U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, Innovation - Partnerships – Safer Neighborhoods Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Serving Children, Families and Communities OJJDP Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders

Search For Strategies

The OJJDP DSO Best Practices Database is designed to assist States and localities in reducing and/or eliminating the detention and incarceration of status offenders. The database is an easy-to-use tool that offers strategies addressing a range of program types, including direct services and system change. Each program profile addresses the following topics: program or practice description, evaluation design, research findings, and references. Each program provides a contact for more information.

Search Tip: For a broader search, select fewer search criteria. Search results are presented in descending order, with those strategies most closely matching the specified criteria listed first.

For an alphabetical listing of all the DSO strategies in the database, click on “Browse all Strategies.”

 


Your search returned 101 results. 

The following is a list of 101 programs that might match your search criteria.
 

ADVANCED SEARCH

Abolish Chronic Truancy (ACT)
Abolish Chronic Truancy (ACT) is a Los Angeles County (Calif.) truancy-reduction program that targets elementary school children who have excessive absences. ACT started in 1991 in one school in South Central Los Angeles. In 1993 the program became f
Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action
Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action (an adaptation of the Active Parenting Teens Program) is a family-based alcohol-, tobacco-, and other drug (ATOD) abuse–prevention program that targets families with children entering middle school. The s
Adolescent Transitions Program
The Adolescent Transitions Program (ATP) is a multilevel, family-centered intervention targeting children at risk for problem behaviors or substance use and their families. Designed to address family dynamics related to the risk of adolescent problem
Adventure Diversion Program
The Adventure Diversion Program (ADP) is a community-based diversion program for juveniles who have violated probation and are at risk for out-of-home placement. The overall goal of ADP is reduce the number of out-of-home placements by improving pros
Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®)
Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®) concentrates on development of individual competencies to address various emotional and social aspects that contribute to aggressive behavior in youths. Program techniques are designed to teach youths how to co
Alcohol Misuse Prevention Study (AMPS)
The Alcohol Misuse Prevention Study (AMPS) was an alcohol misuse prevention curriculum for 10- to 18-year-olds. The curriculum emphasized resistance training, knowledge of immediate effects of alcohol use, identification of the risks of alcohol misus
ART for Adolescents in a Runaway Shelter
The Aggression Replacement Training (ART) program combines anger control training, social skills training, and moral reasoning education in an attempt to alter the behavior of chronically aggressive adolescents with antisocial behavior (ASB) problems
BBBS Community-Based Mentoring
Headquartered in Philadelphia, with a network of nearly 400 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves nearly 250,000 children in mentoring programs. The Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) Community-Based Mentoring (CBM) program is a o
Bicultural Competence Skills Approach
The Bicultural Competence Skills Approach is an intervention designed to prevent abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs by Native American adolescents by teaching them social skills. The program draws on bicultural competence and social learn
Boys Town
Boys Town (BT) Treatment Family Home program is a family-style residential group home program for delinquent youths ages 10–17. Founded in 1917 by Father Edward Flanagan to help about a half dozen troubled boys, the residential program still operates
Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention of College Students (BASICS)
BASICS—Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention of College Students: A Harm Reduction Approach—is a preventive intervention for college students 18 to 24 years old. It is aimed at students who drink alcohol heavily and have experienced or are at risk
Brief Strategic Family Therapy
Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT) is a family-based intervention designed to prevent and treat child and adolescent behavior problems. The goal of BSFT is to improve a youth’s behavior by improving family interactions that are presumed to be dire
California’s Shoulder Tap Decoy Operation
A 2006 survey conducted by the Los Angeles Police Department found that 46 percent of all minors who attempt to acquire alcohol use the “shoulder tap” method. A youth will stand outside the liquor store or market, tap an adult on the shoulder, and as
Camden City Curfew Project
Camden, N.J., introduced its curfew program in 2005, with full funding implemented in 2007. The program is the result of an innovative collaboration involving the community, law enforcement, city agencies, and social service providers and represents
Career Academy
Career Academies are schools within schools that link students with peers, teachers, and community partners in a disciplined environment, fostering academic success, mental and emotional health, and labor market success. Originally created to help in
Check & Connect
Check & Connect is a relationship-based intervention that seeks to reduce truancy and increase school completion by increasing students’ engagement with school and learning. Initially designed for urban middle school students with learning and behavi
Child Parent Centers Program
The Child–Parent Center (CPC) program is a school-based early intervention program that provides comprehensive educational and family support to economically disadvantaged children and their parents. It is one of the oldest federally funded preschool
Classroom-Centered Intervention
The Classroom-Centered Intervention (CCI) is a universal, first-grade preventive intervention designed to reduce risk for later conduct problems and disorder. In addition to enhancing classroom curricula and teachers’ instructional and behavior manag
Community Trials Intervention to Reduce High-Risk Drinking
The Community Trials Intervention to Reduce High-Risk Drinking (RHRD) is a universal, multicomponent, community-based program that aims to reduce underage drinking, binge drinking, and driving under the influence (DUI). The program uses environmental
Connecticut Families With Service Needs (FWSN)
In 1980 the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) was amended to include a valid court order (VCO) exception that allowed judges to incarcerate status offenders for violating a judicial court order that prohibits youths from engagin
Correct Course Diversion Program (Wayne County, Mich.)
Wayne County has acknowledged that disproportionate minority contact is a problem within the juvenile justice population, and a federally funded task force has been appointed to address the issue. One part of the transformation of the Wayne County ju
Creating Lasting Family Connections
Creating Lasting Family Connections (CLFC) is a comprehensive family strengthening and substance abuse and violence prevention curriculum designed to help youths and families in high-risk environments become strong, healthy, and supportive. CLFC serv
Detention Diversion Advocacy Program
First launched in San Francisco, California, in 1993, the Detention Diversion Advocacy Program (DDAP) provides detention case advocacy, intensive case management, and a comprehensive range of individualized, community-based services to youths who are
Families And Schools Together (FAST)
Families And Schools Together (FAST) is a multifamily group intervention program designed to build protective factors for children (ages 4 to 12), to empower parents to be the primary prevention agents for their own children, and to build supportive
Family Assessment Program
Until 2001, the system for handling status offenders (referred to as “person in need of supervision,” or PINS) in the State of New York treated only those youth under 16. Legislation reform passed in 2001 expanded the age of eligibility of the PINS s
Family Effectiveness Training
Family Effectiveness Training (FET) is a family-based program for Hispanics that targets family factors known to place children at risk. FET helps Hispanic immigrant families with children ages 6 to 12, particularly when the child is exhibiting behav
Family Keys PINS Diversion Program
Officials in Orange County, N.Y., realized that a 2001 change in the legislation governing status offenders, known as PINS or “persons in need of supervision,” would result in an influx of these cases into the county system. A collaborative effort by
Family Matters
Family Matters is a family-directed program that reduces tobacco and alcohol use among 12- to 14-year-olds. The intervention is delivered through four booklets mailed to the home and through follow-up telephone calls by health educators. The booklets
Family Solutions Program
The Family Solutions Program (FSP) is a family therapy program that employs a multiple-family group intervention (MFGI) format. The format is similar to an individual or family intervention in that it targets specific risk factors for change. But the
Fast Track
Fast Track is a comprehensive, long-term prevention program that aims to prevent chronic and severe conduct problems in high-risk children. The program targets children identified in kindergarten for disruptive behavior and poor peer relations. It is
Florida Children in Need of Services (CINS), Families in Need of Services (FINS)
Florida requires pre–court diversion and intervention services for alleged status offenders and their families before court involvement is even an option. In 1987 the Florida State Legislature established the Children and Families in Need of Services
Functional Family Therapy
Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is a family-based prevention and intervention program for high-risk youth that addresses complex and multidimensional problems through clinical practice that is flexibly structured and culturally sensitive. The FFT cli
Global Risk Assessment Device (GRAD)
Ohio provides an example of a juvenile court system that was not in compliance with the DSO provisions of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) and developed an instrument to expedite the case-processing of status offenders and
Hawaii Girls Court
The Hawaii Girls Court was one of the first courts in the nation to provide gender-specific programming designed to meet the needs and develop the strengths of female juvenile offenders and their families. Gender-responsive programming is increasingl
Healthy School and Drugs
The Healthy School and Drugs program is currently being used by from 64 percent up to 73 percent of Dutch secondary schools. It is organized at three levels. The school provides the first unit of organization. Each participating school is required to
HOMEBUILDERS
HOMEBUILDERS is an in-home, intensive family preservation service (IFPS) and reunification program for families with children (newborn to 17 years old) returning from or at risk of placement into foster care, group or residential treatment, psychiatr
I Mua Mau Ohana
I Mua Mau Ohana (Moving Families Forward) is a long-term residential treatment program that uses culturally appropriate treatment for Hawaiian and Asian and Pacific Islander adolescents who suffer from substance abuse and co-occurring disorders. The
Idaho Status Offender Mediation Program
The Status Offender Mediation Program in Twin Falls, Idaho, provides alternatives to court for youth alleged to be unruly, runaways, truant, or curfew violators. The objective is to prevent status offenders from committing more serious delinquency of
Job Corps
Job Corps is the nation’s largest federally funded vocationally focused education and training program for economically disadvantaged youths. Job Corps was established by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and currently operates under the provision
Juvenile Citation Program
The Juvenile Citation Program (JCP) provides intervention in early cases of delinquency for offenders ages 12–18 who commit misdemeanors, petty misdemeanors, or status offenses (including truancy, possession of alcohol, and running away). As part of
keepin’ it REAL (Refuse, Explain, Avoid, Leave)
The keepin’ it REAL program is a video-enhanced intervention that uses a culturally grounded resiliency model to incorporate traditional ethnic values and practices that protect against drug use. The goal is to teach students how to resist substance
Kern County Truancy Reduction Program
The Kern County Truancy Reduction Program (TRP) is a multifunctional, early-intervention program geared toward improving school attendance, academic performance, and social functioning among students. Created in 1989, the program is sponsored by the
Leadership and Resiliency Program
The Leadership and Resiliency Program (LRP) is an intensive substance abuse prevention program designed to serve adolescents (7–17) who are at risk for involvement with substance abuse, violence, or both and who are enrolled in mainstream or alternat
LifeSkills® Training
LifeSkills® Training (LST) is a classroom-based tobacco-, alcohol-, and drug abuse–prevention program for upper elementary and junior high school students. The goals of LST are to prevent tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug abuse by targeting key risk
Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers (LIFT)
Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers (LIFT) is an intervention designed to prevent the development of aggressive and antisocial behaviors in children within the elementary school setting (particularly first graders and fifth graders).
Lucas County Mediation Program
Since 1991, Ohio’s Lucas County Juvenile Court has used mediation to address the needs of “unruly” youth (those who commit status offenses) and their families and to divert these cases from formal court processing. The program expanded in the late 19
Maricopa County Community Justice Committees
Arizona’s Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Department implemented the Community Justice Committees (CJC) restorative justice program in 1995 to divert juveniles away from formal court processing. The program targets first-time and repeat offenders
Media Detective
Media Detective is a media literacy education and substance use prevention program for third through fifth grade students. The goal of the program is to prevent or delay the onset of underage alcohol and tobacco use by increasing students’ critical t
Media Ready
Media Ready is a media literacy education and substance use prevention program for sixth through eighth grades students. The goal of the program is to prevent or delay the onset of underage alcohol and tobacco use by increasing students’ critical thi
Miami–Dade Civil Citation Initiative
In the late 1990s the Florida Legislature enacted statutes that established the concept of Juvenile Assessment Centers (JACs). JACs were essentially processing centers that coordinated the different agencies that interfaced with arrested youth, givin
Michigan State Diversion Project
The Michigan State Diversion Project is a behavioral treatment program for arrested juveniles that uses college students as the principal caseworkers. The program is based on three recurring themes in research and program experience with juvenile off
Midwestern Prevention Project
The Midwestern Prevention Project (MPP) was a comprehensive, community-based, multifaceted program intended to prevent or reduce gateway substance use (alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana) during adolescence. The program strived to help youths recognize
Multidimensional Family Therapy
Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT) is a manualized family-based treatment and substance abuse prevention program developed for adolescents with drug and behavior problems and delinquency. It is typically delivered in an outpatient setting, though
Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care–Adolescents
Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) is a behavioral treatment alternative to residential placement for adolescents who have problems with chronic antisocial behavior, emotional disturbance, and delinquency. There are three versions of MTFC,
Multisystemic Therapy (MST)
The overriding goal of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is to keep adolescents who have exhibited serious clinical problems (such as drug use, violence, severe criminal behavior) at home, in school, and out of trouble. Through intense involvement and cont
Multnomah County School Attendance Initiative (SAI)
The goal of the Multnomah County School Attendance Initiative (SAI) is to help students in kindergarten through eighth grade attend school regularly—which increases high school completion—while nurturing cultural awareness and providing culturally ap
New Jersey Juvenile/Family Crisis Intervention Units (JFCIU)
New Jersey Juvenile/Family Crisis Intervention Units (JFCIUs) are authorized to divert family-related problems (e.g., incorrigibility, truancy, running away, serious family conflict) from court proceedings. JFCIUs provide short-term, crisis-intervent
New Mexico Children’s Code
In New Mexico the Children’s Code is the legislation that governs cases involving juvenile delinquents, status offenders, and cases of abuse and neglect of youth. The statue outlines the process to be followed when handling status offenders, neglecte
New York Persons in Need of Supervision (PINS) Diversion Program
Status offenders (youths who are truant, are ungovernable, or have run away from home) are known in the State of New York as “persons in need of supervision,” or PINS. The PINS system was established in 1986 as a way to divert status offenders from e
North Carolina Intensive Protection Supervision Project
The North Carolina Intensive Protective Supervision (IPS) Project involves caseworkers who work intensively (up to several contacts a day) with offenders and arrange for additional professional services when needed. The program is designed for status
Nurse–Family Partnership (NFP)
Nurse–Family Partnership (NFP) provides low-income, first-time mothers of any age with home-visitation services from public health nurses. The program addresses substance abuse and other behaviors that contribute to family poverty, subsequent pregnan
Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is a universal intervention developed to promote the reduction and prevention of bullying behavior and victimization problems. The program is based on an ecological model, intervening with a child’s environment
Parenting Wisely
Parenting Wisely (PW) is a self-administered, computer-based program that teaches parents and their children important skills to enhance relationships and decrease conflict through behavior management and support. The program is designed to improve c
Parenting with Love and Limits®
Parenting with Love and Limits® (PLL) integrates group and family therapy into one system of care for adolescent populations with the primary diagnosis of oppositional defiant or conduct disorder. Parents and teens learn specific skills in gr
Positive Action
The Positive Action (PA) program is designed to improve youth academics, behavior, and character. PA uses an audience-centered, curriculum-based approach to increase positive behaviors and decrease negative ones. PA is grounded in a broad theory
Practical Academic Cultural Educational (PACE) Center for Girls, Inc
Established in 1985, the Practical Academic Cultural Educational (PACE) Center for Girls introduced a gender-responsive, school-based program as an alternative to incarceration or institutionalization of at-risk adolescent girls in Jacksonville, Fla.
Prevention Through Empowerment in a Native American Community
Prevention Through Empowerment in a Native American Community is a prevention demonstration that combines several complementary strategies (a school-based cultural curriculum, training of teachers, development of a leadership core group, and a commun
Preventive Treatment Program
The Preventive Treatment Program (also known as the Montreal Longitudinal Study and as the Montreal Prevention Experiment) was a prevention program aimed at disruptive kindergarten boys and their parents, with the goal of reducing short- and long-ter
Project Northland
Project Northland is a school- and community-based, alcohol-use–prevention curriculum series that aims to prevent and reduce alcohol use and binge-drinking by middle and high school students. It aims to delay and moderate the onset of alcohol use, re
Project PACE
Project PACE (Participation And Cooperation in Education) is a prevention program designed to prevent the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug by providing a series of intensive interventions to at-risk fourth grade students and their families.
Project PATHE (Positive Action Through Holistic Education)
This universal, comprehensive school organizational change program is used in secondary schools to reduce school disorder and improve the school environment, thus enhancing student experiences and attitudes about school. The program seeks to reduce d
Project START (Stop Truancy and Recommend Treatment)
Project START (Stop Truancy and Recommend Treatment) is a community-based court intervention for reducing truancy in which courts, schools, and local health and human services agencies work in partnership. The major elements of the Project START mode
Project Toward No Drug Abuse
Project Toward No Drug Abuse (TND) is an interactive program designed to help high school youths (ages 14–19) resist substance use. This school-based program consists of twelve 40- to 50-minute lessons that include motivational activities, social ski
Project Venture
Project Venture is an outdoor/experiential program that targets at-risk American Indian youth. The program concentrates on American Indian cultural values—such as learning from the natural world, spiritual awareness, family, and respect—to promote he
Prosecutor’s Early Intervention Program (PEIP)
The Prosecutor’s Early Intervention Program (PEIP) was designed to address behavioral problems of children in prekindergarten through the sixth grade. The program was developed by the Family Services Division of the District Attorney’s Office in Loui
Raising Healthy Children
Raising Healthy Children (RHC) is a comprehensive primary prevention program that infuses social, emotional, and cognitive skill training into the classroom and school activities. It concentrates on enhancing protective factors with the goal of promo
Rensselaer County Multistrategy Approach
Under the leadership of Rensselaer County (N.Y.) Executive Kathleen M. Jimino, county officials, concerned citizens, and other interested groups formed the Rensselaer County Underage Drinking Coalition in 2001 to address the problem of underage drink
Runaway Intervention Program (RIP)
The Runaway Intervention Program (RIP) is a strengths-based home visiting, case management, and group support program for sexually assaulted or exploited young runaway girls. RIP was designed for runaway girls ages 12 to 15 and aims to reestablish po
San Diego County Breaking Cycles
San Diego County (California) Breaking Cycles (SDBC) is a multidisciplinary team approach designed to deter youth from becoming delinquent. The SDBC program has two main components: prevention and graduated sanctions. The program has three main goals
San Diego’s Beach Alcohol Ban
On Labor Day 2007, police in riot gear dispersed a hostile crowd on Pacific Beach in San Diego, Calif. When police went in to stop the use of a slip-and-slide, a group of beachgoers threw beer cans at them, and a police vehicle was pushed into the wa
Say It Straight
Say It Straight (SIS) is a communication/behavior skills program developed to prevent destructive behaviors and promote wellness in young people, parents, and other adults. The program targets destructive behaviors such as violence, risky sexual beha
School Health and Alcohol Harm Reduction Project
The School Health and Alcohol Harm Reduction Project (SHAHRP) is a school-based intervention incorporating evidence-based approaches to changing the behavior of students around alcohol use. The program aims to minimize harm, although delayed use and
Schools and Families Educating Children (SAFE Children)
Schools and Families Educating Children (SAFE Children) is a family-based comprehensive preventive intervention for children who live in innercity neighborhoods and are entering first grade. The goal of the program is to help families gain or increas
Second Step®: A Violence Prevention Curriculum
Second Step®: A Violence Prevention Curriculum is designed to reduce impulsive and aggressive behavior in children by increasing their social competency skills. The program is composed of three grade-specific curricula: preschool/kindergarten (Pre/K)
SNAP® Under 12 Outreach Project
The SNAP™ (Stop Now And Plan) Under 12 Outreach Project (SNAP™ ORP) is a specialized, family-focused intervention for boys under age 12 who display aggressive and antisocial behavior problems. The primary goal of the program is to keep at-risk boys i
South Dakota's Collaborative Effort
In late 2006, South Dakota’s Department of Public Safety, its Department of Human Service, and the State Attorney General’s Office formed an action group to reduce injury and death associated with underage drinking. Their strategy was multifaceted an
St. Louis Truancy Court
The St. Louis (Mo.) County Truancy Court is a voluntary diversion program in which schools, families, and students may choose to participate before a student’s absence from school becomes so severe that the school must refer the case to Family Court
Staying Connected with Your Teen
Staying Connected with Your Teen (SCT) (formerly Parents Who Care) is a seven-session universal prevention program that addresses substance abuse and problem behavior in adolescents. The program is based on the social development model (Catalano and
STEP (School Transitional Environmental Program)
STEP (School Transitional Environment Program) is a school organizational change initiative that seeks to decrease student anonymity, increase accountability, and enhance students’ abilities to learn school rules and expectations. The program propose
Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10–14
Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10–14 (SFP 10–14) is an adaptation of the Strengthening Families Program for parents and their adolescent children. The adapted program aims to reduce substance use and behavior problems during ad
Strengthening the Bonds of Chicano Youth and Families
Strengthening the Bonds of Chicano Youth (El Proyecto de Nuestra Juventud) is a comprehensive, multilevel, community-based, and culturally appropriate program designed to meet the prevention needs of rural Chicano youth in Central Arizona who
Strong African American Families (SAAF)
Strong African American Families (SAAF) is a parental training and family therapy program grounded in social bonding and control theories. The program works to strengthen the attachment between parent and child to reduce the likelihood of youth invol
The Incredible Years
The Incredible Years aims to reduce challenging behaviors in children and increase their social and self-control skills. The program involves teachers, parents, and their children who are at high risk or diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (
the truth® campaign
The truth® campaign is a national smoking prevention campaign that uses advertisements with anti-tobacco messages targeted at youths ages 12 to 17 who are most at risk of smoking. Young adults ages 18 to 24 are an important secondary audience. The tr
Too Good for Drugs
Too Good for Drugs (TGFD) is a long-term, school-based prevention program designed to reduce students’ intention to use alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs. Developed by the Mendez Foundation for use with students in kindergarten through 12th grade (
Truancy Abatement and Burglary Suppression (TABS)
The Truancy Abatement Burglary Suppression (TABS) Program is a collaborative effort among the Milwaukee (Wis.) Police Department, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, and Milwaukee Public Schools. Established in November 1993, TABS uses a com
Truancy Assessment and Service Centers (TASC)
The Truancy Assessment and Service Centers (TASCs) were designed to provide early identification, rapid assessment, and intensive truancy reduction services to at-risk students in grades kindergarten through 5. The TASC program targets children most
Truancy Prevention Through Mediation Program
The Truancy Prevention Through Mediation Program (TPTM) was implemented in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1999 as a preventive effort to reduce school absenteeism. The program consists of facilitated truancy mediation sessions with the teacher and parents
Truancy Response and Intervention Program (TRIP)
The Truancy Response and Intervention Program (TRIP) is a truancy program coordinated by the Weld County (Colo.) Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC). The truancy intervention program is targeted at students attending school in 1 of the 10 participating
Truant Recovery Program
The Truant Recovery Program is a collaborative effort between the school district and all community police jurisdictions within its boundaries. The program is preventive rather than punitive. Its primary task is to return truant students to school as
Washtenaw County Status Offense Diversion Program
The Washtenaw County Status Offense Diversion Program was implemented in 2002 in Ann Arbor, Mich. The program serves Washtenaw County youths ages 6 to 17 who are referred to juvenile court for nondelinquent behavior, including educational neglect, in
 
  

 

OJJDP Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders Best Practices Database
The OJJDP Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders Best Practices Database  was created and developed by Development Services Group
under Cooperative Agreement #2008-JF-FX-0072.