Juvenile Justice Girls: Pathways to Adjustment and System Use in Young Adulthood

Youth placed individually in well-trained and supervised foster homes. Basic components: (a) daily telephone contact with TFCO parents; (b) weekly foster parent group meetings focused on supervision, training in parenting practices, and support; (c) an individualized behavior management program implemented daily in the home by foster parent; (d) individualized skills training for the youth; (e) family therapy for aftercare family focused on parent management strategies; (f) close monitoring of school attendance, performance, and homework completion; (g) case management to coordinate TFCO, family, peer, and school settings; (h) 24-hour on-call staff availability to TFCO and biological parents; and (i) psychiatric consultation. Services typically last approximately 6 months.

Group Care is the usual service for youth placed in out-of-home care for chronic delinquency in Oregon. These programs represented typical services for girls being referred to out-of-home care by the juvenile justice system and had 2-51 youth in residence (M = 21) and 1-50 staff members (Mdn = 2); most also had onsite schooling. Although the programs differed somewhat in theoretical orientations, 86% reported that they endorsed a specific treatment model, of which the primary philosophy was a behavioral (70%), eclectic (26%), or family-style therapeutic approach (4%). Services typically last approximately 6 months.