ABSTRACT
The majority of juveniles committed to state-managed residential facilities and training schools are serious, chronic offenders. They will eventually be released to the community through parole and onto aftercare. Previous research has shown that recidivism rates among juvenile parolees are unacceptably high, ranging from 55 to 75 percent ( Krisberg, Austin, & Steele, 1991 ). A large percentage of previously incarcerated juvenile offenders continue their criminal involvement into adulthood. A major portion of the problem is that an already overburdened juvenile corrections and aftercare system is increasingly likely to face the kind of youths whom the system had either ignored or failed: serious, chronic offenders. What is needed with this population are effective intervention, intensive supervision and services, a focus on reintegration while incarcerated, and a gradual transition process that utilizes community resources and social networks. This includes aftercare planning, parole officer contact during the institutional phase, and community-based providers working within the residential setting. The latter would include multifamily counseling and life skills services, supervised trips to the community, overnight or weekend home passes, substance abuse services, and money management skills. Virginia, Colorado, and Nevada are implementing such efforts ( Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2000 ).
