Reducing delinquency through service

Abstract

This National Service Fellows report by Everette B. Penn, Reducing Delinquency Through Service, attempts to provide empirical support for volunteering and service as a tool to reduce juvenile delinquency. Through an examination of the literature on the Quantum Opportunities Program and Big Brothers Big Sisters, as well as Boys and Girls Club of America, the researcher concludes, "service does inspire, promote and support delinquency-prevention activities." Principles for effective service programs are highlighted.

Issue

Finding methods and implementing programs that will reduce juvenile delinquency.

Action

According to National Fellow, Everette B. Penn, researchers and practitioners have identified six principles underlying effective programs for youth:

Adult support, structure and expectations
Creative forms of learning
A combination of guidance and rich connections to the workplace
Support and follow-up
Youth as resources
Implementation quality

Methodology

Over a nine-month period, qualitative methods were used to answer the research question: "How does service reduce delinquency in 'at-risk' youth aged ten to seventeen?"

Literature from the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) was used as a source for the best delinquency reduction programs for youth and especially the Blueprints for Violence Prevention Series, the combined work of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice (CDCJ), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Pennsylvania Council on Crime and Delinquency. In 1996, these agencies "initiated a project to identify ten violence prevention programs that met a very high scientific standard of program effectiveness -- programs that could provide an initial nucleus for a national violence prevention initiative" (McGill, 1997, p. xiv).

Evaluation standards required:

strong research design,
evidence of significant deterrence effects,
sustained effects, and
multiple site replication.

From over 400 programs, the "Blueprint" researchers found ten to be the best, and two of the ten programs had some form of service to the community as part of their program: Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) and Quantum Opportunities Program (QOP).

The Quantum Opportunities Program serves disadvantaged youth by focusing on educational and developmental activities, as well as community service. QOP focuses on three primary areas:

Educational activities: Tutoring, homework assistance, computer-assisted instruction
Developmental activities: Life and family skills, future career and educational opportunities
Community service: The program takes place in the community under the supervision of a caring adult, who serves as a mentor.

QOP students attend high school and complete 750 hours of activities in the three areas, as follows:

Learning Opportunities (250 hours) These hours consist of self-paced and competency-based academic skills enhancement outside of regular school hours.
Development Opportunities (250 hours) These hours consist of cultural enrichment and personal development. Youth visit museums and concerts, read and discuss current affairs, as well as learn about their own history and culture. Students also receive a personal subscription to Time Magazine. They learn time management, how to get along with others, as well as the importance of setting goals and ways to accomplish them.
Service Opportunities (250 hours) Youth are required to complete service projects in their own community. The objective of these projects is to develop skills needed for employment reliability, task completion and working cooperatively. Service projects include tutoring elementary students, neighborhood cleanup, volunteering in hospitals, nursing homes, libraries, and human services agencies.

The program has financial incentives in order to encourage participation, completion and long-range planning. Participating youth are given an hourly stipend of $1.00 to $1.33 for each hour of the 750 hours completed, and a completion bonus of $100.00 for each activity component completed. This results in a possible total of $300.00 per year in bonuses. In addition, an "opportunity account" is created which matches the earned funds of each youth dollar for dollar over the four years in the program. At the end of the four years, youth can use the funds, (including interest) for college, job training, technical training, or other approved educational expenses.

Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS)

Established in 1904, BBBS is the oldest youth mentoring organization in the United States, and provides on-on-one mentoring between adult volunteers and children at risk. BBBS youth range between the ages of ten to fourteen, with the majority being minority boys. Most youth live with only one parent or guardian. BBBS places a trained, caring adult who has passed a series of background and personal history checks with a youth for one year. The relationship is informal, but supported by a professional staff in the local BBBS office. The professional staff assists in arranging the match, setting goals, and maintaining open communication between the agency, parent, child and volunteer.

The nonprofit public interest group, Public/Private Ventures, conducted evaluation research on Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) in 1992 and 1993. When researching the service aspect of BBBS, it was found that two prongs of service were occurring. As stated by a BBBS administrator, "We find that our adult volunteers are already interested in service. So, as an activity, many of them take their 'Little' along to their service activities." (BBBS staff interviews, 2000). Thus, the first prong is the initial service by the adult volunteer (volunteering to be a mentor or role model). The second service prong is the youth being exposed to service through a positive role model.

Although not identified as one of the ten "Blueprint" programs, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (B&GCA) provided additional data related to programs in the community using service to reduce delinquency.

Findings/Summary:

From an examination of the Quantum Opportunities Program, Big Brothers and Sisters of America as well as the Boys and Girls Club of America, the following conclusions can be made (Penn, 2000):

Service takes place in "at risk" programs, but only on a cursory basis.
A financial incentive is necessary for youth participation.
Caring adults are necessary for a specific time period.
In many minority populations, there is a negative association with service to the community.
Problems exist in recruiting adult volunteers who come from the same gender, environmental and racial background as youth.
A central location is necessary for a program's identity and success.
The "Continuum of Service for 'At-Risk' Youth" is a useful gauge where children and youth are involved in service.

Context

The theoretical framework for reducing delinquency through service comes from criminology theories originating at the University of Chicago during the early 1900's. This work promoted policies that enhanced community through service.

The research of Shaw and McKay was the impetus for the first community service-based youth program: Chicago Area Project (CAP). This program intended to encourage community development through promotion of family life and social institutions filling the needs of the impoverished. (Binder, et. al, 1997). This was accomplished through the involvement of community volunteers, community organizers, churches and other community-based organizations. Research indicates that the project was associated with lower rates of delinquency, especially in African American and Hispanic neighborhoods (Scholossman, Zellman, and Shavelson, 1984).

The work of Sutherland in 1947 stated that "criminal behavior is learned" in "intimate personal groups" and that from these associations a person learns the motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes of criminal or non criminal behavior. Therefore, a youth will be more likely to follow the law if he or she is associated with law-abiding persons.

Further support for positive law-abiding associations can be found in Hirschi's "social control theory," (1969) that documented four elements that have relevance to why people bond to society: attachment, involvement, commitment, and belief.

Citation

Penn, Everette B. Reducing Delinquency Through Service. Washington D.C.: Corporation for National and Community Service, July 2000.

Outcome

Penn's Reduction of Delinquency Through Service Model is a theoretical model based on empirical findings and literature in the field.

The intent of this model is to provide the basis for service, community involvement, bonding and delinquency reduction. The premise statements are as follows:

Service is good for the individual, community and the nation.
A positive role model is necessary for the development of youth.
Resources from government agencies are available to promote service in the community.
Youth should be empowered when serving the community.
Incentives increase service while providing benefit to the youth and the community.
Service is beneficial when it takes place by all people in the community.
Service bonds persons to the community.
Therefore, service has an effect of reducing delinquency and crime.

Additionally, the researcher used Delve, Mintz and Stewart's 1990 work, "Promoting Values Development Through Community Service: A Design," to create a "Continuum of Service for 'At-Risk' Youth," that details gradations of service -- from "no volunteering" to "service self-actualization." The goal of this design is to provide a guide for youth workers, agencies, parents and youth to determine the magnitude of involvement in service and to have as many "at-risk" youth as possible fall in the "service" or above category.

Evidence

According to Penn's research, service inspires, promotes, and supports delinquency-prevention activities. The service component of those programs that did have service in their methodology was considered to be a positive effect in the overall reduction of delinquency.

Posted On

June 2, 2004

Resources

From The Resource Center library:

Reducing Delinquency Through Service

Item number: R1497

Source Documents

Reducing Delinquency Through Service

Related Practices

No related practices

Quantum Opportunities Program

Big Brothers Big Sisters

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