Family Factors in the Delinquency Puzzle

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of different family factors on juvenile delinquency. Specifically, this thesis examined parental monitoring, attachment to parents, and family structure by investigating their single and combined effects on delinquency. In addition, the current study addresses the effects family factors have on different levels of delinquent behavior. Four hypotheses were tested. The first one, suggests that children living in single-parent homes will exhibit higher levels of self reported delinquency than those in two-parent families. The second states that attachment to both mothers and fathers will have an impact on delinquency. The third proposes that high levels of parental monitoring will lead to lower levels of self-reported delinquency. The final hypothesis involves a combined model, including attachment and monitoring as a better predictor of delinquency than family status. Data was collected from a sample of 5,935 eighth-grade students attending public schools in eleven different sites across the country, during the spring of 1995. Results of regression analysis strongly supported three hypotheses and yielded limited support to the fourth. Specifically, children from single-parent homes reported higher levels of self-reported delinquency than did children from two-parent homes. Moreover, strong attachments and high parental monitoring revealed lower levels of delinquency. In addition, a model containing both parental attachments and monitoring was a better predictor of delinquency than family status alone. However, the significance of single parent families did not drop significantly with the addition of the new variables. The discussion provides possible explanations for the family differences that were found. The present study reemphasizes the need to examine the combined impact of family factors on delinquent behavior

Correctional Innovation: Working to Identify Pockets of Excellence from an Administrative Point of View

Prisons contain the most marginalized members of society with regard to race, ethnicity and social class; the addition of a “special” classification (e.g., elderly, HIV positive, noncitizen) dramatically exacerbates their marginalized status. Varying widely in type, size, needs, and programming, special populations require unique, and often costly, management and care strategies. Decades of get-tough sentencing have resulted in exponential increases in correctional costs, with current state correctional budgets topping $52 billion (Pew, 2009). With widespread economic shortfalls in state budgets, it is fast becoming a struggle for prison administrators to provide basic food, housing, and medical care to their growing populations much less effective programming. The current project provides a comprehensive national assessment of management strategies for administratively identified high-risk specialized correctional populations and the programs and services in place to address their needs. Existing areas of promising correctional innovation were identified through in depth interviews with state correctional wardens culminating in an online survey sent to all state correctional institutions. Results will highlight administratively identified high-risk correctional populations and the current evidence-based strategies used to manage and treat such populations