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An Evaluation of Residential Treatment Programs for Young Offenders in the Waterloo Region

Publication: Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
September 2001

Abstract

This paper chronicles a comprehensive evaluation of 6 residential facilities for young offenders located within the region of Waterloo. Two kinds of research methodologies were employed in the investigation. One was primarily quantitative in nature, involving the completion of standardized scales for each of the youths who participated in the study (N = 129). The other was qualitative in nature, and involved interviews with a small sample of “graduates” from the centres (N = 9), and some of their parents and guardians (N = 4). Residential treatment was associated with significant improvements on the 2 measures developed specifically for the evaluation: a measure which focused on the specific goals which had been assigned to youths while in the program (Catalogue of Goals for Youth in Residence), and the global index of youth functioning which was empirically generated from residential case files (Inventory of Work Life and Social Skills). Qualitative interviews with program graduates and selected parents and guardians generally confirmed the positive evaluation of the impact of residential facilities on youths and served as the foundation for a series of recommendations for programmatic modifications and improvements.

Résumé

Cet article fait le bilan d'une évaluation complète de 6 établissements résidentiels pour jeunes contrevenants et contrevenantes, situés dans la région de Waterloo dans l'Ontario. Deux méthodes de recherche différentes ont été utilisées dans le cadre de l'enquête. La première était de nature quantitative et consistait à rem-plir une échelle d'évaluation uniformisée pour chacun et chacune des jeunes prenant part à l'étude (N = 129). L'autre méthode, de nature qualitative, com-prenait des entrevues avec un échantillon restreint de « diplômés et diplômées » des centres (N = 9), ainsi qu'avec leurs parents ou tuteurs (N = 4). Le traitement en résidence a été associé à des améliorations significatives pour les 2 types de me-sures spécialement élaborées aux fins de l'évaluation: une mesure touchant les objectifs spécifiques donnés aux jeunes pendant le programme (Catalogue of Goals for Youth in Residence) et l'index global de fonctionnement des jeunes issu de la compilation empirique des dossiers résidentiels (Inventory of Work Life and Social Skills). Les entrevues qualitatives avec les anciens résidents et résidentes et certains parents ou tuteurs choisis ont généralement confirmé l'évaluation positive de l'impact des établissements résidentiels sur les jeunes et ont contribué à définir les bases d'une série de recommandations visant à modifier et améliorer les programmes.

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cover image Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Volume 20Number 2September 2001
Pages: 125 - 144

History

Version of record online: 12 May 2009

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Bruce A. Bidgood
S. Mark Pancer
Wilfrid Laurier University

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