ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the literature by examining a sample of juvenile males who participated in a therapeutic community to determine if participation in treatment reduced the probability of incarceration. It summarizes the limitations and findings and to provide policy implications and suggestions for future research. One promising avenue for treating the substance-abusing offender is a therapeutic community. Although research for adult offenders has shown that therapeutic communities may reduce recidivism by as much as 13 percent, the research on therapeutic communities for juveniles is limited. Many studies have examined the effectiveness of therapeutic communities in reducing recidivism for adults; however, few research studies have been conducted on juvenile offenders and their success with therapeutic communities. The therapeutic community provides many opportunities for positive reinforcement in the form of privileges and verbal praise; however, the problem lies with the types of punishments that were issued.
