Prepare a written analytical report (3–4 pages) on any juvenile delinquency treatment program in any community of your choice. Assess the juvenile delinquency program that you selected to improve it or perhaps add more programs to supplement and support it. Many communities want alternatives to incarceration like community outreach, counseling, and after school jobs for juveniles, but may not know if programs like these are successful.
Your report should include the following:
- What is the name of the program you are assessing?
- Where is the program located?
- Have there been any studies completed on the effectiveness of the program you are reviewing for the assignment? What were the results of these studies? If no studies were done, would this have been informative?
- What (if any) positive impact is the program providing for the community and the delinquents?
- Will the program help to curb juvenile delinquency? Why?
- What are the negative aspects of the program you reviewed?
- Give specific suggestions for improving the program (“none” is not an appropriate answer here; there are always manners in which programs can be improved).
- Explain your reasoning for supporting or eliminating the program.
Be sure to reference all sources using APA style.
Introduction to Program Evaluation Do not be intimidated when you are asked to analytically assess the effectiveness of a juvenile program. Program assessment involves evaluating the success or worth of program activities that are intended to have a favorable outcome. It is called program evaluation. You will use basic steps to evaluate your chosen program. This tutorial will provide an overview of the basic steps. Select a Program to Evaluate First, you must select a juvenile program to evaluate. If you are not sure which program to evaluate, then the following are topics for you to select from:
• Juvenile boot camps
• Group home facilities
• After-school programs
• Foster home programs
• Residential youth services
• Youth delinquency programs
• Youth diversion programs
• Juvenile offender programs
• Juvenile mental health facilities
• Individualized education plan (IEP)
• Commitment program for juveniles
• Juvenile mentoring (e.g., Big Brothers or Big Sisters)
• Any youth program from your city that you want to evaluate Find Information About the Program There are many ways to search for information on your selected topic. The following are three sample search engines for you to use. As an exploratory example, enter the term “juvenile boot camp” into all three of the following search engines to see what pops-up:
• National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS)
• AIU Library (you must be logged in to your account)
