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. These types of programs are detailed below:

Alternative School: Alternative schools are essentially specialized educational environments that place a great deal of emphasis on small classrooms, high teacher-to-student ratios, individualized instruction, noncompetitive performance assessments, and less structured classrooms. The purpose of these schools is to provide academic instruction to students expelled or suspended for disruptive behavior or weapons possession, or who are unable to succeed in the mainstream school environment.

Day Treatment: Day treatment facilities (or day reporting centers) are highly structured, community-based, postadjudication, nonresidential programs for serious juvenile offenders. The goal of day treatment is to provide both intensive supervision to ensure community safety and a wide range of services to the offender to prevent future delinquent behavior. The intensive supervision is fulfilled by requiring the offender to report to the facility on a daily basis at specified times for a specified length of time. Generally, programs are provided at the facility during the day and/or evening at least 5 days a week. Special weekend activities may also be conducted.

Drug Court: A drug court is a type of specialty court established within and supervised by juvenile courts to provide specialized services for eligible drug-involved youth and their families. In general, drug courts provide (1) intensive supervision over delinquency and status offense cases that involve substance-abusing juveniles and (2) coordinated and supervised delivery of an array of support services necessary to address the problems that contribute to juvenile involvement in the justice system. The services typically include: substance abuse treatment, mental health, primary care, family, and education.

Gun Court: A gun court is a type of specialty court that intervenes with youth who have committed gun offenses that have not resulted in serious physical injury. Most juvenile gun courts are short-term programs that augment rather than replace normal juvenile court proceedings.

Home Confinement w/wo EM: Home confinement or house arrest—with and without electronic monitoring (EM)—is a community corrections program designed to restrict the activities of offenders in the community. This sanction allows offenders to remain in their homes, go to work, run errands, attend school, and maintain other responsibilities. However, their activities are closely monitored (either electronically and/or by frequent staff contacts) to ensure that they comply with the conditions set by the court. Offenders placed under home confinement are restricted to their residence for varying lengths of time and are required to maintain a strict schedule of daily activities.

Probation / Intensive Supervision: Traditional probation is a disposition in which youth are placed on informal/voluntary or formal/court- ordered supervision. Intensive supervision programs (ISPs) are community-based, postadjudication, nonresidential programs designed to provide restraints on offenders in the community. ISPs differ from traditional probation in that they are characterized by higher levels of contact with probation officers or caseworkers, smaller caseloads, and strict conditions of compliance. ISPs generally encompass a wide variety of risk control strategies, including multiple weekly face-to-face contacts, evening visits, urine testing, and electronic monitoring. Most ISPs also incorporate the delivery of a wide range of services to address offenders' needs.

Mental Health Court: A mental youth court is a type of specialty court for seriously mentally ill children who have become involved in the criminal justice system. It generally involves the judiciary, probation department, district attorney, public defender, county counsel, and service providers in a collective approach to diagnose mental health disorders, triage the offenders, and provide treatment services for youth and families.

School-Based Probation: School-based probation is a program partnership between juvenile probation departments and local schools that places probation officers directly within the confines of the school. The program targets students who have been charged with delinquent offenses and/or are under the supervision of the court. The benefit of school-based probation is that it increases the contact between the officers and the youths. Being located in the school also permits officers to check attendance, discipline records, and other information about probationers on a daily basis, as well as to check with teachers about academic progress. Consequently, officers develop more substantial personal relationships with youths, resulting in improved communication and understanding.

Therapeutic Treatment Approaches: Therapeutic treatment approaches are interventions that may come in many forms, but generally adhere to behaviorism, social learning, or cognitive behavioral models that are designed to reinforce prosocial behavior. Some specific types of treatment approaches include: individual therapy, anger management, problem solving, behavior modification, group therapy, multimodal treatments, multisystemic therapy and individualized case planning.

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