Intermediate Interventions are programs that hold youth accountable for their actions through more restrictive and intensive interventions (nonresidential or residential), short of secure care. Intermediate sanctions are appropriate for juveniles who continue to offend following immediate interventions, youth who have committed more serious felony offenses, and some violent offenders who need supervision, structure, and monitoring but not necessarily institutionalization.

The use of intermediate sanctions rose from a skepticism with regard to the wisdom and cost associated with the residential treatment of a subgroup of offenders who seemed to pose no real threat to the community. In fact, studies have shown that juvenile facilities are housing significant numbers of youth who pose no significant threat to community safety and who could be managed as effectively in less restrictive and less costly programs and settings (Boersema, 1998; Jones and Krisberg, 1994). Moreover, a concentration on social control has several negative consequences. First, it is exceedingly expensive (Dunlap and Roush, 1995). Second, it places more juveniles in institutions that are already dangerously overcrowded. Finally, out of home placement does little to correct the delinquent behavior. Generally, out-of-home placement fails to address the known determinants of serious antisocial behavior and fails to alter the natural ecology of the home (Henggeler, 1998). Moreover, research demonstrates that any gains made by juvenile offenders in correctional facilities quickly evaporate following release because youths are often released back to disorganized communities where it is easy for them to slip back into their old habits that resulted in arrest in the first place (Deschenes and Greenwood, 1998). In fact, large percentages of serious juvenile offenders continue to commit crimes and reappear in the juvenile justice system (Krisberg, 1997).

Because of these negative consequences from the overuse of secure facilities, many jurisdictions are pursuing alternative options to residential facilities for serious offenders (Roush and McMillen, 2000). The use of effective alternatives assures that youth who do not require secure care can be supervised in less costly programs thus reserving secure care space for the most serious offenders (DeMuro, 1997; Guarino–Ghezzi and Loughran, 1996). This approach requires juvenile justice systems to examine closely the allocation of resources toward managing public safety and meeting the needs of the greatest number of juveniles. It considers and implements a variety of intermediate interventions.

References

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