondents.

Presence of Common Scales

Scales include Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI), The Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC), and Adolescent Psychopathology Scale (APS).

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Original Release Date

2018-09-07

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Weight

None

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Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

  • One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.