Adolescent Behavior, Juvenile Delinquency Unspecified, Substance Abuse
Conditions
Brief summary
Arizona has created a pilot program for juvenile probationers called Juveniles under Supervision and Treatment (JUST), which includes swift and certain, but modest responses, to technical violations of the terms of juvenile probation. JUST targets high- and medium-risk juvenile probationers and its stated objective is to reduce violations and overall incarceration of youth in the program. The JUST pilot is being implemented under the authority of the Arizona Governor's Office for Children, Youth and Families (GOCYF) and the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC).
Detailed description
Arizona's Juveniles Under Supervision and Treatment (JUST) Court is a pilot project initiated by the Arizona Governor's office. It is designed to test whether the principles of Swift, Certain, and Fair (SCF) Supervision-clear rules, close monitoring, and swift and certain, but modest, penalties for each violation can succeed when applied to juveniles under community supervision. The Arizona Administrative Office of the Courts piloted JUST in two counties: Yavapai and Yuma. The Yuma program was launched in March 2011. The goal of JUST is to (a) reduce the violation rate so as to reduce the number of petitions filed to revoke probation (the purpose is to reduce the use of juvenile detention), and (b) reduce recidivism overall. All juveniles in Yavapai are supervised under JUST (evaluation using an RCT is therefore unfeasible). JUST in Yuma is now being scaled up, which affords the opportunity for an RCT. The goal of the RCT is to compare the performance of youth supervised under JUST with those supervised under probation-as-usual.
Interventions
OTHERJUST
Swift, certain, and proportionate sanctions for violations of terms of community supervision.
Sponsors
University of California, Los Angeles
Pepperdine University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
13 Years to 17 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Newly probated * At least 13 years old * No older than 17 years and 3 months * At least nine months remaining on supervision * Must be on standard probation with a supervision level of moderate to maximum * Must be able to participate in the program for at least nine months
Exclusion criteria
* Not meeting all inclusion criteria * Sex offender * Dangerous offenses
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of days served in detention | followup at 6 months | Number of days served in detention |
| Recidivism | followup at 6 months | Number of new arrests (overall, and by type) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Other technical violations | followup at 6 months | Number of other technical violations |
| Truancy | followup at 6 months | Number of days truant |
| New dispositions | followup at 6 months | Number of new dispositions, by (type) |
| Substance use | followup at 6 months | Results of urinalysis screens from routine testing and research-based testing |
| Failure to appear | followup at 6 months | Number of no-shows for probation appointments |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed