Sustaining families, dissuading crime: The effectiveness of a family preservation program with male delinquents

Purpose

Family factors have long been considered an important contributor to the criminogenic process. Family Preservation (FP) programs attempt to improve family functioning and, thereby, dissuade future delinquency. Despite years of delivery, the limited research concerning the influence of FP programs on juvenile delinquency remains inconclusive.

Methods

This study examined the effectiveness of an FP program implemented in a metropolitan county of a large Southern state. Subjects were adjudicated male juveniles referred to the program by the courts. Recidivism outcomes for FP participants were compared against those of a simple random sample of non-participants.

Results

Findings suggest that FP does not impact recidivism among study participants. Issues with treatment fidelity may be responsible for the lack of results for this program.

Conclusion

These findings fail to lend support to the FP program. However, they do demonstrate the importance of treatment fidelity in juvenile justice programming.     

Optimizing risk mitigation in management of sexual offenders: a structural model

Sexual violence is an insidious and pervasive problem that insinuates itself into all aspects of contemporary society. It can neither be mitigated nor adequately controlled through current socio-legal practices. A more promising approach must embrace four integrated elements: (1) public policy, (2) primary prevention, (3) statutory management, and (3) secondary intervention. In the present paper we tackle the 3rd and 4th elements by proposing an integrated model for reducing and managing sexual violence among known sex offenders. Relying on the highly effective Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model as the core of our Sex Offender Risk Mitigation and Management Model (SORM³), we draw together evidence based practices from clinical interventions and risk assessment strategies. Developed by Andrews & Bonta (2006), RNR has a strong empirical track record of efficacy when applied to diverse samples of offenders, including sex offenders (Hanson, Bourgon, Helmus, & Hodgson, 2009). We offer a detailed structural model that seeks to provide a more seamless integration of risk assessment with management and discretionary decisions, including a primary focus on RNR-based post-release aftercare. We end with the mantra that sex offender treatment alone will never effectively mitigate sexual violence in society, since the problem is not confined to the handful of offenders who spend time in prison and are offered some limited exposure to treatment. Any truly effective model must go well beyond the management of those known to be violent and embrace a comprehensive and integrated approach that begins by recognizing the seeds of sexual violence sown by society. Such a public health paradigm places victims - not offenders - at the center, forcing society to come to address the full gamut of hazards that fuel sexual violence.     

Realizing ‘Political’ Neutrality

Political liberalism is supposed to be neutral among reasonable comprehensive doctrines, including comprehensive liberalism. Some critics think that it implicitly assumes comprehensive liberalism. I argue that political liberalism has the resources to avoid this charge and chart a path between sectarianism and unprincipled accommodation that allows a range of policy justifications onto the political agenda of a scope that honors the ideal of neutrality.     

Gender, social support, and depression in criminal justice-involved adolescents

Knowing where criminal justice-involved teens look for support and whether those supports reduce depression has important and possibly gender-specific treatment implications for this vulnerable population. This study examines the relationships between social support and depression in a mixed-gender sample of 198 incarcerated adolescents. Greater support from families and overall and greater satisfaction with supports predicted lower depression for boys and girls. Support from siblings and extended family strongly predicted lower depression; support from parents and from friends was either not related or only weakly related to depression. Girls reported higher levels of depression, more support from friends and extended family, and less support from parents than did boys. Family, sibling, and overall support were stronger predictors of depression for girls than for boys. Results suggest that nonparent family members, especially siblings and extended family, provide important emotional resources for teens in the criminal justice system.     

LC-MS-MS analysis of buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine in whole blood from suspected drug users

A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method is described for the analysis of buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine in whole blood. Linearity was achieved between 0.2-5 ng/g for buprenorphine and 0.5-5 ng/g for norbuprenorphine. Stability studies on spiked whole blood and an authentic sample showed no degradation of buprenorphine- and norbuprenorphine-glucuronide to their respective aglycones. Buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine showed some degradation when stored at 4°C for three weeks, but was stable when stored at -20°C for 4 weeks. The method was applied to forensic cases of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) and petty drug offences (PDO) during 2007-2009. Out of 2459 cases analyzed, 322 were positive for both buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine (13%), 219 for buprenorphine only (9%), and 12 for norbuprenorphine only (0.5%). The mean and median concentrations (N=322) were 1.7 and 1.0 ng/g, respectively, for buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine. The mean and median norbuprenorphine/buprenorphine ratios were 1.5 and 1.1, respectively. There was no significant difference in concentration ratios for DUID and PDO cases (p>0.05). We conclude that the described method for analysis of buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine in whole blood could be used to investigate use or misuse of buprenorphine but that many of the cases presented with very low concentrations of buprenorphine. We also conclude that analysis should be performed within two weeks unless samples are stored frozen prior to analysis.     

Perceptions of Safety in Intimate Relationships: Group Differences Based on Gender and Setting

Intimate partner violence continues to be prevalent, resulting in negative consequences for the individuals involved and for society as a whole. Perceptions of safety in relationships where intimate partner violence is present is an understudied topic in the literature. The Safety Assessment of Future Events Scale (SAFE) was developed to assess respondents’ perceptions of safety in their intimate relationship. The purpose of this study was to examine whether group differences existed on respondents’ SAFE scores. 428 participants from community and clinic samples completed the SAFE and other measures contained in a southwest university’s marriage and family therapy clinic intake packet. ANCOVA was used to control for gender and setting in determining if group differences existed on the SAFE based on measures assessing interpersonal violence, relational adjustment, intrapersonal symptoms, and PTSD symptoms. Results indicated group differences based on gender, interpersonal violence victimization, and relational adjustment.     

The Independent Medicare Advisory Committee: death panel or smart governing?

This comment explores whether health care reform legislation establishes an administrative body effectively charged with the rationing of health care resources; insofar as it establishes a presidentially appointed Independent Medicare Advisory Committee (IMAC). IMAC would be charged with "making two annual reports dictating updated rates for Medicare providers including physicians, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health, and durable medical equipment." IMAC's recommendations would be implemented nationally, subject to a Congressional vote. Congress would be granted a thirty-day window to achieve a simple majority for or against the IMAC recommendations. Part I is an introduction. Part II of this article covers the history of American health care. It lays out the federal government's evolving role in the arena of public health and health care, starting in the mid-nineteenth century and continues up to the present day. Part III examines the existing process by which Medicare spending is controlled. This part focuses on the administrative procedures that control Medicare reimbursements. Part IV examines IMAC. This part discusses IMAC's statutory provisions and the administrative transparency laws IMAC would be bound to follow. The close of this part, draws on three analogies as a gauge for how IMAC will operate: Senator Tom Daschle's Federal Health Board (FHB) proposal; the administrative oversight of the Federal Reserve; and the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Part V creates a snapshot of the U.S. health care system as it operates today. This part emphasizes cost, quality, and accessibility of health care, with comparisons to international and state-run health care systems. Throughout this article there are a number of words, phrases, and agencies that have been given acronyms. For convenience, an index of these acronyms is provided in an appendix following the article.     

The Obama Administration and PBB: Building on the Legacy of Federal Performance‐Informed Budgeting?

The administration of President Barack Obama, like those of his immediate predecessors, is focused on trying to improve the quality of, and use of, performance data. The federal government has been pursuing performance‐informed budget reforms for more than 50 years. Most recently, the Bush administration reforms included the President’s Management Agenda and the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). The Obama administration reforms include: measuring the effects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; reducing or eliminating poorly‐performing programs; setting a limited number of short‐term, high‐priority performance goals; and funding detailed program evaluations. The administration is taking a more agency‐driven approach than the Bush administration, but continues to find it challenging to move beyond production of performance data to its use. There should be opportunities to show how performance information can be used for decision making, given the change in the political climate and the needs to reduce spending and the deficit. Historically, there has been little appetite in the Congress for evidence‐based decision making. The administration, however, can continue to demonstrate how federal agencies can use performance information to more effectively manage programs.