California's Juvenile Probation Camps: Findings and Implications

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Abstract
All county juvenile probation camps operating in California in 1984 were surveyed and 2,835 randomly selected camp releases and removals were followed up for two years. Although the camps provided considerable immediate and longer-term community protection, 65% of the cohort recidivated during the follow-up and 29% were committed to state correctional institutions. However, by comparing camps with each other, several sets of camp characteristics were found to be associated with sizable reductions in recidivism and state commitment. This and related findings suggest that substantial improvements may be possible in the degree of protection camps can provide, and this has implications for the juvenile justice system as a whole. For instance, less recidivism at the county level can lead to lower state commitment rates. This, in turn, can mean less crowding in California's state institutions, less need to construct new facilities, and proportionately more funds remaining for quality programming and for alternatives to incarceration.

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