NCJ Number
178942
Date Published
March 2000
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This bulletin describes the Community Assessment Center (CAC) strategy to divert juveniles from careers in crime.
Abstract
The CAC model has four key elements that, when implemented properly, have the potential to positively affect the lives of youth and divert them from the path of serious, violent, and chronic delinquency: (1) single 24-hour centralized point of intake and assessment; (2) immediate and comprehensive assessments; (3) management information system, which ensures provision of appropriate treatment and rehabilitation services and avoids duplication of services; and (4) integrated case management. The guiding principles behind the CAC strategy are: strengthen the family, support core social institutions, promote delinquency prevention, intervene immediately and effectively when delinquent behavior occurs, establish a system of graduated sanctions, and identify and control the small group of serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders who have not responded to other services. Tables, figure, references
Date Published: March 1, 2000