Offense History and Juvenile Diversion

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Abstract
For juvenile diversion programs to reach their goals of reducing labeling, social control, and costs, they must serve a population that is diverted from processing in the justice system. Some evaluations imply that these goals conflict with the goal of reducing recidivism because diversion programs are most effective with youths who have the least serious offense histories. The present study examines the issue using data for a broad range of outcomes from three programs that randomly assigned youths to treatment and control groups. Data analysis indicated no relationship between program effectiveness and the seriousness of clients' offense histories.