Characteristics and Predictors of Juvenile Diversion Program Success for Girls: A Focus on the Latina First-Time Offender

This program furthers the Department's mission by providing grants and cooperative agreements for research and evaluation activities to organizations that OJJDP designates.

OMNI Institute, in collaboration with Dr. Lisa Pasko of the University of Denver, and with support from the Division of Criminal Justice, Colorado Department of Public Safety, proposes to conduct a project entitled “Characteristics and Predictors of Juvenile Diversion Program Success for Girls: A Focus on the Latina First-Time Offender” using secondary data collected or obtained across multiple sources as part of a multi-year statewide evaluation of 20 state-funded diversion programs implemented across 15 judicial districts in the state of Colorado. These sources include an intake/exit form completed by program staff to document the characteristics, services received, and program disposition of diverted youth; a pre-post survey completed by youth to measure psychosocial outcomes targeted by the programs; and information on whether, when, and for what offense youth received a new filing after completing the diversion program. The purpose of the project is to contribute to knowledge and understanding of the background characteristics and risk factors, needs, services, and outcomes (and individual and program-level predictors of short- and long-term outcomes (including recidivism)) among first-time female offenders referred to juvenile diversion, with a focus on Latina girls. A multi-level regression modeling framework will be used to understand and test interactive effects of gender and ethnicity on diversion program services and outcomes on a sample of over 8,000 juvenile diversion participants. This approach will allow for the appropriate analysis of youth nested within programs; and provide flexibility for examining the effects of gender and ethnicity over and above relevant individual- and program-level factors, and for examining changes over time. The study will produce findings – disseminated through a range of deliverables and forums, presented in accessible language and format, including a final report to OJJDP, scholarly products, powerpoint, and conference presentations - that can be applied by researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders to identify components of and support implementation of gender-sensitive and culturally-specific juvenile justice programming, policies and practices targeted to at-risk and diverted female and Latina juvenile offenders.

Note: This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law.

CA/NCF