Program Overview And Youth & Family Resource Centers

In order not to expand Probation's scope beyond those youth its officers would normally supervise, the progam was limited to those youths declared wards of the Juvenile Court and placed under Probation Department supervision. In addition, they have three or more of the profile factors from the 8% studies that place them at great risk of become chronic offenders. Those factors include:

1. Significant family problems (abuse, neglect, criminal family members, and/or a lack of parental supervision and control)
2. Significant problems at school (truancy, failing more than one course, or a recent suspension or expulsion)
3. A pattern of drug and/or alcohol use
4. Delinquent peers, chronic runaway or pattern of stealing

The 8% Early Intervention Program focuses not only on high-risk youth, but extends to the minor's entire family. The parents' inability to adequately supervise and support their children was found to be a common factor among 8% minors.

The program's pilot phase began with youth from Anaheim and Buena Park in north Orange County, but with limited assistance from outside agencies. It was not until June 1998 that full services for youth and their families, augmented by state funds through the Repeat Offender Prevention Program, were being provided through a collaborative team of public and private agencies. These services are provided at the North Orange County Youth and Family Resource Center in Anaheim.

By early 1999, four additional Youth and Family Resource Centers opened in Orange County:

• A second North County site, located adjacent to the first one in Anaheim but tailored for older 8% youth under the state-funded 8% Challenge Program
• A Central Orange County site, based in Santa Ana
• A West Orange County site, now located in Westminster
• A South Orange County site, based in Aliso Viejo

Probation officers identify the appropriate cases. At these centers, collaborative agencies work as a team to assess the youth and devise a case planning strategy. Together, partners provide:

• An on-site school for junior high and high school students
• Transportation to and from home
• Drug and alcohol abuse counseling
• Mental health evaluations, with follow-up services
• Health screenings (north center only) and health education
• Employment preparation and job placement services 
• Afternoon programming, including recreation, life-skill classes, study hall, and community service projects
• At-home intensive family counseling for those families that can benefit from it
• Intermittent evening classes for the whole family, such as parenting classes
• Saturday activities twice a month in which teenagers do community service such as planting trees or helping at a seniors center, or go on supervised trips to the mountains, on fishing trips, or to museums

With the younger "8%" potential youth, the center program emphasizes the strengthening of the family unit, school attendance, academics, and teaching pro-social values. Youth are also held accountable for their actions, which can include paying restitution, fines, and community service.

The older high-school-age youth receive vocational guidance and work experience. In addiiton, they learn skills that will help them to live on their own, such as family budgeting and maintaining a check book.

Probation officers assigned to the program maintain very limited caseloads to enable them to spend more time with these difficult cases and to assist members of their immediate family. Caseloads are about 15 youths and families per officer, compared to an average of about 75 for generic juvenile caseloads.

Officers assigned to the 8% program also have an array of intermediate and graduated sanctions available to them short of incarceration in Juvenile Hall. Among them are weekend work assignments, detention, and community service.

The youth generally stay in the program for 12-18 months and afterwards can continue to be supervised by a probation officer and receive collaborative services even after returning to a traditional classroom setting.

Currently, 8% potential youth randomly assigned to the 8% Early Intervention Program from Anaheim, Buena Park, and Fullerton are being tracked and compared to "control" cases from the same area, but who are receiving standard probation supervision. The full program evaluation is due to be completed in 2002. For updated information on the program evaluation, see the evaluation section.

For more information on the Repeat Offender Prevention Program, the statewide juvenile crime intervention program spawned by Orange County's 8% studies, please consult the state Board of Corrections web site at www.bdcorr.ca.gov. In addition, the actual enabling legislation and a comparison of the seven county programs can be found in the book "The 8% Solution: Preventing Serious, Repeat Juvenile Crime" referenced earlier and available through Sage Publications at www.sagepub.com.