Intermediate Sanctions  

for Juvenile Offenders:

A Utah Juvenile Court Case Study

Background

In an effort to reduce juvenile recidivism — the return to criminal behavior after leaving the juvenile court— authorities in Utah implemented a new statewide intermediate sanction system in which each district could choose a treatment component. Noting the high rate of substance abuse among juvenile offenders,the Fourth District Juvenile Court chose to implement the Narconon program through a Utah licensed notfor-profi t called NewLife, integrating it within court-directed probation services.

The Narconon outpatient substance abuse treatment program, based on secular materials developed by L. Ron Hubbard, consists of a series of modules that address physical aspects of substance abuse as well as underlying social and life skills that may be defi cient in these youths. Participants complete a precise detoxifi cation program designed to eliminate drug cravings by improving nutritional status and utilizing low heat sauna to reduce body stores of drug residues. The detoxifi cation phase is followed by a series of social education modules designed to improve individual abilities in communication, study skills, cognitive function and ethical decisions. Participants also study a non-religious moral code.

This program was implemented in partnership with court offi cials and probation offi cers in the Utah Fourth District Juvenile Court, in the context of implementing new juvenile sentencing guidelines under the 1997 State Supervision Mandate. Juvenile court probation offi cers also played a treatment provider role by monitoring case progress through intensive ongoing contact with each juvenile, increasing family participation in treatment services, creating written correction plans, and applying justice actions to any anti-social behavior that occurred during the course of program delivery. The court hoped to reduce the rate at which these youth penetrated deeper into the justice system, and to achieve a reduction in placement costs.

Select to view PDF document